Adil Najam

Shoaib Akhtar is in the news again.

There is the news about him failing to show up for the Pakistan team’s dope test. This, of course, coming so soon after Shoaib’s earlier dope debacle raises serious concerns. Even more serious are the allegations he has made on the team coach – and since denied by Woolmer – about racist remarks.

None of this is to be taken lightly. But right now I am just not in the mood for heavy writing. So I will leave discussions on this to our readers. Let me share with you instead this video clip I found on YouTube. It turns out its fairly old and has done the email and web rounds already. However, I had not seen it before and I assume there may be others like me out there.

S.A.J Shirazi

All those who take there chance to Siachin sector (via Skardu, the valleys of Shigar, Khaplu, Kharmong, Rondu and onwards), purposefully visit to see northern areas of Pakistan and or plan to have rendezvous with fairies do pass though Deosai Plains – a plateau among high mountains and unique landscape in the world.

I first got acquainted with the area when Siachin sector was active. Later, when ever I visited the area, one plan that I always had in mind was to meet the fairies there.

Baikal is what I am reminded of when ever I see the Sadpara Lake situated at a short drive (an easy walk) south of Skardu. The walk along the torrent is more pleasant and shorter than following the jeep road. The lake surrounded by bare mountains abounds in fish, and is an ideal place just to sit there and think of fairies. Who wants fishing any way!

Adil Najam

Reader Naveed Ejaz recently sent me a link to a new blog he has started called Rethinking Disability. I was finally able to visit and explore the blog today. I was left extremely moved.

The site is exactly correct in pointing out that we, as a society, are caught in “prejudiced molds” of thinking about the disabled. We at ATP also stand guilty of not having raised these issues as we should have (we did do one post on the Pakistan Blind Cricketers Team winning the Blind World Cup; but that is not at all sufficient).

I would particularly recommend a post called The Pink Elephant; but first a bit about Naveed Ejaz – and I reproduce this imply because he has done so on his site and I think it is relevant to understand what he is saying and why:

I am a 25 year old male, born and raised in Pakistan, a developing country by every meaning of the word. Blessed with amazing resources and even greater parents, I have been educated both within Pakistan and abroad. But more importantly for the purposes of this debate, I have cerebral palsy, a physical condition that predominantly affects my mobility, meaning therefore that I am disabled, handicapped, impaired, disadvantaged, invalid and abnormal. Despite the wealth of adjectives at their disposal, my family and friends still prefer to call me by my first name. Some people however insist on calling me by my full name, but I really do not care for that all that much.