Tomb of Phyllis Louise Lawrence, Gora Qabristan, Karachi

Gora Qabristan - Christian graveyard, Karachi
Originally uploaded by Ameer Hamza

The white-domed tomb of Phyllis Louise Lawrence, nee Napier, the first wife of Sir Henry Staveley Lawrence (Collector of Karachi). The Lawrence couple were married in 1899 and had three children before Phyllis was killed in a carriage accident in Karachi on 30 June 1912. Karachi, Sind, British India.

I was able to shoot this photograph early morning of 24th Dec, 2006, when I visited the place with my mother. It saddens me that the place around the tomb is now all vandalized and captured by land mafia. I was told by a Christian at the cemetery that this area was taken up by Muslim refugees from India after partition. Somehow this tomb survived.

There's an interesting story about this woman in the book written on Karachi (a compilation) by Asif Farukki.

Injecting chicken with masala

Injecting chicken with masala
Originally uploaded by Ameer Hamza

My sister demonstrates to me how yummy masala is injected directly into the leg piece of the chicken. This she called Al-Baik chicken and was served with fries and a yummy sauce containing olive oil. A bit heavy too.

Time for prayers, Karachi

Time for prayers, Karachi
Originally uploaded by Ameer Hamza

Via Flickr:
Muslims pray for their Asar namaz (known as Sala'h in Arabic). Asar is the 3rd namaz among 5 daily obligatory prayers in Islam.

Paradise point beach is one of the most famous soft sand beaches of Pakistan.

Mullah hulwai to khopra mithai, Karachi

Mullah hulwai to khopra mithai, Karachi
Originally uploaded by Ameer Hamza

Via Flickr:
No one in Karachi makes a better khopra mithai (coconut sweetmeat) than Mullah Hulwai at Nazimabad chowrangi, Karachi. Running rate is Rs.400 / Kg.

Dinner: Safed Paplet (White Pomfret), Karachi

Dinner: Safed Paplet (White Pomfret), Karachi
Originally uploaded by Ameer Hamza

Via Flickr:
Fried with green masala, a local recipe of my mother in a pan with oil. Eaten raw or with roti and piyaz (onions).

Pomfret is known as paplet is perhaps the most popular fish eaten among the Gujrati familes of Pakistan and India, perhaps due the fact that Gujratis have been eating this fish since last few centuries. Best season for fishing pomfret in Arabian Sea is between Sep-Jan, December being the best month. We got this fish for Rs.900/ Kg, which makes it one of the most expensive eatable fish in Pakistan. And this was rather small. Large size was Rs.1,200 / Kg. We call it 'Paplet', a lovely name.

Madani mirch or talhi hui mirch, Karachi

Madani mirch or talhi hui mirch, Karachi
Originally uploaded by Ameer Hamza

Via Flickr:
Green chillies are slit open and then zeera and salt are placed inside each of them. Cooked in oil until fried. But never deep fried and never use red chillies. These are Pakistani chillies.

Cooked by my wife.

Mehndi, Eid-ul-Azha, Karachi

Mehndi, Eid-ul-Azha, Karachi
Originally uploaded by Ameer Hamza

Date: 9th December, 2008.

Location: Karachi, Pakistan.

Via Flickr:
A Muslim girl shoes her hand - but hides her face - to reveal beautiful mehndi on the occasion of Islamic festival of Eid-ul-Azha, also known as Eid-e-Qurban. On this day, Haj in Makkah comes to an end and the slaughter of halal animals (lamb, goat, cow, camel) commences. Across the world Muslims, who can purchase the animal, celebrate Eid starting from Eid prayers and then slaughtering their animals, as per Islamic injunctions. This Eid is for three days and depends on the lunar calendar.

[This is my sister showing her exquisite mehndi. Applying mehndi in Pakistan may cost you anywhere between Rs.30 and Rs.15,000 / hand].

Frere Hall, Karachi

Frere Hall, Karachi
Originally uploaded by Ameer Hamza

Frere Hall is one of the few well-preserved buildings from the days of the British Raj that still exists in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Recently, it opened to public after Americans shifted their embassy to M.T Khan road. Therefore, security was relaxed, barriers removed and people of Karachi asked to throng the place. And they have already started that.

