Humans of New York in Pakistan (Part 7)

"I'm forty years old, and she still can't fall asleep unless I'm home safe at night."

(Karachi, Pakistan)

"The rain delayed our wedding. All the guests are stuck in traffic. We're just killing time and trying to stay calm. We were afraid that everyone would stay home, but I just called my father and he said that people are beginning to show up. So we're about to leave."

(Karachi, Pakistan)

“I tried to travel to a school for the blind in India. When I got off the train, a man offered to polish my boots at the railway station. He was very nice to me. When he heard where I was going, he offered to take me there. Along the way, we stopped to take a dip in a stream. When I got out of the water, he had disappeared. He’d taken everything. I started screaming and crying. I heard some kids in the distance, so I tried to walk toward them, but it was hilly and thorny, and I kept falling down. When I finally reached them, they didn’t understand Urdu. But they took me to some men who helped me. ‘You’re lucky,’ they told me. ‘We find a lot of dead bodies in that stream.’”

“When I was ten years old, I had a bad disease that caused me to lose consciousness and when I woke up, I was blind. I screamed: ‘Mom, I can’t see anymore!’ And we both started crying. It's been a very hard life for me. Nobody would give his daughter to a blind man. If I dwelled on how lonely I am, I’d have died a long time ago. My only friend is the radio.”

(Karachi, Pakistan)

“I want to have my own career. I don’t want to depend on anyone else. But there’s a view in our society that an independent woman doesn’t belong here. She is not ‘one of us.’ So if you want to do some things on your own, they expect you to do everything on your own. And that’s difficult. Because wanting to be independent doesn’t mean I want to be alone.”

(Karachi, Pakistan)

Humans of New York in Pakistan (Part 6)

“My father passed away a year before I got married. I wish he could have lived to see me start my own family. After God, he was my god. There was no infrastructure here when I was growing up, so we lived through very hard times and often there was no food. But he’d do whatever he could to make us forget. One night he organized an entire musical. We couldn’t afford instruments so we pretended that we had them. Every one in the family had a role. I was the star.”

(Hunza Valley, Pakistan)

“I admired her from afar for a while, and eventually summed up the courage to tell her my feelings. She told me that she felt the same way. This was before cell phones, so at first our meetings were limited to random interactions on the street. But then we both got mobiles and started talking on the phone. Eventually she told me that she wanted to marry me. I sent my mother to ask her family for permission, but they didn’t think I was a suitable match. They were a higher class of people. They were educated. Her father was a business owner. I tried to plead with them: ‘I’m not paralyzed,’ I told them. ‘I work. Why am I not good enough?’ But I was never given an answer.”

(Hunza Valley, Pakistan)

“Education changed the lives of my entire family. Before education, we knew only how to work. It was always very quiet in our home. My grandfather was a laborer, but he paid to send my father to a tutor so that he could learn to read. He told my father that, if nothing else, he should begin by learning how to read and write his name. When I was born, my father taught me how to read. I started with local newspapers. I learned that our village was part of a country. Then I moved on to books. And I learned that there was an entire world around this mountain. I learned about human rights. Now I’m studying political science at the local university. I want to be a teacher.”

(Hunza Valley, Pakistan)

"I want to be a police officer."
"What will be the best part about being a police officer?"
"The power."

(Babusar Top, Pakistan)

"What are you doing?"
"Nothing."

(Karachi, Pakistan)

Why we should Cherish Usain Bolt

Even then it was too late. By the time a cameraman chasing the great champion had clipped his winged heels and sent them both to the deck, Bolt was halfway round his lap of honour and his latest line-up of victims trudging out of the stadium with their spikes slung round their necks.

The 100m final had been close. Only one hundredth of a second had separated Bolt and his rival Justin Gatlin on Sunday night, even if a chasm opened up between them in the aftermath.

This 200m showdown, the rematch, the chance for Gatlin to gain revenge and a little glory after all the controversy and carping of the last seven days?

This one was over in less than two-hundredths of a second. Bolt's reaction time from his blocks was 0.147 seconds. Gatlin's was 0.161. The gap between them would only grow.

