When a kiss is not just a kiss

Posted on October 21, 2009 by beenasarwar

This tantrum at the Lahore University of Management Sciences about a peck on the cheek is indicative of the mentality (justifying vigilante action against perceived moral transgressions) that led security guards to shave the heads of a poor couple chatting under a tree at Faisalabad (formerly Lyallpur) Agricultural University.

See follow up letter from Ghazala Rahman about the vigilantism and harassment going on in Model Town Park, Lahore

Catch any mullah type condemning the attack on the co-ed (but segregated) Islamic University that killed so many students

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DEVELOPMENT-SOUTH ASIA: Women’s Peace Offensive

Posted on October 18, 2009 by beenasarwar

Analysis by Beena Sarwar

A collective aspiration for peace brings together women from India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Photo:Roshan Sirran

A collective aspiration for peace brings together women from India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Photo:Roshan Sirran

KABUL, Oct 18 (IPS) – ‘Give peace a chance’ may just be another cliché for many, but for women who have suffered the ravages of war, endless strife and other forms of conflict, joining hands to find meaningful solutions to their collective aspiration lends it a whole new meaning.

Within the South Asian region, Pakistan, India and Afghanistan have for decades been torn by internal and external conflicts that have cried out for, but have not quite found, a lasting resolution.

“We waited for a long time to see what the men would do for peace,” Zahira Khattak, a member of the think-tank formed by Pakistan’s Awami National Party (ANP), told IPS.

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Happy 25th Spelt, and good luck with the conference

Posted on October 16, 2009 by beenasarwar
spelt04

Suhaee and Babar perform at Spelt’s 25th birthday celebrations. Photo: K.B. Abro

DIWALI GREETINGS TO ALL. Here are some observations on the silver jubilee of Pakistan’s first volunteer-based, professional English language teaching organisation, based on my comments at the 25th birthday celebrations of the Society of Pakistan English Language Teachers (Spelt) on July 31 this year. Spelt’s annual international conference begins today in Karachi – an event they have been holding every year since they started and which involves a ‘travelling conference’ at which key plenary speakers address similar conferences in other cities. I think this must be some kind of record.
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Kerry Lugar Bill – Myths, facts, and alternatives

Posted on October 10, 2009 by beenasarwar

Comment on the Kerry Lugar Bill from a friend, & the US  Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Press Release of Oct 8 (thanks to Shaheryar Azhar):

COMMENT:

1. The US is obviously – and understandably – concerned that their taxpayers’ money is used for illegal and dangerous activities such as nuclear proliferation. It is after all a US law that makes the US govt accountable to the US elected representatives about how US taxpayer money is spent. If they need to ensure that the monies they give us are NOT used for illegal and dangerous activities that is their prerogative. Why are we so jumpy? Anything to hide? If so, the alternative to Kerry-Lugar (which I will mention below) will be appropriate.

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India and Pakistan: Bridging the gap

Posted on October 8, 2009 by beenasarwar

RK Mishra

RK Mishra Memorial Lecture by Maj Gen Mahmud Ali Durrani

Excerpts below, complete text at http://tinyurl.com/md-mishra – thanks to Renuka Mishra whom I met in Kabul. See also ‘Ex-NSA for ‘candid talks’ between Indo-Pak security agencies’, Iftikhar Gilani’s report on the event in Daily Times, Sept 6, 2009.

Pakistan’s National Security Adviser till January 2009, former Ambassador to the USA, active in peace initiatives between India and Pakistan (he’s known as “General Shanti” in India, author of several books and studies – was closely associated with the well known Indian journalist, thinker, and parliamentarian RK Mishra who passed away earlier this year. He delivered the first RK Mishra Memorial Lecture in Delhi on Sept 8, 2009 –

India and Pakistan:  Bridging the gap

'General Shanti' at IIC, New Delhi

'General Shanti' at IIC, New Delhi

In his talk, Gen. Durrani suggested, among other things, opening up the visa regime between our two countries; allowing broadcast of TV programs from one country to the other; setting up a joint “lndo-Pak  “Arid Agriculture Research Centre”; including agriculture as a major component of the composite dialogue; cooperating in areas like water, coal, wind and solar energy; and supporting “any solution which is acceptable to the majority of the Kashmiris. The bottom line – Kashmir for the Kashmiris.”