Frere Hall was built in honour of Sir Henry Bartle Edward Frere (1815–1884), who was known for promoting economic development in Karachi. Out of twelve designs submitted, the one by Lt. Col St. Clair Wilson was chosen and construction started in 1863.[1] It was opened by Samuel Mansfield, the Commissioner of Sind in 1865.[1]

The total cost of this hall was about Rs. 180,000 out of which the Government contributed Rs. 10,000 while the rest was paid for by the municipality.[1]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frere_Hall

Free Iftar @ Memon Masjid

Free Iftar @ Memon Masjid 1 of 3
Originally uploaded by Raja Islam

My flickr friend, Raja Islam, took these beautiful shots at Memon Masjid, Boultan Market, Karachi, Pakistan. These illustrate not only the general concept of eating much more than required during the Holy month of Ramazan Sharif, but these photographs also illustrate the remarkable level of generosity of Memons towards other Muslims. For sure, this masjid has the best free menu among all the masjids of this city. You may have as much biryani, fruits, chaat and sherbat as you like. People out there even offer dinner galas at masjids during bari raats and much more. No wonder then every year people especially from Punjab (Punjabis and Seraikis) throng this city for a free lunch, as it were. Thanks to ALLAH that due to ravaging floods we are seeing little of these Punjabis this year!

Enjoy your iftari.

Dawn media gallery published me

We are running an exhibition at Redbridge Museum, London, till 19th June, 2010. That's called 'Pakistan: Through a Lens' and is curated by Sadia Malik in collaboration with the museum. I am one of the participants and my Gadani photograph, one which appears above at Dawn Media Gallery, is part of the 3-month long exhibit. 25 other photographers are also participating, a curious selection of some wonderful photographs. It is an honour for me to be exhibited along with big names in the industry and that's not (thankfully) lost on editor at Dawn, who finally decided to showcase my image in his / her selection of 12 images among the many being presently exhibited. I am told, with much enthusiasm, by Ms. Sadia that this exhibit will be travelling places and might as well appear in Pakistan at the end of this year. I hope so.

World Press Photo Competition

For photojournalists worldwide World Press Photo is like Oscars for movie stars and directors. It has been that way since 1955, when the awards were first announced. It was Danish Mogens von Haven who won that award. And since then highest standards of photojournalism have been set. Each year, those standards get higher and higher as more and more photographers jump into the competition. Last year over 96,000 photographs were submitted to the competition of which off course one won the top honours.

I have been participating in this competition since last five years. As only few Pakistanis participate I feel honoured to be representing my country at this highest level. Although I have seldom chance of winning this competition this time around, I am keeping my fingers and my brain crossed. Every year there are a few surprises and hitherto new photographer gets some prize or the other.

So let's wait for 12th Feb, 2009, when the official results would be announced.

Pakistan's first Blogging awards

It is very clear to me and to others that Google has beaten everyone at world networking game. This game employs human beings, you and me, and it connects everyone of us via various technologies, games, chatting, and googling. It also entails more and more people becoming politicians, gangsters, celebrities and junkies of the internet. It also means painful backs, lack of interest in your brothers and sisters, and more and more play with real time maps at Google. No wonder that majority of the awards worldwide related to blogging are supported by Google. It clearly is their game and by an hour they are becoming even more impressive. (Think of their latest mobile phone directly in competition of Apple).

No prizes for guessing that Google is supporting and sponsoring Pakistan's first ever Blogging awards. CIO Pakistan is partner in crime. And this event will surely bring down Pakistan's iconic and emerging bloggers at a single, mega event. All types of them. Oh, and that appears to be very disconcerting to me. Too many bloggers: People more likely to interact via twitter and blogspot rather than via direct, traditional channel of 'talking', will gather on a single platform and fight it out the awards. Well well.

I am one of those who are part of this melodrama. But I am not hoping to win under any category. I am just being grateful to the organizers for allowing me to be part of this truly historical event taking place in our exciting time. 25 years from now we would be able to tell the world that we were part of the history in the making - and I would be able to tell my kids that organizers, Google Inc. and CIO Pakistan, somehow mistakenly marked me as a celebrity blogger!

Who burnt Boultan Market, Karachi

One of the most remarkable markets of Karachi, alas, is no more.

Did Shias burnt it to the ground, angry after their 43 members were blown up and distributed across M.A. Jinnah Road, Karachi? Did MQM did it to kick out the erstwhile Memons and Delhi Wallas from that place? Did India or Isreal or Blackwater did it? Aha, Blackwater.

My first and foremost view is that Shias, out of rush of blood and emotions, did the trick. They burned down the plastics market and the perfume market and all that and did not allow fire brigade to come in until very late in night when everything was ashes. CCTV footage, first shown by Mustafa Kamal on GEO, clearly shows that. These are the mourners, and as Mr. Kamal makes it abundantly clear to all and sundry, not the MQM jiyalas.