For a man who has so regularly made the impossible real, Bolt's victories can also seem pre-ordained and predictable within moments of him hurtling alone through the line.

He is almost a victim of his own brilliance. There seems no room for doubt, even if it was an unacknowledged guest in minds around the world before he settled into his blocks.

It is another of his great conjuring tricks. Coming into these championships Gatlin had run more than two tenths of a second faster over 200m than any other man in the field this year, and almost half a second quicker than Bolt.

Only in Wednesday night's semi-finals had Bolt gone under 20 seconds for the first time, and then by the thickness of a yellow Jamaican vest.

Gatlin has been so consistently quick this year that his collapse in the 100m seemed surely to have been a costly aberration. Aim whatever other arrows you choose at him, but the 33-year-old has run through several eras of sprinting.

He won his Olympic title 11 years ago. A decade ago he left a gangly 18-year-old Bolt trailing home last as he won the World 200m title in Helsinki. He may lack remorse but not experience.

All that might count against any other opponent. Not Bolt.

Gatlin had to be up on him at 50m. He had to be dominating the champion's eyeline at 100m to hope to defuse Bolt's greatest weapon of all, that sweet acceleration off the bend and away up the straight.

Instead Bolt never even saw him. Away from the blocks, eating up the bend, warm night air between him and the supporting cast as they faded away behind him once again.

Gatlin was quiet afterwards, the simmering aggression of his Diamond League wins all summer replaced by a melancholy resignation.

He knows he may never have a better chance of winning back a global title. It is not just his age, although he will be 34 by the time of the next Olympic 100m final.

It is the opportunity tossed away, a perfect storm of brilliant form, struggling rivals and an undercooked Bolt blowing itself out in this windless steel stadium. If he hasn't done it here, why should he do it anywhere else?

At times in the last few years Bolt has appeared to be a man on a greatest hits tour. The defining moments are in the past but the showmanship remains. An audience grown up on his brilliance are desperate to see him before it is too late.

Except he is at number one once again. Ten World Championship gold medals now, as out on his own by that measure as he was thumping his chest through the line, another in his sights in the sprint relay; six Olympic golds, Rio and the chance for three more less than 12 months away.

It cannot keep going forever. The current end date is August 2017 and the next World Championships in London. The world records will probably sit untouched for a generation, but the man who set them will one day be gone.

It is why we should cherish every victory, even as they seem inevitable, every little vignette as the cameras come searching for him before he goes to his blocks, every selfie-laden lap of honour.

For even as his performances have defied precedent and logic, we can all understand what he does.

Kids cannot share the experience of driving a Formula 1 car. Very few will ever know what it is like to dribble through half a team like Lionel Messi or strike a drive almost 400 yards down a fairway like Rory McIlroy.

But we all grow up running, all grow up racing. It is sport at its purest, and Bolt is its perfect incarnation.

There is always more. He stretches those brief seconds of brilliance from a short into an epic; the games on the warm-up track, the play-acting behind the blocks, the talking down the camera as if it were just you and him and then the dancing and posing and signing of everything in the drawn-out aftermath.

It is why there were a million requests for the 80,000 tickets for 2012's Olympic 100m final and why Rio will be overwhelmed in the same way.

He has changed his sport, and he has changed us. And no-one is ready for it to end.

Humans of New York in Pakistan (Part 5)

“Last month I had an accident that destroyed my tractor, and now my life has been ruined. I’d saved for that tractor for three years. When I finally bought it, I was so happy. Things seemed to finally be moving forward. I was working crops and making money. Now it’s destroyed, but I still owe $5000. I only make $120 a month, and most of that goes toward renting this new tractor. I’m still very injured from the accident. I should be in bed but I couldn't take any more days off. I didn’t used to look like this. I used to care about my appearance and wear proper clothes. I used to eat proper meals. But I can’t afford any of that now. I have nothing left to sacrifice.”

