Pakistan Police: Thank You!

I missed Pakistan every single day while living overseas however, when I got here and had to deal with a few things - there were more frustrations than NOT!

I remember how vigorously I debated at the graduate schools against the general perception of non Pakistanis with respect to Pakistan. In the past few years, stereotyping Pakistan and Pakistanis is growing at a fast pace. But as I write this, I have to admit, I have been personally stereotyping my own folks; particularly certain people, certain professions and certain looks (and I am ashamed of it and I am sorry!).

We Pakistanis are very critical of Pakistan, more than anybody else, actually i think that we don't need enemies but we are our own enemy- isn't it. This is such a curse for Pakistan.

Anyhow, today, I stereotyped our very own police - Islamabad police. I called them to help me and while doing so, I knew that I will never get any help whatsoever and the turn of events showed that I was WRONG. Yup!

I woke up early in the morning and left home to take a walk which is a routine. A few houses from mine is a family who are a staunch Jamate Islami supporters and they are the organizers of many of the religious events in the neighborhood related to Eid e Qurban or Eid al Adha.or Eid - e- Miladub Nabi etc. They were quite active in front of my house and I didn't gave much thought to why they were there in the first place?

By the time I returned home, I saw a crowd of men getting off from Toyota Hilux trucks and as I was entering the gate (in a matter of minutes) I saw them crowding right in front of our house which is a designated green belt. They started cleaning up the area and the first thing that came to my mind was if this place is a qurbani venue. I asked them: "Are you going to do Qurbani here? If so, why? Moreover, why don't you do it in front of your houses? "One of the men replied: "well, we will do it only for one day  (jerk)" so I replied, "..of course there is no such rule in Islam to do Qurbani 365 days a year!" and then I came inside the house. I knew that it was useless to argue with them.  I was very stressed because the chosen area was very close to the houses (about 50 meters). Anyhow, these men did not stop and started hammering down the big nails/hooks to erect the tents.  Sacrificial animals were supposed to be kept there and later to slaughter them at the same spot (and why we slaughter in Islam: read the Sacrifice of  Abraham and Hajj).

I was so helpless and I knew that I'm NOT gonna get any support at all I picked up the phone. It dawned on me that all the phone inquiry numbers have been changed a couple of times since I left Pakistan. I put the receiver down and goggled the information at Pak- Telecom website. Once upon a time, the then telecom company in Pakistan (T&T) used to have the inquiry number: one-seven (17) for "any" telephone inquiry which they have changed now to 1217.  Anyhow, I called them and got the number of Golra Sharif Police Station of the Islamabad Police.

The time was already between 7:00 a.m to 8:00 a.m. My call was received by the duty officer of Islamabad Police at Golra. I started of by saying to him, "I called you but I know you will NOT help me (stereotyping) but still, I thought I should give it a try. " The policeman on duty, said: "I don't agree with you madam, we are here to serve the people 24 hours a day" and I said, "..then if this is the case would you please help? I want to file a complaint against a crowd of men from Jamat e Islami and the nearby mosque - is it O.K?  Do you want me to come to the police station and file a report or what?? I further said to him that I also know that when the police will see the people from mosque or religious parties or madrassas - they will quietly leave! On hearing this he said: "...No, we are with those who abide by law but we are not with those who abrogate it and that is "our only criteria".

I kept stereotyping our police but the officer kept his unprecedented cool and asked me if there is a  male member in my family  to whom he can talk to. (Here in Pakistan almost all issues are taken up at "man-to- man-talk" which I will not debate at this point. I have to make it clear that in Pakistan  we are not forbidden or restricted by law, at all to make a complain, to file a report etc. but it is always better that in situations where law enforcing agencies are involved or where police is involved then we are accompanied by a male member of the family. I told the officer that I don't want my entire family to involved in this issue. Can I NOT pursue  this on my own??? He told me that surely I can :-)

Long story short he said, "I'm going to send the Eagle Squad who will help you sort things out!"

One hour passed and nobody came, I called the Emergency Number for Police (in Pakistan) which is: one-five (15)... I asked them what is going on regarding my complain that I have filed earlier this morning? I have been waiting for over an hour and here the situation is changing every second! 15 police center told me that they will convey my message to the related Police Station and then finally my phone rang. It was ASI Javed and he said: "..we are here on your complain and we saw some people grazing the sheep and we made them go away", hmmmm?? sheep, grazing?? I said, " what's your location and by the way my complain was NOT about grazing of sheep?" Place he told me was not my area though not very far.

