Promoting Pakistan By Syed Morrowat Ali Shamsi

According to the trends globally, countries are promoting themselves on the social media and you all might be quiet aware of this thing as we see a lot of promos meant to enhance the image of various countries such as ‘Malaysia truly Asia’ and many more. What does this type of advertisements do? They attract tourists which in itself are a good way to generate revenue and boost the national income of the country; a lot of countries rely on tourism and earn a lot through it such as Mexico, Brazil, Thailand and lot more, secondly it also helps to enhance the image of the country.

So why not brand Pakistan? We can highlight varies tourists spots as our country is blessed with so many of them such as our country is home for various mountain peaks especially K-2 this can help us to attract climbers in Pakistan. Secondly, Annual off road rally is held at Cholistan and we can promote it, moreover our government should also try to invest into this event as the amount they invest won’t go in vain, it shall help them in the long run. Furthermore, our country is blessed for with four seasons and our country is homeland for people who belong to varies some of cultures we can highlight them globally. Hence there are a lot more reasons for tourists to visit Pakistan, summing them all up Badshashi Masjid, Shalimar Gardens, Swat, Gilgit, Tomb of Jahangir, Lake Saiful Muluk, Harrapa, Moenja-daro, Azad Jammu and Kashmir. If we go on emphasizing on each one of them it would take years to explain the unique beauty of these spots, so the point is to attract tourism.

             
If we are going to promote Pakistan on social media we also need to come up with an interesting tagline for it; in order to differentiate our country from others, I have come up with an tagline ‘Pakistan – between the wonders of God’. This type of promotion is required by our country in these sorts of conditions and we as being natives of this country should be working towards it and acknowledge what is bestowed upon us. I AM PROUD TO BE A PAKISTANI. ARE YOU?

   

Author: Syed Morrowat Ali Shamsi

Pakistan Through My Eyes

Pakistan Through My Eyes

(satpara lake- Skardu Pakistan)

A lot is said about Pakistan in the international media these days. Analysts talk about how Pakistan is a  terrorist or a rogue state. They fear that with the rising extremism in Pakistan coupled with her nuclear arms the country poses a serious threat to the safety of the world. The world however I believe has forgotten that Pakistan is a nation of 20 billion people and not all of whom are terrorists. This essay does not counter the arguments presented on all the things wrong about Pakistan, but is a small effort to highlight a few good things about Pakistan.

Pakistan is a very diverse nation. There are about 100 different languages spoken in Pakistan with many different cultures throughout each of our provinces. The food the clothing the lifestyle of the people of Pakistan varies significantly throughout the country. The diversity of this nation is not only restricted to its people. Pakistan has 4 seasons making its suitable for many types of tourism, her beautiful lush green valleys in the spring, her 814 Km long coastline in the summers and her majestic ski slopes in the winter are a mecca for local tourists and there is no reason why they cannot be the same for international tourists. There are few countries in the world with so much diversity in its temperatures, but in Pakistan one can find temperatures from 50 centigrade to -50 centigrade. The natural beauty of Pakistan’s mountains, desserts and coast are second to none. Of the 14 eight thousanders i.e. peaks greater than 8000m, 5 are in Pakistan including K-2 the second highest peak in the world.

Like all nations Pakistan too has produced some exceptional individuals but the media never focuses on them. Dr. Abdul Salam the first and only Pakistani to win a Noble prize for his work in electroweak interaction which is the unified description of strong force and weak force which are 2 of the 4 fundamental interactions in nature. He was a brilliant scientist respected across the globe and was a proud Pakistani. Abdul Sattar Edhi perhaps the greatest philanthropist and humanitarian of our time to this day, the Edhi Foundation continues to grow it is the largest welfare organization in Pakistan. The Edhi Foundation has rescued over 20,000 abandoned infants. It also runs over three hundred and thirty welfare centers in rural and urban Pakistan which operate as food kitchens, rehabilitation homes, shelters for abandoned women and children and clinics for the mentally handicapped.Edhi himself is a very modest man who lives in a small two bedroom apartment in Karachi Edhi is someone that all human beings no matter what their nationality or religion can be proud of as he selflessly serves humanity. Arfa Karim a Pakistani student in 2004 became the youngest Microsoft certified professional at the age of nine. She was invited by Bill Gates himself to visit the headquarters of Microsoft. She was such an asset that when she was suffering from cardiac failure in 2012 Bill Gates personally told her doctor to take all necessary measures, this shows how much of an asset she was unfortunately she is no longer with us.