(Passu, Pakistan)

“This is the worst time of my life. I have two brothers. A few years ago, one of them was diagnosed with polio. And he can’t walk anymore. And last year, my other brother got a brain tumor. And he can no longer remember my name. So one brother needs me to be his legs. And the other needs me to be his mind. My father is too old to work, so I support us all on a soldier’s salary. If something happens to me, there will be no hope for any of us.”

(Hunza Valley, Pakistan)

“I was born paralyzed from the waist down. But this community is so tolerant that I never had to worry about fitting in. I only had to focus on improving myself. Everyone treated me as normal. I got everything my older brother got, including punishment. I never once escaped a spanking. I dove off cliffs. I swam. I played cricket and badminton. I climbed trees. The only thing my family told me not to do was play music, because they thought it would distract me from my studies. But eventually I got so good, they couldn't even tell me to stop that.”

(Hunza Valley, Pakistan)

“We lost their mother to a heart attack recently. And their father is overseas trying to find a job. So I’m currently Grandpa, Grandma, Mom, and Dad. Luckily I have five children and eighteen grandchildren, so I’m very experienced. There’s actually one more child at home—he’s eight years old. And none of them can fall asleep unless they are lying next to me. So I have to put the oldest one to sleep first. Then I get up quietly, and lie down between the other two. The only problem is sometimes they fall asleep on top of me.”

(Passu, Pakistan)

“I’m studying overseas at a small college in Minnesota. I’m just home for the summer. There’s definitely more outward freedom in the states to wear what I want and do what I want. But I never feel completely at ease because there are only three Pakistanis at my school, and I feel that everything I do reflects on my family, my religion, and my country. I feel pressured to always be exceedingly polite and well behaved, even when I don’t feel like it. But in Pakistan I can relax more, even though the electricity sometimes goes out and I’ve already been mugged twice since I’ve been back. Because here I feel like my actions only reflect on me.”

(Hunza Valley, Pakistan)

Humans of New York in Pakistan (Part 4)

"When I'm bored, I call up Radio Pakistan and request a song, then I start dancing. I'll even dance on a rainy day. It's my way of expressing how grateful I am. I am the happiest man in Pakistan."

(Passu, Pakistan)

“Sorry, my English is not good. I’m here to climb mountains. I left my husband and sweet childrens back in Austria.” 

(Hunza Valley, Pakistan)

"I just found out we've been evicted. Right after you leave, I'm going to start packing up. I've got to find my family a new place to live by tonight. The landlady is a good woman. She's just in a tough situation. Her disabled son lost his home. I'll handle it. I've been through worse."

(Hunza Valley, Pakistan)

“My life is on repeat, every day. This area is surrounded by water, but my village has no access, so every morning I make a two-hour trek to the glacier so we have something to drink. During the day I work to maintain this road. I get $100 a month. In the winter, I make daily trips to cut wood so we can stay warm. I can’t leave this land because it’s all I have. There is no happiness or sadness in my life. Only survival.”

(Passu, Pakistan)

“He’s a very respectful husband. He’s different from a lot of the men in this region. He never stops me from voicing my opinions. And if he ever notices me walking down the road, there’s always hot tea and apricot cake waiting when I arrive.”

(Passu, Pakistan)

Usain Bolt's Greatest Miracle

We often compare Usain Bolt to Muhammad Ali - not for his political convictions but his charisma, for the effect he has had on his sport, for the impact he has made on the world outside it.

Coming into this World Championships 100m final on a dark, sweaty night in this giant ball of cold steel, it seemed that we might get the old showmanship but not the old magic.

The best we could hope for, with the twice-banned Justin Gatlin on a 28-race unbeaten run, with Bolt injured for much of the summer and stumbling in his semi-final, was a defeat to set up a future redemption.

Ali's defeat by Joe Frazier at the Garden in 1971, without which the Thrilla in Manilla could never have happened; Bolt knocked out in the Bird's Nest to set up the Revival in Rio in 12 months' time.

Yet it seemed too great a burden for a man who has looked not only mortal this summer but for the first time truly fallible.

