MQM condemned the Abbas Town blast and demanded the government to arrest the culprits within 3 days or it will hold 'peaceful strike'. We all want the terrorists to be arrested and punished yet I cannot help but notice the hypocrisy of MQM. Before 16th February 2013, MQM was the government (God knows what they want to prove by quitting just a month before the term ends).

Where was MQM with it's agenda of arresting terrorists within 3 days when it was in government? Lets keep aside the deadline of 3 days. Were the terrorists ever identified and punished at any point in time? Maybe my memory is bad but all I remember is release, due to 'lack of evidence', of prisoners who confessed to be MQM target killers.

Talking about 2013 only, a report of South Asia Terrorism Portal on terror incidents in Karachi till Feb 24th, 2013 puts death toll at 291 and number of people injured at 153. If we subtract the killings that took place after 16th Feb, that is when MQM left the government, number of people killed is 239 and those injured is 129. What about the culprits behind these incidents? What did MQM do to arrest them within 3 days? Not to forget, we are talking about 2013 only, not the years before that.

Figures taken from: http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/pakistan/sindh/datasheet/karachi_incident.html

On dad's birthday..

Me: Give us money to get cake.
Mom: You said you people will get it.
Me: Yes, you pay and we'll get it :P

When dad hugged we kids after he saw the cake that read 'Who needs a superhero when you have dad'

Mom: Jani paise mujhse liye aur cake pe dad likhwa k aai hain :O

As a Pakistani, there is one thing that I feel daily, I feel sick. I feel sick when people are assassinated for their political associations, for their views, for their religious beliefs or simply killed because people here are killed for no reason.

I am a Muslim and I am a Sunni, you know why? Only because I was born in a sunni family. Is there anyone here who can explain his religious beliefs (label if not beliefs) based on some other reason. There would be hardly anyone. Am I alive because human life is a valued asset? Because everyone has a right to live? Or I'm alive at the mercy of the religious extremists because apparently I was lucky enough to get birth in a Sunni family? Faiz Ahmed Faiz's poem 'Wo Subh Kabhi Tou Aaige' has been on my mind since yesterday, It says 'Mitti ka bhi hai kuch mol magar, insanon ki qeemat kuch bhi nahin'. This dilemma couldn't have been put in any better way but then again, the poem is optimistic, it says 'Wo subh kabhi tou aaige'. Here it has even become hard to stick to this optimism. 

I'm not a very religious person but lets talk about religion. Doesn't Islam forbid forcefully converting others to Islam? Doesn't it advocate peaceful preaching? Okay, Shias are Kafir if you say so Mr. Religious Extremists but then who exactly are you? Killing Shias is 'Sawaab'? From where did you derive your Islamic principles? I don't care if Shias are Kaafir or Muslim. All I know is they're humans which you guys certainly aren't because even killing a single person is against humanity while here we're talking a mass killing, a genocide.

People in Quetta have been protesting along with the dead bodies of their beloved ones for more than 10 hours in freezing cold and rain. Just the thought of it is more than enough to give goose bumps yet our media doesn't find the protest coverage worthy. Maybe the issue isn't grave enough. People have been demanding an army takeover. It's argued army takeover in the area is not the solution, the system needs to change. But how many more lives are we willing to compromise on till the system changes? Especially when you see no efforts to change the system. When this grave issue is hardly even taken notice of at higher level? For all I know, this needs to stop right away.

Dear Chief Justice,

I'm one of the many people who stood for justice for Shahzeb Khan. I cannot tell you how glad I'm that you took notice of the case and issued a Suo moto. It's only because of you that we all believe Shahzeb Khan will get justice now.

Do you know there is a group of religious extremists who believe they will be rewarded with Jannat for killing Shias and they have claimed lives of countless shias? Do you know about the twin brothers who were gunned down in Liyari recently? Well few individuals did share their picture on facebook but there wasn't any page created. Also it didn't turn into a trend on twitter so how would you know. You know there have been silent peaceful protests against shia genocide as well but again media didn't really cover the event so how would you know. And all the Shia killings are out of the news in a day or two. How can one expect you to take notice when the crime is not even turned into a hype?