I gave them my address and told them how to get to my place. Eagle Squad also came in a Toyota Hilux with 5 policemen and then ranged my door bell. I opened the gate with a pounding heart and along with them was the organizer of the "qurbani". I requested them that  the tents should NOT be erected and NO slaughter should take place next to the house...it is a health hazard. I went on to say that in struggling to make God happy by just sacrificing an animal and completely ignoring the rest of the principles of Islam such as "Haqooq-ul- Ebad (rights and responsibilities of people towards other people)"does not seem like a balanced approach in this case. I insisted to reconsidering another location. I told them that we, the residents of this house, suffer for days and weeks to come. They are done with the Eid but for us - well, we can not even read Quran, or pray or sleep and even breathe. It is such a mess! For a whole month,  the smells do NOT go away - gosh!

Islamabad does NOT have any proper system of garbage collection and disposal. People throw trash here and there - where it feels comfortable. It is NOT an easy task to maintain cleanliness in the city. Anyhow, the police officials asked me to go inside and wait. They talked to the organizers and then an official knocked at my door and told me that the organizing committee will move the slaughtering venue to another place - which is still not very far but not really under the nose!

Since morning 15 trucks have arrived with sacrificial animals. The way these animals are handled is to be reviewed under the Islamic injunctions. It is very sick to witness all this and the way we are treating the sacrificial animals - God forbid. Islam clearly stipulates rules and regulations on every single detail for handling and treating these animals.

Anyhow, I want to say THANK YOU to Islamabad Police, Golra Police, One-Five (15) Emergency police and the Eagle Squad of Islamabad Police.

 I am very proud of you - the way you handled the entire situation and many thanks for busting the myth about police, YOU guys were very helpful and downright professional. I'm so happy  ;-)

Himalaya Trekking (A Korean Viewpoint): 히말라야 산맥 여행



Pakistan's independence day is just around the corner (August 14th) and so is Korea's (August 15th) and therefore, while working for a project to do a presentation to highlight Pakistan for my Korean language classmates, I chose the mountain ranges of Pakistan. While searching Korean websites, I came across this website called Shoestring Tours - who have specialized in trekking, hiking, jeep safaris and expeditions to name a few  - to all three famous mountain ranges in South Asia - Karakorum, Himalayas and the Hindukush.

Team Korea to summit Broad Peak

It is interesting to see how this Korean company has highlighted a tour to the Northern part of Pakistan to its clients. Very beautiful pictures of Korean expeditions and tourists can be seen there. According to the company, Pakistan's North is the place where you can find the 8,000ers (peaks that r more than 8000 meters in height) - like K-2 (8,611 m) , Nanga parbat (8,125m), Gasherbrum 1 (G-1: 8,068m), Broad Peak (8,047 m ), and Gasherbrum 2 (G-2: 8,035m). This is the place where you can still create your own new routes to reach the summit and feel the excitement. Furthermore, one can travel the famous roads such as the silk road and the Karakoram Highway (KKH) to reach these spots where u can see the famous glaciers such as Baltora - as this is the region with the highest / biggest glaciers outside the polar region. KKH - the highest paved road in the world - connects Kashghar ( China) with Islamabad ( Pakistan) - a 2000 km long road which was once considered - to be a mission impossible and a project considered by many experts as unrealistic. KKH project started in 1959 and completed in 1979 - took over a thousand lives in 20 years - during construction of this road (810 Pakistanies and 200 Chinese engineers and workers). KKH also touches many points of the famous Silk Route and breathtaking scenery.

This site further talks about their jeep safari and explains as to how, where and upto what point you can take jeeps, ride cable trollys hanging with an an iron cable with icy river Indus flowing thousand of meters underneath these crossings and then how and when one must hire the porters. They mentioned that people are extremely freindly and talks briefly about Islam. All in all, the main idea is that one musn't worry about travelling in Pakistan particularly the Northern region and relying on the guides and trust will help anybody enjoy the trip slightly more.