Pakistan has abundant natural resources. The province of Balochistan is very rich in minerals and fossil fuels. There are reserves of natural gas and oil. The north has proven reserves of precious gems such as rubies and emeralds. The Balochistan plateau has proven reserves of gold and copper. The world has its eyes set on Gwadar due to its deep and warm water ports which have the capacity to serve central Asia China and Russia. If we could focus more on these perhaps one day Pakistan will be an investor’s paradise instead of being a terrorist paradise.

Now with this article I do not suggest that there are no problems in Pakistan but we are trying to solve those problems and if only the world knew what Pakistan and Pakistanis are worth than perhaps everyone will do their effort to solve the problems of Pakistan. We want the people of our country to finsih the negativity about our country and after that we will create the awareness internationally. We are the nation of the fastest century, we are a nation of passion. I do not ask you to consider us as the best nation in the world, but I ask you to see us in a way we deserve. With respect and honour.

By Rafil Zulqarnain
Section J

Lahore School of Economics

Role of media in Pakistan

     Role of media in Pakistan

                        Negative role of media

1.     Is Role of media in Pakistan totally biased?

It is biased due to one sided approach and it focuses more on commercialization than on stabilization of the country.

2.      freedom of speech

But in the name freedom of speech country’s image at international level has been negatively portrayed

3.     National interest of Pakistan and the concept of two nation theory have been literally distorted? 

Yes. Reasons are many; few among them are Indian dramas, Indian shows and Programs like voice of American aired, on the contrary the importance of our religion and state that bases on two nation theory are not aired to the larger extent. During the time of Indian attacks Kasab who was caught red handed, had been declared as Pakistani by so called Geo TV. While, hundreds of Americans, Raw agents, Mossad Agents are penetrating in Baluchistan and in Afghanistan their media never claimed their presence rather defended them to all possibilities.  This factor clearly implied to the world that Pakistan is the exporter of terrorism not of peace.

4.     Why media does all this ?

Virtue is not sellable vice brings a lot of price that means the things that are comprised of goodness and of moral values do not bring money while the programs in which suicide bombers and evil things are shown that brings a lot of money. For instance, the theme of dramas which we used to watch on PTV are of good character and based on our traditional and cultural ethics but the dramas we see on rest of other Pakistani channels are apoles apart 

(showing Indian culture or copying it shamelessly).

5.      Comparison of Pakistani media with BBC, CNN and Fox?

Wherever in the world a mishap occurs it is presented as Muslims did this or responsible for it.  It is worthwhile to mention here, once there was a report on bbc of which headline was Muslim terrorist attacked on Nato.

Are we peace lovers or terrorist exporters? Certainly Muslims means followers of Islam which means peace then why are we maligned or labeled as terrorist? The same role intentionally or unintentionally has been vitally exercised by Pakistani media

6.     Nature of news reporting?

50 years ago there was a provision in media ethics that dead bodies should not be printed in the newspapers. This provision is whether part of Pakistani media or not but all the day Pakistani media shows dead bodies of the people on the TV which has no doubt created the concept of volatility and insecurity. Psyche of the people has been plundered and they are left at the status of depression and callousness.

7.     Is this a type of war or has it been hijacked?

Geniuses of the world who believe more on facts and on ground realities are of the view that the current role of media in world in general and in Pakistan in particular is of psychological war of which conspiracy has been hatched by Jewish lobbies. To continue with the fact, media has been totally hijacked and dances over the tunes of the hijackers this has been confirmed by many scholars like zakir naik

        Remedial measures?