Bolt had raced the 100m on just two days this season before arriving at the scene of his unforgettable coronation in 2008. So bad was his pelvic injury that not until late July did he record a time that hinted he could even be competitive in Beijing.

Ali could compensate for his declining speed and the power and fury of his rivals with ringcraft and tactics, by scheming and slipping and refusing to surrender until the other man had fallen.

The 100m does not afford those nuances. Nine-point-something seconds. Which man gets there first. There is no hiding place and no time for comebacks.

And yet Bolt, once again, proved us all fools.

His was an ugly heat and a horrible semi-final. He almost fell from his blocks and had to fight with eyes-wide desperation to even make the final.

What could he possibly do up against the relentless consistency of Gatlin? These have been the American's times this year: 9.74secs, 9.75, 9.75, 9.78. In his heat he ran 9.83, in his semi 9.77.

When Ali went to Zaire to take on the dead-eyed might of George Foreman, witnesses to the build-up spoke of the fearsome percussive force of the ascendant's right hook on the heavy bag.

So it was with Gatlin's times. Bang. Bang. Bang.

Gatlin's camp was upbeat in the afternoon before this showdown, heavy grey skies and dark thunder clouds over the city, a portent for the superstitious of what might lie ahead for the sport if a man who has twice been banned for drug offences were to win its premier event.

There was not just confidence but near certainty. There was talk of a 9.6-something. There was talk of how much the 33-year-old American wanted the lane next to the ailing Jamaican, so he could shock Bolt mentally in the first few metres before destroying him physically in the next 95. There was talk of a new era.

Even on the blocks Bolt seemed beset by self-doubt. There were the usual games - pretending to smooth his hair back, playing peekaboo into the camera's lens when the world looked closer - but also sweat on his brow and a flicker to his eyes.

Lots of people have never seen Bolt beaten. He has been - by Yohan Blake at the Jamaican trials in 2012, by Gatlin himself in Rome two years ago - but never when it really matters, never on the world stage.

This seemed the moment for the old narrative to fall apart. Instead it was Gatlin - relentless Gatlin, predictably brilliant Gatlin - who cracked and fell.

From the blocks Bolt was ahead. At 20 metres he was relaxed. By 40 he was driving, and by 60 Gatlin was tying up - technique coming apart, rhythm going, those 28 victories falling away in his slipstream as the yellow blur to his left refused to come back to him.

Ali beat Foreman through rope-a-dope and bravery and immense mental fortitude. Bolt found his own way: belief when others wondered, speed when we feared it gone, a strength in body and mind that Gatlin could not match.

Bolt's reaction time to the gun was six thousandths of a second faster than Gatlin's. By the end the margin had stretched only a little, to a single one-hundredth of a second. A fraction between them, a chasm in charisma and class.

This was never good vs evil, as some tried to bill it in advance. Gatlin is a dope cheat, not a serial killer or child abuser.

Neither is it a new plot line. There have always been dopers and deceit among the fastest men and women in the world, whether it is Ben Johnson in Seoul or Carl Lewis failing three tests before he even got to those 1988 Olympics, Marion Jones winning in Sydney 12 years later on a blend of EPO and human growth hormone or her one-time husband Tim Montgomery using the same to break the world record before ending his career in jail for dealing heroin on the streets.

Bolt said before Sunday that he couldn't save the sport on his own. He hasn't. There were three other one-time dopers in this final. Tyson Gay, Mike Rodgers and Asafa Powell send out a message of their own: cheat and you can still prosper, cut a deal and you can come back in the time it takes a torn hamstring to heal.

But on a night that could have ended with the sport no longer teetering on the abyss but plummeting over it, the victories of Bolt and, a few hours earlier, Jessica Ennis-Hill in the heptathlon, gave the believers something to cling to and the doubters reason to perhaps think again.

One day Bolt will be gone, and with him the greatest wonder of our sporting age. Athletics must learn to both flourish without him and win some of the battles he has fought almost singlehandedly over the past few years.

For now we should give thanks for him and Ennis-Hill: smiling assassins of cynicism, unstoppable reminders that sport can sometimes be about hard work and heroics as well as the darker, dispiriting side of human nature.