Towards 8000ers

Well, as far as I know, Korea is a country where group tours are a part of life and are more popular - so Pakistan tourism agencies should work on attracting groups both big and small. Moreover, language barrier is one important factor - people prefer sombody who knows Korean. Koreans love  hikking, trekking, visiting buddhist sites and historic sites. I believe that if Pakistn's Ministry of Tourism develops a program keeping in view country specific programs- they can attract many tourists and create jobs in the region.

K-2

Fear of travelling in Pakistan is one of the biggest hurdles and people have no idea that Northern Pakistan is a safer area than any other place with high levels of stability and tolerance in Pakistan. So Pakistan tourism must do something to bust this myth and should create an air of safety and trust for its foreign tourists.

A guest house in Northern Mountains

A very important lesson is to actually go and see a place, a region or a country and experience it...internet and televison screens can not give you a whole picture. I'm very sure - that whoever  will visit Pakistan will cherish the memories of their trip for a long time!

Note: Kim, Chung-ho's (김상호 씨) story of reaching K-2's summit without the use of oxygen is here for Korean readers..
김창호 's says about K-2 that:

"K-2는 네팔과 많이 달라요.너무 가팔라요...."

Paragliding and other mountain sports at Nanga Parbat by Korean Teams is here.

South Sudan: A New Country

Sudan is divided into two countries, North Sudan with its capital Khartoum and South Sudan - a new addition in the list of countries - has Juba as its capital. South Sudan is the 193 rd country recognized by the UN. The best part is, Northern Sudan is the first country to accept its new neighbor. The south's independence follows decades of conflict with the north in which some 1.5 million people died.

Under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, a referendum was held on independence, which was favoured by more than 99% of voters.

The new country is rich in oil, but one of the least developed countries in the world, where one in seven children dies before the age of five.

Unresolved disputes between the north and south, particularly over the new border, have also raised the possibility of renewed conflicts. A new law passed by the National Assembly in Khartoum has withdrawn Sudanese citizenship from all southerners.

The UN refugee agency (UNCHR), has urged both governments to prevent statelessness.

This event has made afresh the division of India and then, the division of Pakistan. All three of us - India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are doing O.K...actually, Pakistan must work a bit hard - to restore peace with itself. We must find a common cause to work for and with other entities within Pakistan. We have to pull ourself out of the labels such as: the most dangerous; corrupt; unstable and ....bla, bla, bla....in the world!

Last but not the least: Congratulation South Sudan and South Sudanese citizens on this special / historic occassion - wish you prosperity, progress and peace!

For details read here at NYT.

How to get to Norrkoping

Before starting a workshop or attending a conference, the main question is how to get to Norrkoping campus of the Linkoping University. I was one of the students coming from really the other side of the world and my route was Seoul to Beijing to Stockholm. Once I was at Arlanda Airport , I went to the information booth, this same place sells bus tickets to all the cities in Sweden but the first stop is always the downtown of Stockholm (from where these buses leaves)- called City Central, which is 37 km (23 miles) from Arlanda. I bought my ticket for Norrkoping from Arlanda's Information desk and for downtown Stockholm, I did my little research.
There are two 7 Eleven Stores, one - right across from the information center and the other, towards Terminal C - 10 minutes walk.
Bus for City Central - Stockholm
The guy at the 7 Eleven near Terminal C gave me much cheaper ticket and also a few tips to get around in Stockholm...he was very very kind. So, first I took a bus for which I only paid 30 Krona's -SEK - (5$) to get to Marsta. From Marsta, I took a subway for which I had to pay 60SEK to get to City Central.A total of 30 USD. It took me a little over an hour to get to Stockholm.
Information Desk at Arlanda
On my way, while waiting for the bus to Marsta, I saw this other gentleman, who was also waiting for the bus - he said hello and I found out that he could either speak Spanish or Swede...well, I tried my Spanish of "si, si" and "gracias, gracias"...but that was the moment when I really wished I could speak either Swede or Spanish. Well, he later helped me locate my bus stop to Norrkoping too. He was from Chile and had been living in Sweden for 8 years. I am really grateful to him and another family to be so concerned for me that I get to the Central Bus Station which is just across from the City Central Station - probably 5 minutes walk.
I went to the area for buses that goes to Norrkoping. It cost me 160 SEK (others paid 180 SEK.) which is 30USD.
In about 2 hours, I was in downtown Norrkoping - right next to city's railway station. Unfortunately, I took a taxi, which cost me 150 SEK. for 2 minutes ride to my hostel which I found out later was only 5 minutes walk from the bus-railway station of Norrkoping.
I always regret taking taxi, here again, the same old story.
Later on, people told me that taxi's in Sweden are amongst the 'most expensive option' one can imagine! I have a first-hand experience, 2 minutes ride and the price was same as coming from Stockholm to Norrkoping by bus (2 hours ride).
I must say that Fare on Airportshuttle start at SEK 150 per person.
Fare on The Flygbussarna Airport Coach is SEK 110 to Downtown Stockholm and I paid 90 SEK.
It was indeed a wonderful experience to be there!
I hope this helps people how to get to their destinations from Arlanda Airport (see #6)!