1)     There should be code of conduct that must speak of cultural dignity, traditional values safety and neutrality.

2)    Rules and Regulations of Pemra should be upgraded and whosoever uses media as anti state element or media itself falling prey to ignorance of its duties, can be made accountable.

3)     There should be independent commission that on regular basis keeps its vigilant watch over the role of media and issuance of licenses should be followed on the recommendation of the independent commission that after thorough study of the nature of channel and its future plans in black and white will direct PEMRA to issue new licenses to new channels.

4)      Biasness and affiliation with any political party of anchors should be investigated before their inductions by Intelligence bureau.

5)    There should be formation of a wing in ministry of Information that should be tasked with the assessment of news and reports and whenever any misinterpreted or fake fable is published or aired ,concerned authority’s should be liable with heavy fine.

6)    There should be formation of institutes that train media persons at least annually. In training, they must be given a thorough understanding of national interest and policies of the state.

 author Rabia Ishaq.

Saving Pakistan

It’s a tale of sixty five sad years, a story of dismay, disloyalty and disparity. So many innocent lives were sacrificed to make the Islamic Republic State of become independent and sovereign. But as the time went on, slowly and gradually, joys of freedom became sorrows of slavery, dreams of prosperity became nightmares of poverty and selfishness, greed and injustice took its place

For four times the constitution has ripped apart by the notorious army dictators. When democracy was given its turn the corrupt and incompetent politicians looted the country’s wealth.

 However the hope is still not lost. Pakistan still has lots of potential to stand up again and let the world know that we are to be considered a nation with pride, a nation with honor and a nation with self esteem. We have the ability to become of the great nations ever existed and it’s not some fairy tale I am talking about its quite possible but we have to take considerable actions to do so.  

In our country the system which going on is a parliamentary system and it is an obstacle towards the wellbeing of our country. It has given the right to the wrong doers to take control and rule

the masses. We need uniformity in our system through which we can treat every province and every state equally. The decisions have to be the same all over the country and with so many different political parties working at the same time for different interests it is not possible.

The party would intend to bring equality and justice to all, in the country. Resources will be equally divided. There would be no class difference, everyone will have equal and rightful share in the state.  As an Islamic state, Pakistan, the ruling governemt will follow the guidance of Holy Phrophet (P.B.U.H) and the way he ran the Islamic State. 

- Hamzah Sohail

Child Labour isn't the main problem?

Pakistan as a nation is a developing country and consequently faces a wide array of social problems: educational, economical, political, religious and a number of internal ethnic conflicts. However I believe that it is more important to address small issues first and then work towards the annihilation of the larger ones.

 After all small steps lead to big changes and transformations. Child Labour is a social issue within Pakistan and is considered a violation of human rights by the United Nations. Pakistani society is such that, a poor child can quite conveniently be deprived of basic education, only to feed the rest of his family members. Anyone up to the age of 18 is a child and his basic right is to receive education and proper upbringing rather than use his hands to destroy his own bright future. 

Children are especially exploited in the third world countries as they are a cheap source of labour and Pakistan children are used as labourers in the Sports Industry, Carpet Industry and the Footwear and in glassware production. According to the Federal Bureau of Statistics of Pakistan, 3.3 million out of 40 million children are working in various industries, although child labour is strictly prohibited by law.

 Child Labour is a serious social problem within Pakistan because the future and progress of any country depends on an educated and enlightened youth and if a child is not properly socialized then he/she will not be able to grow as confident and literate Pakistani citizens. There are various reasons for exploitation of children within the economic sector of Pakistan and such causes are directly related to the major social problems of Pakistan. Sociological Variables as the Causes of Child Labour in Pakistan: The factors that generate child labour within Pakistan are parental poverty and illiteracy; an irresponsible political system; social and economic pressures; lack of education. Social attitudes in Pakistan due to which a child is considered an adult at quiet an early stage due to biological changes, also are a cause of exploitation of children below 18 years. 