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Video Journalism Movement: ‘Milne do’ – Let Kashmiris meet (documentary, 7 min)

Posted on October 6, 2009 by beenasarwar

film stillMy 7 min documentary on the importance of people-to-people contact, for Video Journalism Movement – ‘Milne Do’ – Let Kashmiris meet

MUSIC:
Composition and voice – Seema Anil Sehgal
Lyrics – ‘Guftugu band na ho’ by Ali Sardar Jafri

CAMERA: Shehrbano Saiyid & Jibran Jawaid

NON-LINEAR EDITING: Abdul Wahab & Mirza Waseem, IndieVisuals, Karachi

NOTE: This documentary was made for the Video Journalism Movement, a new media website launched Oct 5, 2009 – they take cartoons and short documentaries/features. Details at http://www.vjmovement.com.

Cartoonists and video journalists can also email editorial desk with ideas: journalists@vjmovement.com

For further information, contact VJM Marketing Director Stacey Griffin at sgriffin@vjmovement.com

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Give the one-upmanship a rest (or, ‘Don’t knock it’)

Posted on October 6, 2009 by beenasarwar

My column for monthly Hardnews, India – (I preferred my headline below to the one they gave, ‘Knock, knock… Don’t knock it’)

PERSONAL POLITICAL
Give the one-upmanship a rest

Beena Sarwar

“Let them stew in their own mess, we are better off without them.” Sound familiar? I heard such sentiments voiced recently on three instances – and it reminded me of the globally resented American tendency for self-enrichment and self-aggrandisement, never mind the rest of the world.

The first instance was when I was on a ‘phono’ from Karachi to New Delhi for Newsx TV. Among the studio guests was G. Parthasarthy, whose outlook towards Pakistan reminded me of Vir Sanghvi and Tavleen Singh’s – ‘What’s the point of talking to Pakistan?’ ‘We are not the same people…’

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Blackwater furore and Kerry-Lugar Bill fracas

Posted on September 30, 2009 by beenasarwar

57042031There’s been a lot of hype over ‘Blackwater in Pakistan’ and the Kerry Lugar Bill. Below, two items providing some facts and perspective on both issues.

1. KERRY LUGAR BILL – background and facts

The government should bring this bill for assent before the Pakistani parliament. This will call the bluff of all those who are thundering for the benefit of the media. Taking the KL Bill to parliament will have a dual affect. First, it will shut these nay-sayers up and second, it will provide the requisite legitimacy to this aid (which, unfortunately, we cannot do without after all these years of skewed financial policies). No political party that hopes to form government in Islamabad will formally vote against it. The government needs to pull itself together and put up a solid defence – ie. all the conditionalities are part of state policy anyway; it is the first time the US has committed itself to democracy and a democratic government in Pakistan. Any party opposing the Bill will send out the message that it does not own the current policies on counter terrorism and non-proliferation.

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Chance encounters of a connected kind

Posted on September 29, 2009 by beenasarwar

My article published in Dialogue section of The News on Sunday, Sept 26, 2009

Musings

By Beena Sarwar

Dr Sarwar, Karachi, Jan 2007. Photo by Anwar Sen Roy

Dr Sarwar, Karachi, Jan 2007. Photo by Anwar Sen Roy

There is something about unexpectedly bumping into unexpected people and making meaningful connections on various levels.

The common thread running through two strings of such encounters I had recently was my late father, Dr M. Sarwar — his being who he was, and his passing on, led to these moments and the associations they evoked.

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Zaheda Hina on Jagannath Azad

Posted on September 29, 2009 by beenasarwar
Zaheda Hina with Indian journalist Jatin Desai, at a peace seminar in Karachi held to honour Nirmala Deshpande. Photo: Beena Sarwar

Zaheda Hina with Indian journalist Jatin Desai, at a peace seminar in Karachi held to honour Nirmala Deshpande. Photo: Beena Sarwar

Since my article Bring Back Jagannath Azad’s Pakistan Anthem published in The Hindu on Sept 22 (slightly shorter version first published by Dawn on Sept 19) I have learnt that my ignorance on the matter was all the more deplorable given the previously published material that I have since come across. Besides Zaheer Kidvai’s recollections in his blog, that I mentioned in my blog post later, there is Adil Najam’s June 2009 post Prof. Jagan Nath Azad: Creator of Pakistan’s First National Anthem. Najam refers to Zaheer’s post as well as an article by Ashfaque Naqvi in A word about Jagan Nath Azad (Dawn, June 27, 2004), which contains a passing mention of this little known fact about Azad’s authoring of the first national anthem.

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