Adil Najam

Karachi burns. Pakistan drowns. Pakistanis are desperate to clutch at some twig, some branch of hope. There seem to be none. Even the cricket team collapsed, much like the mud houses outside Swat and Nowshehra.

The brutal murder of MQM MPA Raza Haider has triggered a cycle of violence and arson in Karachi that has already consumed 32 more lives in its wake. And all of this as the rain waters rise as quickly as the death toll due to them: already over 1650 Pakistanis dead in their wake.

Here is the story thus far, as told by the numbers (all of these numbers are likely to keep rising, much like the flood waters):

Cost to Agriculture:
US$1,000,000,000
(US$ 1 Billion in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa only)

Pakistanis Affected:
2,500,000
(including incidents of disease and displacement and with rising threats of epidemics)

Households needing help:
100,000
(Mostly in Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa)

People still waiting to be evacuated:
27,000
(Including 1500 tourists)

International Relief Pledged so far:
US$30,000,000+
(Including US$10 million from the United States, another US$10 million from the United Nations and US$8 million from United Kingdom)

Death Toll:
1650+
(Estimate of 1500+ in Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa only)

Darwaish

Amongst the 152 who died in last Wednesday’s tragic crash of Air Blue flight were six members of the Youth Parliament. All death in this tragedy were sad. The death of these talented youth with aspirations of building a better Pakistan was no exception. Maybe it was tragedy compounded. But the story of one of them is sadder even than the others – and because of what happened to him after he died!

This is the story of Prem Chand, a bright young social worker from Sanghar (Sindh), one of the members of Youth Parliament, and one of those who died on the ill-fated AirBlue flight 202. His death – like the death of everyone on that flight – was a matter of national tragedy; the treatment of his dead body a matter of national disgrace.

Adil Najam

New York City’s annual Pakistan Day parade is one of the largest Pakistan day festivals held outside of Pakistan (the one in London is reputedly much larger) and has been held annually for at least 25 years. I have always wanted to attend one of these, but never have. Till now.

As it turns out, Geo TV’s North American channels are to telecast the parade live this year and asked me to come over to assist in the broadcast. The thought of Pakistaniat running amuck on the streets of New York – from 26th to 41st streets on Madison Avenue, with over 10,000 people expected to attend – was too enticing to miss out on. Typically, and not surprisingly, there is lots of good Pakistani food, colorful Pakistanis dresses galore, bhangras good and bad, dhols and music all around, and good-natured chaos and frenzy. What, then, is not to like!