Frontier Days in Pakistan

As we sat in the departure lounge at Islamabad's Benazir Bhutto airport, waiting for our flight north to Chitral, Peter Oborne confessed, "The only thing that could go wrong is the Taliban sending a raiding party over the mountains." This is the kind of captain's warning that concentrates the mind.

But for a certain sort of Briton, the words "Northwest Frontier Province" retain a kind of intoxicating romance. This is the land of Kipling and George MacDonald Fraser, of Kim and Harry Flashman. These mountains - as impenetrable as they are magnificent - were once the backdrop to another Great Game, played between the Russian and British empires as they jostled for position and influence at the top of the world.

More recently, and at great price, the ghosts of Empire have returned to the mountains of the Hindu Kush. Few western tourists visit Chitral these days. The old hippie trail closed years ago and whereas before 9/11 as many as 4000 trekkers and holidaymakers might have visited Chitral every year, in 2014 little more than a tenth of that number travelled to these remote valleys. It is too far, too difficult, too dangerous.

But Pakistan, a cause and a country that's always on the verge of being lost but never quite is, repays a determined traveller many times over. No place could be more welcoming; no hospitality finer. No scenery grander either. And as our plane climbed over the Lowari Pass and began its steep descent into the Chitral Valley, all Pakistan's multiple difficulties seemed to fade away. We were the Wounded Tiger XI and we were here to play cricket on the old frontier of Empire.

---------------------------

Humans of New York in Pakistan (Part 3)

"The most important thing about swimming is to not be afraid."
"What advice do you have for people who are afraid?"
"Just don't be afraid. Or you'll drown."

(Hunza Valley, Pakistan)

"It’s a difficult time to be a socialist. The left has been depleted everywhere else, but in Pakistan it’s been decimated. I belong to an organization called the Awami Worker’s Party, and right now is a crucial moment for us. We are trying to resist slum evictions in Islamabad. There is no affordable housing in the city, so servants and laborers huddle together in informal settlements called kachi abadis, which have no water or electricity. Recently, the Islamabad high court has issued an eviction notice, and the land is being sold out beneath them. They are defending their actions by saying that terrorists hide in the slums. Right now an operation is underway to remove the slum inhabitants by force."

(Hunza Valley, Pakistan)

“One beautiful thing about advocating for the poor is that feminist ideals are advanced naturally. In order to fight eviction from their homes, women who patriarchy has kept secluded have been allowed to emerge into public life. Their husbands have been forced to choose their homes over their idea of honor. Even within my organization, the patriarchy is being broken down. Energetic young females are beginning to share influence with older male members. When you’re in a tough fight for a common cause, you can’t afford to be choosy about where the best ideas are coming from.”

(Hunza Valley, Pakistan)

"What's your goat's name?"
"Goat."

(Hunza Valley, Pakistan)

"When I was working on my doctorate, I discovered on the last day that my thesis was ten pages short, and he left his own office to run whatever errands I needed. He didn't even have a car. He took a rickshaw. I had a dream when I was deciding whether or not to marry him. I was falling through the air, but I didn't feel any fear, because I knew that he would catch me."

(Hunza Valley, Pakistan)

Humans of New York in Pakistan (Part 2)

"There were no paved roads here when I was a boy. We had to walk for 3 days to get to places that only take 2 hours now. There was never any money for school. We had no wealth or property. Beginning at six years old, I cleaned dishes at a restaurant until 9 pm. Then I would go to sleep and start again. All my money went to my parents. I'd hear stories about cities and airplanes, but they seemed like fairy tales. I'd dream of visiting these places, but before I could get too far, I'd be hungry again. So I grew up thinking that the entire world was like our valley. I thought all children lived like me. Then one day when I turned 16, I had the opportunity to visit to the city of Gilgit. I couldn't believe it. I saw a boy eating at a restaurant with his father. He was my age. He was wearing a school uniform. I broke down in tears."