Shias, off course, deny charges. But cameras this time have proven beyond doubt that the crazy fire, which later caused losses into billions of rupees and thousands of shops burnt, were caused by Shia mourners. I also have first hand account of a friend whose friend was killed by the Shia mob. This mob was trying to set his building on fire. On resistance, Gilgiti Shia shot him dead and fled from the scene. Punjabi-dominated police, as is expected of them, did nothing to prevent the tragedy.

But Shias are telling us all that they don't carry all these chemicals needed to burn so many buildings. Well, fair enough.

You see, whenever something bad happens petty criminals and enemies of the state jump into the fray and do all sorts of nasty things. Their only purpose appears is to loot and run. That is not probably what happened as most of the property was burned and not looted. But the critical CCTV footage is being held back by MQM men. Not sure why. Perhaps because they are involved. Perhaps there is some other reason. Many from Boultan market have claimed openly that MQM wanted entire market to shift to Sohrab Goth to allow more breathing space to the city. This was off course not acceptable to thousands of shopkeepers, many of whom are some of the richest and oldest traders of this country. If that was what MQM wanted, they got more than their deal.

As far as India's involvement is concerned, no serious thinker is thinking about it. India has better things to do. It is focusing on how to break loose Baluchistan from Pakistan so that Pakistan becomes a weak state. It won't probably go about doing things in Boultan market.

What can I say about Israel. If a cockroach is found dead in Burewalla people claim that Israel's Mossad had killed it!

My cousin, Imran Kholia, explained his loss to Dawn paper, “My seven brothers and I used to sell wrist watches, cosmetic items, toys, optical frames and other items to support our families and 25 children. We had 22 warehouses located above our stores, which have been destroyed, except for an 80 sq foot area.”

“The tragedy is that my building wasn’t on fire when I had reached here at around 6:45 p.m. [on Monday]. We pleaded with the firemen to stop the fire raging close to our store, but they replied they had to refill their tanks. It took them more than two hours to get water. However, by 9:00 p.m., it was too late and the fire had spread,” explains Kohlia, who claims to have suffered a loss of Rs. 90 million, including property and goods.

“My biggest fear now is that I feel that the government may want to take over our property, which if you take into account the whole locality, is worth billions,” says Kohlia. “But come what may, we will resist any such attempt. We have been doing business here for generations and will continue to do so.”

I am probably thinking about Shias and MQM combined. They both have a track record of extreme level of violence and brutality. I call them Modern Yazeedis.

Textile Institute of Pakistan [TIP]

I got a chance to visit TIP this Sunday with my wife, sister and two friends. It was a chance exhibition for me and I was invited there by someone called Hina Imtiaz (who by the way happens to be quite a creative soul).

I went there only to find a lonely set of guards and nothing else. The entire university / institute was closed and no cars or men or women were to be seen. Sure enough Hina wasn't making me any fool out there in the wilderness under the scorching sun of summer. And sure enough I hadn't got it all wrong.

After a few phone calls we finally got access to the cafe where the exhibition was being held. It was my first ever trip to TIP and I found the place pretty much as I had expected. It had vast space, a pond around there, huge parking area, and curvy road leading to the educational institute. By the standards of our meek University, TIP looked far better and far bigger.

Only 15 students had their works displayed out there. Some works were really excellent; others just time pass. And there was one work, something done on Lollywood, which I would like to thrash out of this world. I could not understand either the girl who had done it nor the work itself. It was neither good nor bad. It was ridiculous. I remember it because it was ridiculous.

But I really liked Hina's work although I was seriously disturbed by her lack of something known as responsibility. She had emailed me about the event and again emailed me that I should come along withe friends. But off course she was not there but I could see that her work was brilliant. She had done a theme on Karachi and KESC had been rightly kicked off on the butts. It deserves to be. And Hina had done her job well. I would like to receive some part of her work as a gift, if not as a compensation for not being there.

Another work which I really loved was done by some Parsi girl. She had got her Nani's radio from the 1960s era and made an entire theme around it. It was done nicely and I commented to her, through her notes diary, that it was something very difficult and that she had done a remarkable job.

Another good work was on jewelery making; the theme was very complex. But again the girl had done it nicely.

Full points to TIP for bringing up such nice students. But I would really like to kick that Lollywood work out of this world!