Poverty is a major social issue within Pakistan and as a result children are made to work in various industries in order to support their financially poor parents. The status of the family directly influences the choices available to a child and obviously if a family is extremely poor with comparatively less resources then consequently, each member, be it a child or an adult will be required to work and bring in money in order to survive. The economic and family status in the rural areas of Pakistan id quite low and as a result children are forced to work in various manufacturing and tertiary industries and are also over-exploited.61.2 % of Pakistan is illiterate and poor education resulting in limited exposure to human rights is a major cause of child labour.


 Education is a sociological variable and is of extreme importance because it emancipates a person from the grip of ignorance. However most people in the rural areas have no access to educational institutions and thus a child learns the tricks of trade from his father and instead of gaining education he chooses to work as a labourer or is at times forced by parents’ due to their own lack of basic knowledge. Pakistan does not have sound educational system under which a child can be adequately socialized into becoming a productive member of society. Education is not treated as a priority and inevitably child exploitation continues within our nation. 

Girls and boys are forced to work as domestic servants in the homes of the upper middle class or the richer elite. Thus class divisions become more prominent with the exploitation of the poor by the rich and this leads to an inequitable distribution of wealth and income. Pakistan is going through a serious social stratification problem and the rich continues to get richer whereas the poor continues to get poorer. Girls are exploited within the rich households, are paid less and are often physically harassed by the male owners. This leads to further sex and gender related issues and thus child labour needs to be strongly curtailed.

Pakistan needs a strong government and political structure to address the issue of child labour. However President Musharraf’s government is a military dictatorship which considers a nuclear programme a priority but banning child labour is not a serious issue for them. There are loopholes in the political structure of Pakistan and a weak government is a main cause of the denial of rights of the citizens of a country. Therefore children’s rights are largely ignored and deliberately avoided. For a positive change a democracy is needed which will fight against child labour through reformative action and laws and regulations. In Pakistan 7% of children working suffer from health problems and are physically abused as well by their owners. These are all structural problems within the social agencies of Pakistan which not only accelerate the rate of child labour but also set a precedent for other developing nations to follow.
    Tayyab Shafiq

Balance of Power

Why is atomic power portrayed to be all that is rooted to be evil in the world? Various international efforts have been working for the abolition of nuclear bombs for the last couple of decades, their cause is correct. To safe guard human rights and human lives but there is a lot more to the atomic game then actually physically using it. 

When we completely shut out our minds and merely look at history, the first thing that comes to mind in world war and Japan. And then we remember the horrific events at Nagasaki and Hiroshima where the death toll rate was in hundreds and thousands from direct killings and radiation. But for a country like Pakistan we need nuclear power.

Well, let’s look at it this way, a developing nation like ours with the strategic geographical placement that it has in Asia; our neighbors are not exactly our best friends. Then there is the current war on terror, the USA wants our head on a platter for their own agenda. So when I say we need nuclear power I mean to say that we need them as a deterrent and nothing more. Nuclear is a brutal form of war, thus before someone decides to launch a missile they’ll think twice.  

The world hegemony, i.e. The USA constantly banters at the countries that are non-signatory with the non-proliferation treaty; funnily enough they are the only ones in history that have used it in the last century killing thousands of civilians. Currently, the USA has a problem with Iran and North Korea and whether they have nuclear or not, while ironically on the side at the same time Israel continues to be a non-signatory and keeps building nuclear without having anyone to answer too.

So we should ask ourselves is it really a bad thing to protect our country in a world where there is no understanding of sovereignty and statehood. Just look at what happened to Iraq and Afghanistan; they didn’t have the right defense mechanism to ward off intruders.  Whereas Pakistan maintain that balance of power through the nuclear program.

Nuclear power is also multipurpose, it is not only a strategic military tool but it is a great way to produce heat and electricity which Pakistan really needs. Thus any further R&D in atomic power can only be good for us.

-Minahil Rana

Arfa Karim - The Pride of Pakistan. By: Hiba Mazhar.

