Anas Imtiaz

Are They Qualified?

// January 12th, 2009 // 18 Comments » // Pakistan

Talk about a PhD doctor performing brain surgery. This is precisely what is happening in Pakistan. Unfortunately the condition is worse, the surgeon in question here isn’t even a PhD doctor. Perhaps, the doctor is totally uneducated and illiterate.

When any of us apply for a job, the first question to consider is whether the job is suitable for us or not. Obviously holding a degree in electronics engineering I cannot go for a job in structures and construction. Even if I do apply, there is no way of getting accepted.

This makes me wonder what exactly is the criteria for the ministers. Take an example, Raja Pervez Ashraf, the minister for Power and Electricity holds a bachelors degree in an unknown discipline (law is the popular guess). With that knowledge and background, how can he even claim to root out loadshedding in one year? The man has an agricultural background and should know that electricity doesn’t grow on trees. It sounds almost comical when he makes those claims. There is a counter argument that it is not his fault because this is what his team tells him, most of whom are assumed to be qualified in the relevant field. Now this argument doesn’t hold because the team leader should have the knowledge (even if he doesn’t do the work) so that the members of his team are not able to deceive him. (more…)

Daughter’s Rap Tribute To Benazir Bhutto!!

// January 6th, 2009 // 11 Comments » // Pakistan

The elder daughter of Pakistan’s assassinated former Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto, has written a rap song expressing grief over her death.

The song by Bakhtawar Bhutto, 18, comes a year after the assassination and is entitled “I would take the pain away”.

It pays tribute to her mother’s “crazy courage” and describes her as “the epitome of benevolence”.

It has been played regularly on state-run television and has been posted on the video-sharing website YouTube. (more…)

One Year Old!

// December 27th, 2008 // 22 Comments » // Life

Shuffling through my previous posts to find when exactly I started blogging on this platform, I found to my utter surprise, that my first post is dated 27th December 2007. I’d like to thank the government of Pakistan for having a national holiday for my blog’s birthday celebrations

I had been blogging on and off on other platforms earlier, but serious blogging began on this historic day. I think completion of my undergraduate degree just before that and having a lot of free time contributed most to this activity. So beginning with an activity just to kill free time, blogging is now an integral part of my daily life and I try to update this space even when I am utterly busy.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank…:P

On a serious note, it has been a momentous journey of one year where I’ve learned a lot about web development, some PHP programming, learning about other people and yeah earning some adsense money
I don’t remember posting it here but I did get about $110 last month which were accrued over a period of four months.

To celebrate this auspicious occasion (ufff!!) I have ordered myself a gift which I shall be receiving tomorrow and then brag about it henceforth. So get ready

One last thing, a year before Pakistan was facing a hostile situation and on this day our dear nation is also threatened both on internal and external fronts. Let us all hope and pray for the safety, security, development and advancement of our country – and me and my blog

Pakistan Paindabad

[Liked the speech?]

Story Of THAT Car!

// December 23rd, 2008 // 19 Comments » // Life

CAUTION: This is a long story written out of extreme boredom AND I suck at story-telling.

It was a Thursday night and time was not on our side, so wasn’t luck. Things were getting tougher as the deadline drew near. As I recall with my bad memory, only a week was left to finish off the task before flying out. There was uncertainty about the end but the determination was rock-solid. We weren’t aware of the time, day or night. Only one (maybe two) thing was on our minds – victory (and defeat too).

On this particular Thursday night we decided to go out to eat, as we usually did at some point of the day whenever we achieved something or failed to produce anything for a very long time. As I said, time was of essence hence eating out in least possible time was always favoured. That meant something close by. The other factor was our light pockets during those days and the debts we had taken from almost everyone we knew (I hope we returned all of them!).

So, if some of you haven’t already guessed, this is a page from the days we were working on the (second robot). I like to call that period The Robotic Age. Anyway, PNEC being situated in a prime location – Karsaz, the obvious choice to eat was Mohammed Ali Society. Perhaps, the cheapest place there was Ideal Restaurant (ideal, indeed). I don’t remember how many of us went there but I’m sure about three (including myself). The other two included Atif (the guy in the video) and Munzir (deserves a whole post for his achievements and geniuses). On that team of four, two of us had cars. That particular day, I left mine at home (because my father was in Karachi) so we went out for dinner on Munzir’s car hoping that it doesn’t stop midway. The car obliged, and we were relieved, obviously. After satiating ourselves with some nice (and cheap) food and discussing further plans on how to make the night more productive we decided to leave.

The driver (Munzir) turned the key and the engine roared. The car moved, and we were almost assured of reaching back to PNEC which was only a few minutes drive. But then Uncle Murphy had to come in somewhere!! The car stopped, running short of fuel of either kind i.e. petrol and CNG. We tried giving it a push several times, but the car did not respond as if it was comatosed (is that a word?). We shared a few laughs partly because we knew that was likely to happen. In fact, it should have happened earlier! (more…)

The curse of Rawalpindi?

// December 29th, 2007 // No Comments » // Pakistan

Pakistan’s first PM, Liquat Ali Khan, was shot dead in a public meeting at the Municipal Park, Rawalpindi. He was shot twice in his chest by a man sitting in the audience. Municipal Park, where he was assassinated, was renamed Liaquat Bagh Park in his honor.

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, fromer President and Prime Minister of Pakistan, was executed by hanging in Rawalpindi (his trial remains controversial).

Benazir Bhutto, another former PM of Pakistan, was assasinated just outside the Liaquat Bagh Park (formerly, Municipal Park), Rawalpindi.

Benazir Bhutto – assasinated!

// December 28th, 2007 // No Comments » // Pakistan

The assasination, death, murder, shahadat (or whatever it may be termed) of Benazir Bhutto was undoubtedly the most tragic and heinous crime act the people of this country has witnessed in decades. The news spread like a wildfire yesterday and the reaction of the party workers are all over the TV screens. The impact of her death is not only felt locally but also worldwide, where the global stock markets are rattled by the murder. No wonder, she was a big name.

CNN reported that just a day before her death, she was named as the most influential women in 2007 by some sort of survey conducted by MSN. This news was carried out in most newspapers as well (link).

(more…)