MYTH BUSTERS!

1) Swedes are very very friendly, warm and helpful, almost every single person I met was so nice but I was told that they are cold and non-friendly...really????

2) I ran out of money and one person (Mr. Peter), a perfect stranger, gave me money ( though I wanted to return it, once I came back but he refused!)

3) Avoid taxi's!

4) Some other possibilities to go to and from Arlanda Airport.
5) Swebus Express: to go to hundreds of destinations within Sweden
6) Hating taxis - well I'm not alone here is an entire website on that ;-)
7) From Arlanda to other cities click here.

Picture of the Day!

Across from my room (Bundang, 27 April 2011)

Abbottabad: As I know it

Abbottabad is in the news for all the wrong reasons which is just so unfortunate.

What Abbotabad means to me?

Well, last time I was in Abbotabad was on my way to Peshawer in 2001. That wasn't my first time - between 1980s- 1999- I went/stayed there for short trips countless times - while living in Giglit. Just last week, when I was in Sweden, I met two IT students from Abbottabad (who were very helpful) and shared with them my desire to spend my retirement days (I don't have to be in 40's or 50's for that) in Abbottabad - a fascinating, pictureque, quiet Himalayan town with 100% literacy, very hospitable and beautiful people and close to all the major cities.

It is hard to believe that Abbottabad's name is all over the planet but not for tourism, its lush green fields, valleys and mountains and neither for its high standard of education and its famous educational institutions - a place where we have the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA), Burn Hall School/College, Ayub Medical College or other numerous education institutions that have given Pakistan some of its most famous/intellectual people.



Abbottabad is a city located in Hazara Division of the NWFP (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)on Karakorum Highway on the old Silk road. It is a famous tourist resort with one of the most beautiful landscape and fantastic weather in Pakistan. If one has to go to the Northern Areas (for hiking/trackking in the Karakuram, Himalaya or the Hindukush ranges) you have to pass through this town.



In case you have to go to Peshawer or beyond or down south from Abbottabad to Islamabad, Lahore and the rest of the areas - it is the major transit point. Abbottabad is at the crossroads of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkha provinces and shares a rich culture of both the provinces where people speak Hindko, Potohari, Punjabi, Pushto and a few other languages very comfortably. Neighbouring districts are Mansehra, Muzaffarabad, Haripur and Rawalpindi. Tarbela Dam is also situated near Abbottabad. Sir James M. Douie in his book entitled: 'The Panjab, North-West Frontier Province, and Kashmir' mentioned that "fine forests in Hazára, especially the deodárs, cedars and pines is confined to the Kágan Glen and the Upper Siran mountains" which surrounds Abbottabad.

While passing through Abbotabad - the regular sights used to be of the cadets learning/training for horse riding, playing hockey or doing other sports. It had really huge and beautiful houses. While driving at any instant, all of a sudden a wild deer or a boar appeared right in the middle of the road and some the dhabas had a really tasty food at dirt cheap prices. Beautiful colors and crispy leaves of the fall, pine trees standing tall on both sides of the roads, its snow falls, and streams are memorable.

This town was founded by a British military officer James Abbott as a military cantonment and summer retreat in 1849. Abbotabad literally means: city of Abbott but I am pretty sure that its history dates back to centuries.