             (Corporate and Technology)

Arfa Karim came, performed and conquered. Her credits and achievements are too many to count. She brought together her capabilities and showed that miracles were possible anywhere, any place at any time. Bill Gates, the chairman of Microsoft, passed on positive remarks about Pakistan altogether after meeting with Arfa. She got lucky enough to ace the honor of receiving the World’s Youngest Microsoft Certified Professional when she was only 9 years old (2004). Bill Gates personally invited her to visit the Microsoft Headquarters in the USA. He was so much impressed by this girl that he immediately ordered his HR team to hire people from Pakistan. He never regretted that decision for we have so much young talent in our country. It is just that we are only hesitant to organize and identify our strengths.

                                  

Afra Karim is a shining example for the youth as well as all the elders currently living in Pakistan. She was given the Fatima Jinnah Gold Medal  which she received from our former Prime Minister, Shaukat Aziz. She was also honored with the Salaam Pakistan Youth Award in 2005. Besides, Arfa won the Presidential Award for the Pride of Performance. As I mentioned earlier, the awards and appreciations are just too many to count.

Being the normal yet extra-ordinary little girl, she was a certified pilot as well as equally adept in Microsoft, Cisco and Oracle products. She could present complex technical concepts easily. She was the teacher of hundreds of people, and was particularly interested in finishing up digital divide within her own country. She loved Pakistan and wanted recognition for her country. She would go out and bring in more respect for the citizens to brag about.

People! The question is whether we can fulfill her dream or not? Does this nation owe some respect to all the efforts carried out by Arfa or not? Unfortunately, she remained at (ICU) CMH after suffering from an epileptic seizure and cardiac arrest. After consistent fighting for her life for the next 26 days, she left us thinking, tearful, and with the gift of believing in ourselves. It is time that we take a stand and make the world realize. Our worth. Our capabilities. We are capable to make a difference in this world. All alone by our own selves. With just a little effort and realization at our end. STAND UP, PAKISTAN! :)

-Author: Hiba Mazhar.

Bisman Shaukat

My name is Bisman Shaukat and I am studying in Lahore school of economics. I chose marketing as my major because I have interest in this field and as well as in media studies. I like to do practical and creative work. I worked at Askari Bank ltd. (Model Town branch) and at Synergy Advertising Agency. I am also running my business of clothing named as “Black”.

                I also have interest in football and I am playing football since 2004, I was selected in my school, college and university team and been to India twice and UK thrice as a football player and as well as an athlete. I also participated in inter-country tournaments and visited different cities.

                I think we can bring change in Pakistan by first improving our own self and bring patience in our self. We can also bring change by voting and selecting the educated heads for our country and by bringing the awareness and importance of education in rural areas so that our country’s literacy rate increases.

Ammar Zaidi

• Helloo Everyone!! My name is Ali Ammar Zaidi.I started of my journey from DIVISIONAL PUBLIC SCHOOL and completed my studies till intermediate from there. Currently I am doing BBA HONS from LAHORE SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS major in Marketing and minor in Media Studies.
  The twists and turns of life has always fascinated me. I always wanted to be a Professional Singer but the religious background of my family never allowed me to follow my Passion. I always loved to Sing. During my college days me and a few friends of mine made up an amateur band. It was the best time of my life. We sang on few occasions like college functions and music Galas. We all were so into it that we wrote some songs all by ourselves.
  One of our Songs got hit whose vocals were wriiten by me. The Song Name is Meri Zindagi. I Would like to share the starting lines of that song..
  “MERI ZINDAGI MEIN JITNAY BHI GHAM THAY
  PHOLOON MEIN JO SIMTAY TERE SANG THAY
  DIL KAY RASTYA MEIN TUNAY CHORAA MERAA SATH
  BHOOLA NAH WHO DIN BHOOLI NAH WHO RAAT”
  

  That period time was the best time of my life. But even the beautiful of the days has to end. When we garaduated from the college we all went in different directions and my singing got lost somewhere. I still have the passion for singing and I am just waiting for the right time to relaunch myself and live my dreams. If life gets kind enough to give me a chance to be a professional singer I would not miss it.
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The façade behind every face.