Religious extremism has claimed more lives than feudalism but if only you knew. Or maybe the intensity of the crime increases when it's prominent on social media. I'm not a shia but anyone can die in this city. I hope someone will make a facebook page and tweet about me if I get murdered so that you get to know and might take an action.

The murder of Shahzeb Khan and rape of Damini are two recent incidents which provoked everyone to fight for justice. It's good to see everyone such active part to ensure justice, what's sad are the basis of which justice is being claimed.

If murderers of Shahzeb Khan must be punished, because 'You can be next Shahzeb Khan' then should Shia genocide continue because you can't be a victim if you're not a Shia? Is that what explains our silence over Shia killings? A murder is a murder, whether it's by feudal lords or religious extremists, the intensity of the crime remains same. Punish the murderers of Shahzeb Khan, Shias killed and every other person murdered because everyone has a right to life and depriving anyone of it is a crime.

About the rape case.. you see everyone urging people to respect women because they're mothers, daughters and sisters. If you don't respect any men because they're fathers, sons and husbands to someone then why do you need reasons like these to respect women? I am a woman and I forbid you to respect me because I'm someone's daughter or sister. Respect me because I'm a human; I earn my right to be respected by the virtue of being a human. The problem arises when you fail to see a woman independent of a man. Women are not an object of men's pleasure and their only identity is not their relation to men. Women are 'humans' before they're anyone's mother or sister.

I visited around 7-8 homes in Liyari for a survey.. Some of the answers I received make me pity the state of our country.

Me: Kya aap ko lagta hai aapki gali main jo gandagi hai us se beemariyan phelti hain?
(Do you think the garbage in your street causes diseases?)

The lady: Pata nahin, mere ghar main koi beemar nahin.
(I don't know. No one is sick at my home.) 
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Me: Kiran School ne jo gali main dustbins rakhwai the, us k bare main aap ka kya khayal hai?
(Kiran School kept dustbins in the street, what are your views on their this initiative?)

The Lady: Wo un k apne liye the, hum tou yahan se kachra phainkte hain (Pointing towards the window)
(Those were for Kiran school to use. We throw our trash out from here- pointing towards the window)
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Me: Kya aap aaki gali main safai karwane main hamara sath denge?
(Will you support us in cleaning your street?)

The lady: Main apne miyan se puch k aapko bataungi.
(I'll ask my husband and tell you)
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Me: Kya aap aaki gali main safai karwane main hamara sath denge?

(Will you support us in cleaning your street?)

The lady: Hamen ijazat nahin hai ghar se bahar nikalne ki.

(We are not allowed to leave our home)

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Such are the effects of illiteracy and male domination prevailing in our society.

Sitting in a small room at a hindhu family's home in Liyari, asking questions for a survey, suddenly my eyes fell upon the statues of Bhahwan kept on a shelf at left corner of the room. I gazed around, to the right were paintings of Bhagwan and in my feet were my slippers. Guilt took over; I was on second last question so it was too late to go out to take off my slippers. I finished the survey and had the following conversation with the old couple.

Me: Ye mandir hai? 

       (Is it a temple?)

Them: Jee

          (Yes)

Me: Mujhe maaf kijyega, main jootay andar pehn k aagai.

       (Pardon me, I wore my shoes inside)

Them: Koi baat nahin, insan se hi galti hoti hai, Aap bhi hamari beti ho.

          (It's okay, It's humans who commit mistakes and you're like our own daughter) 

On one hand I feel horrible for my religious insensitivity, on the other hand I'm awestruck with their religious tolerance and acceptance. Living in a small rental home in liyari with 3 kids, these people are better off than millions of us.