(Hunza Valley, Pakistan)

“I wanted to be a singer. I loved music. I practiced all the time and worked on writing songs for myself. I loved sad songs especially. But the community put so much pressure on my mother. My father passed away when I was twelve. And everyone kept telling my mother that a girl could not be something like a singer without her father’s permission. My father wouldn’t have minded. He was always so supportive of me. But my mom was so worried about what people would think. She begged me to stop. She grew so nervous that I finally told her, ‘It's OK, Mom. I’ll stop.’ Now I just listen to music. It’s too sad for me to sing anymore.”

(Hunza Valley, Pakistan)

"What's your favorite thing about your sister?"
"Her happiness."

(Hunza Valley, Pakistan)

"I grew up in the village behind me. It's very beautiful here but there are few opportunities. Whenever I think about my children's prospects, I grow sad. I have nothing to provide for them so they'll probably end up like me, taking whatever work they can just to survive. My parents died when I was ten. I went to live with my aunt and my uncle. They never gave me grief. They never made me feel bad. But they were also poor, and every time we sat down to eat, I felt like I was stealing from their family. The guilt grew so bad that when I turned 15, I tried to build a shed for myself. I lived there for about six months. But then the winter came. And eventually the cold grew stronger than the guilt."

(Hunza Valley, Pakistan)

"I want to be a chef."
"What's the best part about being a chef?"
"You can make your own dessert."

(Hunza Valley, Pakistan)

Remembering the brave young Rashid Minhas (Nishan E Haider)

Rashid Minhas, who remains the youngest officer to receive the Nishan-e-Haider award and is the only recipient of the highest honour of gallantry from Pakistan Air Force. was born on 17th February 1951, this gallant son of soil got his early education from the city of lights, Karachi.

On reaching the age of 17, he joined Pakistan Airforce Academy in Risalpur as a Flying Cadet. He graduated from the academy and passed out as General Duty Pilot in 1971. He was posted to PAF base Masroor to hone his craft as a fighter pilot. He successfully completed his training in August 1971. These were tense times in the history of the country and times of such magnitude require men of even greater substance. Needless to say Rashid Minhas rose to the occasion when the duty called.

On the fateful morning of 20th August, Rashid Minhas got into his aircraft and got clearance for take-off by Air traffic controller. He was readying his aircraft for take-off when his trainer, the traitor-to-be, Matiur Rehman, signalled the young officer’s T-33 Trainer Jet to halt. This raised a red flag in the young officer’s mind who thought the act to be an irregularity as the protocol dictated otherwise. But the 20 year old thought nothing of it as his ‘instructor’ climbed abroad his aircraft under the pretense of ‘observation’.

Rashid Minhas’ initial judgement proved right as the backseat member of his 2 crew trainer aircraft transmitted a message via radio to his comrades back in Karachi to take his family to the Indian High Commission and seek refuge there. On learning the nefarious plot of the Judas clad in the uniform of his beloved country Rashid Minhas notified Maripur Control Tower of the incident.

The traitor, however, overpowered the officer by employing chloroform from behind in an literalc act of backstab and cowardice. The young officer lost consciousness soon as the effect of the drug took its toll. The spirit of Rashid Minhas was far from broken. As his captive took control and changed the direction of the plane to Indian territory, the young lad fought mind over matter to regain consciousness and sent repeated messages on radio. The enemy territory edged closely by the moment and even in the heat of the situation, Rashid Minhas knew that the aircraft could not be maneuvered back to the base.

It is said that God reserves the toughest battles for his best and such was the case when Rashid Minhas decided that he would rather see the aircraft burned to the ground than to be in the hands of the enemy. As the crossing of the border remained 32 kilometers, Rashid Minhas turned his control yoke downwards to steer his plane to the ground. His plane crashed down in Thatta, Sindh. The gallant officer braved martyrdom at 11:45 hours 20th August 1971.

Rashid Minhas showed interest in aviation and aircrafts from a young age. Little did anybody know that the young boy, whose family hailed from Jammu Kashmir would achieve a height of greatness beyond any elevation an aircraft could reach. He was awarded the highest gallantry award, Nishan-e-Haider posthumously.