Earn fast, loose fast - A case of KSE

KSE or Karachi Stock Exchange is a place not to be now a days. It is in bad waters and its members are edgy with depression. Some stock-going men have already committed suicide, people who've been unable to generate funds to return to their creditors.

Today, I came to know that KSE's iconic face, Mr. Akeel Kareem Dady (also called AKD), is set to loose around Rs.40 crore if KSE's limit is raised tomorrow or if it is not closed down for some time till funds are recd. from International donors like IMF and World Bank. I also came to know that members of KSE, people who were once worth at least Rs.8 crore and now are worth Rs.1.45 crore, have already paid Mr. Zardari, President of Pakistan, Rs.30 crore in bribery so that he may toe their line. The actual amount may be much more but this figure comes from an insider.

I have also come to know that KSE, if not stopped from further fall using artificial money, will crash so badly that no one will ever buy stocks from it for at least a year or till Zardari is thrown out from the country.

Now, all eyes are set on a board members' meeting with Government. It is the same stock exchange which was making waves across the globe and which had, few months back, touched a high mark of 15000 points at index table. Now, it stands miserably below 10,000 and that too artificially. Unlock it and you will see that it will fall 1000 points per day, which will take perhaps 9 trading sessions to close this business once and for all. (And for good!)

KSE is a very good example of people who have made hell lot of money in such a short time that they now stand among the richest men in this land. People who used to live in down towns have shifted to posh localities like Defence and PECHS. But twist of fate and murder of BB has caused so much loss to the nation - and add horrible number of banks going bankrupt in USA and Europe - that people who just last year shifted to their spanking new designer homes are set once again to return to their down towns, or in rare cases, commit suicide.

But what will people like AKD do who have not only his money on table for fry but the finance of gangsters like Dawood Ibrahim and Shakeel Chota, people who are wanted in India for multiple bombings in Bombay (now Mumbai). It is estimated that around 40 Billion Pak Rs. is at stake today and if nothing is done to reverse the trend, and that could happen only when economy is once again on the track, this mostly illegal money (earned from extortion, murder, kidnappings, interest rates, etc) will go down the drain drowning not only fat cats like AKD (and his financers like Dawood and Shakeel) but all the small investors who recklessly, for greed of easy money, went into the business and are now out on streets crying.

My idea is that Pakistan Govt. must either completely ban all Stock Exchanges from the country or implement international trading laws strictly. Pakistanis, it appears, are very greedy and can go to any length to achieve money with whatever means available without ever thinking of any consequences for themselves or their country.

Should we help Kashmir free itself?

Kashmir has haunted Muslims of India and Pakistan since long. Everyone you talk to in Pakistan feels a special heart beat for Kashmir no matter whether the person concerned has ever travelled to the land itself or not. In India, talking about Kashmir may be dangerous for a Muslim. But when those Muslims are here some of them free up and talk about it; others ignore the issue fearing certain consequences.

But Kashmir remains the core issue whether we like it or not and no matter what Indians call it. And now Indian side of Kashmir is on fire. This fire is much different from previous ones. Since 1989, Pakistan supported Mujahideens crossed LOC and attacked Indian soldiers to help free Kashmir. Kashmiri Muslims, being mild-mannered and educated, never really associated themselves with these foereign Mujahids. Therefore, the insurgency was only on the face and as a result Indian army got free hand to rape and kill Muslims at will. And off course most of the Muslims killed used to be Kashmiri Muslims and not the LOC crossers.

This time around insurgency and a voice for freedom is totally indigenous. The shout for freedom is coming from the homes and hearts of Kashmiris themselves. And the cause is a huge blunder of Indian govt. which alloted big and precious land to Hindu militant group (RSS type men). These Hindu extremists have been instrumental in killing over 3000 men and women in 2002 in Gujerat. These same people were responsible for killing Muslims and looting their property during riots in Bombay early in 1990s. Now, if these Hindus are firmly installed, in the name of Temple, in the heart of Kashmir, surely there is an issue which needs to be solved either by vote or by gun. Muslims have sensed that Hindu extremist group won't go away peacefully so they need to be pushed out. And the result is obvious: cry for freedom from Hindu yoke.

Should Pakistan support Kashmiri Muslims at such a crucial time in their freedom struggle?

First, the issues.

India is clearly supporting BLA, a terrorist organization which gets funding through Kabul. Many weapons originating in India have been caught by our army but no concrete action has ever been taken against them due to political reasons. India is clearly enjoying this. And Baluchistan celebrated India's independece this year; they held black day on 14th August. What a shame? Should we support Kashmiri Muslims by arming them so that they may be well equiped to blow up Indian defences and speed up freedom?