I believe in the fact that every little part makes up the whole picture. Whether it is a simple smile, an innocent gesture, unsaid word or a catastrophe of absurd incidents, it makes us who we are and where we stand now. This brings me to who I am, behind the face. J

My name is Hareem and I’m currently doing bachelors from Lahore School of economics. Having loved biology for most of my life and excelling with top marks in pre-med it was kind of an anticlimactic thing when I came in this field, but my parents (who are both specialized doctors by the way) wanted me to choose marketing as a career and I actually find that I love it. I’m not a very social person, but the relations that I do make, I value them a lot. I appreciate loyalty, sincerity and the ability to love in a person; for that is what I think makes up the true character. I love to read books. For me it has been the only thread connecting me to sanity for as long as I could remember the source of peace for me. So I love to read each and every kind of book. Historical, political or merely fiction, it’s been my hobby since I was a kid. I like old music, and old movies. My favorite actors are Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck from the old movies. I have an elder sister who is in Islamabad in NUST nowadays, and my parents are currently in Sialkot so I live in a hostel here. I find the experience fascinating.

I have done voluntary work in my father’s hospital, Sialkot medical Complex, as I believe in helping others and that our smallest bit of kindness goes a long way. And some voluntary teaching at an orphanage school in Bahawalpur. Since my father was in army I’ve lived in many cities, from the deserts to the hills of Murree, which makes me love nature and appreciate the knowledge you acquire from simply travelling. I used to write for my college magazine as I love to write and people think I have good expression. Also I’m a free-lance writer; I hope to improve my skills as much as I can from this work. I’ve written articles in a few magazines for the youth as well. I took part in the YLEC (young learner’s English conference) in Murree, which gave the youth a platform to speak and bring up ideas for the country.

I am a true patriot. For me, I believe in a democratic state, where everyone, whether it’s a poor worker or a bureaucrat, has the right to speak up for themselves and to be heard, a country which represents us as we, the youth, makes it where it stands now and where it to be.

“Maybe this is why we read, and why in moments of darkness we return to books: to find words for what we already know”.

The Journey has just Begun

The last child of a Punjabi Pathan family who turned out to be a son has gone through 19 years of his life. My parents raised me under strict supervision. I still remember those days when I was supposed to sleep by 8:30 sharp. I was not allowed to go out with my friends, had to maintain discipline in my life. All of a sudden things started to change I was growing up. I started to take part in the part time business which my father used to do, a small scale construction business. Playing a part in earning some errands for the family and proving that I can really do something productive made my parents become

proud of me.My father got transferred to Karachi and my elder brother went to Australia for higher studies. At the age of 17 I was the only male who was left behind to handle the internal and external affairs of the house. From utility bills to management of monthly cash flows I was the only one who managed every single thing as my mother was a house wife and knew less about the cold realities of the world that exists outside of  a comfortable house. This not only built confidence in me but also widened my exposure to the real world with which I would b e dealing in the future. Taking my majors as Marketing was my father’s decision. He adviced me to take marketing after judging my capabilities and skills.

Pakistan is my nation. I don’t plan to settle abroad in future. I”ll prefer to work for my country rather than  settling abroad as a third class citizen. People often say Pakistan looks like a failed state but I have a big NO for that. Pakistan as a country has every thing except a good public. It is us who are ruining our country instead of making it a heaven for it’s residents. Businessmen have issues regarding power, natural gas, crime, corruption. The question arises aren’t we the one who have brought our country to such horrible situation. Putting our energies on the wrong direction has brought us to this stage where warriors lean to the wall saving their lives instead of fighting with bravery. I as a true lover of Pakistan instead of dying for my country would prefer to work for my nation.I believe we as a nation should stand against the corrupt political, judicial and

Bureaucratic culture of the country. Doing this single thing we might achieve the highest ranks among the developing countries. Social work is something which is already being supervised by local and international NGO’s . Our image in the international market has been brought down drastically by external forces which are unidentified.

It's not about who's got powers, morons.

Lastly It's not about who's got powers, morons. It's about who's not afraid. And who's going to do what has to be done.”