Humans of New York in Pakistan (Part 1)

Continuing in the tradition of last summer, I’m going to be travelling during the month of August and posting stories from overseas. Only this time I’ll be visiting two countries instead of trying to span the world, because that was exhausting, and it also caused my poor senile dog to forget my existence. The first stop is Pakistan. Hope you enjoy.

Human of New York in the other Pakistan

Written By: Hana Wali for Dawn News. Link to the original article is given below.

( http://www.dawn.com/news/1199823/hony-the-deleted-images-from-pakistan )

Quite a few pictures from Pakistan on the popular photoblog Humans of New York’s (HONY) have recently been recovered.

According to sources, Brandon Stanton, who was recently in Pakistan publishing heart-warming images from the country on HONY’s Facebook page, had deleted a few sets of images.

While the pictures that have been published on the HONY page are being praised for promoting an alternative Pakistan, these unseen images give us even more insight into the country’s hidden treasures.

“What’s your most favourite thing in the world?”

“My mother left this for me in her will.”

(Karachi, Pakistan)

“Tell me about yourself”

“Right now… I am a Mughal Princess. Sometimes that’s all a girl needs to be.”

“What about politics?”

“Politics is what made me feel like a Mughal Princess. The dress just helps complete the story.”

(Karachi, Pakistan)

“The best moments in our lives take place when I get to show her all the times my face is printed in a newspaper. I don’t want to boast but I’ve managed to stay in the news because of one thing or the other fairly regularly. Even the Prime Minister’s face isn’t printed as often as mine.”

(Bani Gala, Pakistan)

"Just like Pakistan, I have been waiting for a white blogger with absolutely no clue about how things function in our neck of the woods, to come and show my softer side as well."

(Nine Zero [via Skype], Pakistan)

"Sometimes I feel bullied and there's sadness in my heart. That's when I try to ensure that I have burned a good number of tyres and Israeli flags. I'm not a pyromaniac or anything... the flames just soothe me."

(Peshawar, Pakistan)

“I have always been called a lota because there's a coolness and freshness about everything that I do. It's the biggest compliment anyone can give someone in Pakistan. Because a lota is what you need in your loneliest hours, when you can't even ask your closest people for help.”

(Rawalpindi, Pakistan)

"Pakistanis really look up to me. I'm called Mr. 10% and that's barely the amount of effort they put into things. Can you imagine what this country could do had I been more than 10%? The possibilities make me smile."

(Bilawal House, Pakistan)

"I orchestrated the 1857 mutiny 91 years before I was born."

(Multan, Pakistan)

“The thing I hate the most is when I'm not allowed finish something. Whether it's my bowl of bong paye or my term as elected prime minister."

(Raiwind, Pakistan)

Happy 68th Birthday Pakistan

Written By: Komal Aziz.

68 years ago, today we gained something so huge and unbelievable, something our people gave their lives for. We were free, of all the hardships our people had to bear.

68 years ago, today Pakistan was created. "Pakistan" was born, gifted to our people by Allah. We were given a nation of our own, a country to call home.

Today, I look at the situation of this country and i can't help but weep at what has happened to Our nation. We are losing grip of the real Pakistan that was formed all these years ago.

But, 68 years ago, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah founded this nation, based on his belief that we deserved to be free. He believed in us, in Pakistanis. He believed that we were strong enough to bear any hardship, avoid any obstacle, solve any problem thrown our way.He believed in Pakistan. And even though we are lost and helpless today, I believe in Pakistan, I believe in us.

All the lives and battles we lost, we are still here, and we are surviving. I read an article once, saying that Pakistan is the bravest nation of the world. And it must be said that yes, it is true. Pakistan is the bravest nation to ever exist. And i am proud to be a part of it.

One day, we will stop surviving, and we will start living. One day, we will return to being the Pakistan our Quaid created. One day, we will rise again.

As Muhammad Ali Jinnah wisely put it, "There is no power on Earth that can undo Pakistan."

So today, lets pay our respects to the father of this nation, and his ideology. And remember, that we owe a lot to him and Pakistan.