This year, in a fit of irony, Kashmiri Muslims (Indian side) overwhemingly celebrated 14th August as independece; 15th August was a black day!

We can arm Kashmiri Muslims across LOC through Kashmiris back home. We can send in ammunitions and maps of installations of Indian army at various crucial routes which joins larger Kashmir to mainland India. By doing this we can atleast cut out Indian Army travel route(s) during winter season and it would be really difficult for Indians to make a come back. But in a world where both countries are nuclear-armed, is this really feasible?

Answer, sadly, is no. We cannot do this openly. Satellites are watching our every moment and USA want a weak Pakistan not a country which adds up Occupied Kashmir as an added entity. And India won't be leaving Kashmir for all the wealth of this world. It is not only strategic location of Kashmir which India wants but its glacial waters. You can't do away with waters when rains are increasingly getting nasty or rusty.

Another option is to wait and see. Zardari told our journalists that they will hear something good on Kashmir. Benazir said a similar thing when she was PM. So no one takes these husband-wife team seriously on Kashmir. In fact, India is now such a powerful country that no one really thinks Pakistani politicians can do anything on the issue except covertly supporting the freedom movement there. And they won't drop their political mileage in Washington for Kashmir.

Another basic issue with freedom of Occupied Kashmir is that once that portion of Kashmir gets freedom Kasmiris this side of the border will start chanting for freedom. A common idea about Kashmiris in Pakistan is that they are not the type whom you can trust easily. Similar things are said about Punjabis and one can find hoardes of people from all walks of life saying exactly the same mantra. Therefore, intellectuals think it is not the best of times for Occupied Kashmir to get un-occupied. And we can just watch India and their Hindu Right Wing lobby.

Other option is total mess of the entire region. We can go for a war which will cost God-knows-what but we will ensure that finally India's attention would be diverted from Baluchistan to Kashmir. We will hopefully save our largest province without much ado.

Sea View, Karachi

Karachi's sea front may not be the most environment friendly items on a traveller's list. But it surely is one of the finest place to enjoy life, to render thoughts in the oxygen; people come here to either remember their good times or forget their bad ones. Some do it by writing poetry, talking to themselves, crying, maybe smiling, others jump around and over such drains. Sea view, as it is called locally, is perhaps one of the last places in the city where rich and poor, Punjabi and Sindhi (and everyone else), policeman and lawyer come together to see the world through their own eyes. Senses here are fizzled out, if only for a moment; a breeze here is an ever-lasting joy.

More photographs here

Vanishing heritage of Karachi

British left too many structures in our city. The main reason is that they loved Karachi for its wide sea and no-nonsense attitude towards life. Already, they’d converted it into a large shipping base for their goods to arrive. Unfortunately, we’ve not been able to preserve lot of those wonderful buildings. And to top it all, corrupt politicians and land mafia has been very busy these days chopping good old buildings.

It is very clear that a nation which needs to understand its past needs to preserve the artifacts and structures from that past. If those are not preserved, there is no way of educating young people about the shared heritage. As a result, today lot of Karachi wallas are simply unaware of their rich heritage. They, at best, know something about KMC head office or maybe Quaid’s house at Kharadar.

Discuss below the ways in which common citizens may help preserve these beautiful and enduring heritage.

Saving the last Mangroves of Karachi

Mangroves are a wonderful being of ALLAH. They are species of plants which thrive in saline waters. Their roots grow best under fertile land and maybe found at places where deltas are formed due to discharge of river (sweet) water into sea waters (saline). They are important for survival of countless land and sea species and hundreds of thousands of men earn their livelihood through them (fishing, cutting trees, making homes, hunting, etc). Therefore, it is imperative that such wonderful and unique species are preserved for the betterment of people and environment. That’s not happening. From the lead organization:

http://casestudies.lead.org/index.php?cscid=143

“In Pakistan, mangroves are found along the southern borders of the country along the coast of Sindh and Balochistan. The Indus Delta extends to an area of approximately 600,000 hectares of which 160,000 consists of mangrove forests. These are unique in the sense that they are considered to be the largest area of arid climate mangroves in the world”.