Details on Hazara region and the other major cities of the Indian Subcontinent ...can be enjoyed here in a book at the Project Gutenberg entitled: "The Panjab, North-West Frontier Province, and Kashmir"

My childhood bestfriend Rehana was from Abbottabad and thanks to her we used to have apples from Abbottabad each season.I hope that as Abbottabad recovered from 2005 earthquake - it recovers again - as a bustling town and a tourist spot - a status it rightly deserves!

For more on Abbottabad read this very nice post by Doodh Patti.

picture credits@google images

Adil Najam on Pakistan and Envirnoment

Dr.Adil Najam on environmental issues in Pakistan. I will write a post later but for now we can surely benefit from his insight on the issue in an interview he gave to Voice of America.

Brian LARA Lives Here.....

...yes...here in Port of Spain, the capital of Trinadad and Tobago, a Windward Island of the Caribbean(the natives call it:Trini or TT). It is only 11 km from Venezuela.

As soon as I got off the plane at the Piarco Intl. Airport and was heading towards hotel, the driver decided to brief me on some "important facts" about Trinidad and Tobago in general and Port of Spain in particular such as their history & culture. He covered all the tangible and intangible assets with great pride and needless to say, he had questions for me as well.

His first revelation was about LARA: "Sir Brian Charles Lara, the 'best' batsman in the world lives very close to the hotel (Lady Young Road)where you are gonna stay" he said. He advised me to take the opprortunity of seeing Lara's house for sure.(During my stay, I heard Lara's name being mentioned over and over again plus people asked me if I saw his house yet or not? Finally, I decided to walk up the small hill where they had only 2 houses and I took pictures of both. Later on, the the hotel manager identified for me his house, which is on the right side (made of red bricks). I saw a lot of activity in both the houses and the one that turned out to be Lara's house - I saw two men on the terrace - both looked like Lara but as soon as the man tried to say something to me from the terrace-I ran away. Anyhow, nobody call him Brian Lara as we know him they absolutely add 'Charles' and say his full name with a prefix: Sir. Everybody loves him. I was confused by the fact that why doesn't he live in the West Indies? Well, for the answer-google is an easy option ;D

Lara is all over the place; on the walls, on the billboards, at the bus stops, airport, display windows, malls: selling this and selling that - playing yet another long innings of a differnt sort! Even in the lobby of the hotel, I saw a huge framed photograph of him with Obama, teaching him how to bat?

For more on Lara HERE

Well, back to the driver- who's second revelation was: "Port of Spain has the world's largest roundabout." he added. I later found out that it's name is Queen's Park Savannah roundabout - which is also a venue of one of the world's "best" Carnivals. Trinidad and Tobago hold this carnival every February according to the driver.

The third revelation: "Wasim Akram is the "best" baller of the world"...yes he was, I added. I noticed that Waseem Akram is synonamous to Pakistan or vice versa and I felt pretty good.

People in Port of Spain are very friendly and helpful at almost all levels - it is worth going there and during my stay, I made friends and have beautiful memories to charish.


p.s: Second last picture is Lara's house ( itinerary to Lara's place was given to me by 2 young school boys. One has to go uphill to have a closer view - you will pass by the zoo, botanical gardens and the presidency toget to this hill. "

Itaewon Islamic Street in Seoul

A consumer shops for fabrics at Step-In, a clothing and fabric shop on Itaewon Islamic Street.
Salam Bakery, a small store on the left side of the road leading toward the Seoul Central Masjid in the Yongsan District, was crowded with customers last Thursday afternoon.

Among those waiting were two Muslim men from Sudan in line to purchase bread and a Korean couple with curious eyes who were gazing at the baklava, bite-sized cakes made with nuts and honey.

“Non-Muslims interested in ethnic food also come to my shop,” said Jinee Jung, who runs the bakery specializing in Syrian-style cakes. “Still, the Muslims living on this street or those who pass through this street to pray at the mosque are my major customers. My bakery sells them halal confectionaries, which Muslims can buy without fear of violating Islamic law.”

“Halal” is an Arabic term that means “permissible” under Islamic law and includes objects or actions. The rules about food are probably the most familiar to non-Muslims.

Among these, the most rigorous rules for food are applied to meat. Halal meat excludes pork and many other sorts of meat and, in addition, requires that rigorous procedures for slaughter be followed, such as a quick killing to minimize the animal’s suffering.

To make the bakery’s halal cakes, animal oil and other animal ingredients are avoided or used sparsely in the bakery’s recipes.

