Adil Najam

Speaking of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani’s upcoming trip to USA and meeting with President George Bush a politically astute and well-connected friend in Pakistan said, “Its going to be a meeting of two lame ducks. George Bush is a lame duck because his tenure is about to end, and Yousuf Raza Gillani is a lame duck because his tenure never really started!”

For those who wish to see real democracy in Pakistan such comments instill a certain sadness. Yet, as a recent The News editorial highlighted, there is an increasing, palpable, and disturbing concern amongst Pakistanis about exactly who, if anyone, in in control of the government in Pakistan.

Babar Bhatti

The aggressive competition in mobile telecom industry of Pakistan has led to introduction of many modern and useful features accompanied by some creative marketing.

So when Ufone started offering the first call blocking service in Pakistan, they came up with a catchy nickname for the call block service: 420. As every Pakistani knows, 420 in the local vernacular refers to a fraudster or con-man.

This highlights the clever use of easy-to-remember sms codes: consumers subscribe to call blocking service by sending the phrase ‘SUB’ to 420 on the Ufone network. This service has fast gained popularity as unwanted calls have become a major problem in the fast growing telecom market of Pakistan.

Adil Najam

I have not yet seen the new Batman movie (The Dark Knight) that everyone is talking about, but the movie I would really really like to see right now is Mehreen Jabbar’s maiden feature film release, Ramchand Pakistani.

Of course, the fact that it is produced and written by Javed Jabbar, one of my favorite people and someone who has always shown me great kindness and encouragement, peaks my curiosity. But it very much a project of his daughter, Mehreen Jabbar, an acclaimed film-maker in her own right. But most of all I am dying to see Ramchand Pakistani because every review I have read of it and ever promo clip I have seen reminds me of what is now one of my all-time favorite movies, Khamosh Paani (Silent Waters).