And, further:

“In the Karachi area, 135,000 people depend on the mangroves for their livelihood. For villages surrounding the forests, the mangroves provide food, fodder and fuel-wood. There are approximately 100,000 people who take a total of 18,000 tonnes of fuel-wood each year from the mangroves (Davis, 1993). In addition, 3,200 buffaloes and 6,000 camels also consume some 67 million kilograms of leaves and 19.5 million kilograms of grass (Qureshi, 1992). Much of Pakistan’s fishing industry relies on the fish found in the mangroves, notably shrimp, which are the principal fisheries export of Pakistan. Of the US$ 100 million that Pakistan earns in fisheries foreign exchange, shrimp accounts for 68 percent (Davis, 1993). Mangroves are also important for recreation purposes with high potential for eco-tourism. The Indus Delta is an important migratory route for millions of waterfowl that need to feed and breed during the winter months. Some 80 species of birds, such as pelicans, flamingoes and herons may be found in the Indus Delta mangroves (IUCN, 1999). Mangrove forests also provide protection to the coastal areas from strong winds and ocean currents. Their vegetation also helps in reducing coastline erosion because the roots collect sediments that flow into the sea from the river.

“Over the past 13 years, the degradation of Pakistan’s mangroves has occurred at the rate of 6 percent per annum. As a result, only 16 percent of Pakistan’s mangroves are thought to be healthy (Qureshi, 1992). The most harmful environmental stress that the mangroves face today derives largely from human activity. The steady growth of a major industrial city within the vicinity, the untreated sewage and industrial discharge, the increase in the demand for fuel wood, overgrazing and over-exploitation of resources are just a few of the strains on the mangrove’s ecosystem. Steel mills, refineries and power stations are some of the large polluting industries found in the area. Tanneries are perhaps the worst. Their untreated effluents, massively loaded with heavy metals, are being disposed daily into the sea, thereby contaminating the food chain. High concentrations of heavy metal such as lead, zinc, copper, nickel, cadmium, mercury and cobalt have recently been recorded in marine biota and sediments (Davis, 1993). They are hazardous and poisonous for all forms of life.”

Is Karachi ready for Osama bin Laden?

Hello folks. Oh sorry. Asalam u Alikum Ya Taliban & Ya Osama bhai and other Jihadis.

MQM chiefs have reportedly informed govt. of Pakistan (aka PPP and lots of coalition partners) that the threat of Talibanization to Karachi looks imminent. Mildly put, it means that we will all be Taliban sporting lot of things you see at National Geographic programs which are on Afghanistan. You will also like to blow up school girls, like Mama Parsi, and other brilliant places of education; you would also like to keep doctors away from your wives (one won’t do); you would also like to throw away your camera as photography is not much appreciated by them (never mind Osama bhai always gives video interviews). You would, if in case we have MQM replaced with Talibans and Al-Qaeda, also have to replace Bhai Altaf’s photographs, posters, and 90 from Karachi. In place of them we would need lots of Osama shots: Osama praying, Osama marrying yet another woman, Osama praying again, Osama tapping suicide bombers, and Osama doing everything else. Lot of printing jobs would be offered, but to those having flourishing beards, amamas (Arabic term for turban), and wives in tow (I think Jamatias will take away all the jobs!)

So, do we need Taliban / Osama bin Laden in Karachi?

One major change which Karachi is likely to see, if that happens, is the destruction of roads. Taliban don’t need much roads. They are hardy mountain people and Osama, an Arab, has now gotten used to tough terrains as well. So, the crazy-ness which our young, happy Nazim shows about building and re-building roads would be gone. As I stated earlier, so would the posters of Altaf bhai pastered with pan peek and niswar decorations. We would also not hear much about road-side muwalis (caste-aways) and charsees (drug addicts); and the wholesale business of Heroin at various Tombs would also go down. Various liquor shops around Karachi, especially at Shahra-e-Faisal and Defence areas, which are really very visible, would also need to shift their business elsewhere, maybe to Lahore. We would also see an end to prostitution which happens openly at Lea Market, Tariq Road and Defence (all phases). We might also see an end to expensive ad campaigns and the stars of Ad agencies and GEO Bhago network would be preaching in masjids called GEO masjids. We might as well see our 25th December replaced with the birth anniversary of Osama’s 33rd child. All in all, it would be fun for some and no fun for many others.

But Osama is not a happy man. He and his Taliban friends like to destroy historical sites (destruction of Bahmian Buddhas built over 100 years and which stood there for over 2000 years), does not like to have Americans and other investors around; he and his Taliban friends also apparently hate games (the execution of prisoners during Taliban time took place in football stadium, Kabul). Osama bhai also does not appear to be a great fan of beaches either. So no night parties anymore.

Oh yes, 90 will surely become 9/11!