“This is the busiest season for us,” Jung said. “During Ramadan, Muslims refrain from eating and drinking from dawn until dusk. They tend to eat more pastries and sweets at night than on ordinary days so I will keep the shop open for 24 hours a day during Ramadan, although I will let my chef, who is from Damascus in Syria, rest during the day because he cannot eat or drink during that time.”

Ramadan began on Saturday and continues for about a month.

Across the road from the Salam Bakery stands Salam.com, an electronics store that deals in various electronics goods, including a cell phone with an alarm set to ring for daily prayers.

There are also several travel agencies here, with signs in Korean and Arabic, and sometimes in English.

Further along the street there is a clothing and fabric shop called Step-In, whose Afghan owner welcomes anyone who steps into the store. In front of the store, mannequin heads wearing hijab, or head coverings, and pretty shoes are displayed.


A customer browses through the books at the Islamic Book Center. Lower right: Workers at Salam Bakery put out Syrian and Turkish cakes.By Jeon Min-kyu
One of several grocery stores on the street has a sign that says “We now have halal duck.”

This Islamic world in central Seoul is commonly called Itaewon Islamic street. The street started with a few grocery stores and restaurants selling halal food near the Seoul Central Masjid, the mosque established there in 1976.

Because of the halal food regulations, eating is not an easy job for Muslims in Korea, where the percentage of the Muslim population is not very large.

“I’m nearly becoming a vegetarian, living here,” sighed Shiraz Subeh, an Ewha Womans University student from Palestine. She had come to the Seoul Central Masjid for her daily prayers, which is one of her obligations as a Muslim. The mosque has a separate area where women can pray.

The shops on Itaewon Islamic Street have met the nutritional needs of many Muslims in Korea. There is a butcher selling halal meat next to the entrance of the masjid, as well as several grocery stores and restaurants in the neighborhood.

“We can do our five daily prayers either at the masjid or at home, but I come here from time to time to pray, to meet friends and to shop in the neighboring stores,” Subeh said.

But there is much more here than food.



Subeh and her friend from Kyrgyzstan, Nazik Sultanbekova, who is also studying at Ewha, dropped by the Islamic Book Center to purchase a copy of the Koran in Spanish for a Spanish-speaking friend.

Muneer Ahmad, the bookstore’s chief executive officer, said he opened the store three years ago to increase awareness about Islam among Koreans and the larger foreign population.

“Many people may misunderstand, but Islam emphasizes open-mindedness, tolerance and peace, and many Muslims are open-minded,” he said. “I am from a Muslim family in Kashmir, India, but I have not become a Muslim just because my parents are Muslim. I read the scriptures of various religions and then I decided to be a Muslim.

“I recommend that people do the same to become familiar with the similarities and differences between different religions and to gain a true understanding of them.”

The bookstore has Korean and English translations of the Koran and other Islamic books. For English-speakers interested in studying Arabic there are books written in both English and Arabic.

There are many things to learn on this street. Most of the Muslims here are kind and eager to tell people who ask about Islam. Ahmed, the bookstore owner, and Jang Sun-kyung, who were at the mosque to pray, were two such hospitable folks. Jang, the former head of the female devotees’ group at the masjid, converted to Islam after spending 20 years exploring other religions. Her story is rather unique because, unlike many other Korean converts to Islam, Jang came to Islam without having traveled to the Middle East.

The number of Muslims in Korea is gradually increasing, because more Koreans have become interested in the religion and the culture. The number of workers arriving here from Islamic countries is also increasing. The Korea Muslim Federation, which has its headquarters in the masjid, estimates there are about 35,000 Korean nationals who are Muslim, in addition to the many other Muslims among the foreign population.

Credits: This article was published in JoongAng Daily.

Inside AKS..

A clear blue sky after heavy snow that lasted all night!

2011 in Bundang!

2011 started with a white blanket of snow!

Campus looked liked a snow globe decoration!

Within a few hours it changed into blizzards -

I hope that 2011 turns out to be peaceful and progressive year for everybody.
I hope that it is full of brighter days and beautiful smiles around the world.

I hope that people can achieve their goals and fulfill their dreams.

I hope we find happiness in small packages.

I hope that we grow by being tolerable and patient of the differences between and among us!