Posts Tagged ‘Mach’

One dies as blasts hit ATM machines, rail tracks in Sindh

HYDERABAD  – A security guard was killed and at least six people including a policeman were injured in series of blasts aimed at targetting National Bank branches in various districts of Sindh on Wednesday. According to police, unknown miscreants through series of blasts rocked many cities of Sindh creating panic and sense of uncertainty among the residents besides injuring six people. …

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Series of blasts hit govt banks in Sindh

At least a security guard was killed in a series of blasts outside National Bank branches in Sindh, officials said on Wednesday.
According to police, at least six other people were injured in the 15 blasts that hit Sindh early Wednesday morning.
Unknown miscreants targeted ATM machines in different cities of Sindh including Hyderabad.
Citizens came under the grip of fear and panic as a result of …

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‘Iceman Oetzi’ lived for a while after arrow wound

A file photo taken on February 28, 2011 shows the mummy of an iceman named Oetzi, discovered on 1991 in the Italian Schnal Valley glacier, displayed at the Archeological Museum of Bolzano during an official presentation of the reconstrution. – AFP Photo

PARIS — Oetzi, the 5,300-year-old “Iceman” mummy of the Alps, lived for some time after being shot in the back by an arrow, scientists said on Tuesday after using forensic technology to analyse his preserved blood.

Contrary to a leading theory, Oetzi did not expire immediately from his wounds, they reported in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, published by Britain’s academy of sciences.

Scientists led by Albert Zink of the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, southern Germany used nano-scale methods to probe the oldest blood known to modern science, preserved by thousands of years of alpine chill.

Using a so-called atomic force microscope able to resolve images just a few nanometers (billionths of a metre) across, they identified corpuscles with the classic doughtnut shape of healthy blood cells.

“To be absolutely sure that we were not dealing with pollen, bacteria or even a negative imprint of a blood cell, but indeed with actual blood cells, we used a second analytical method,” Zink said.

They deployed Raman spectroscopy, in which refracted light from a laser beam gives chemical clues about a sample.

This showed the presence of haemoglobin and fibrin, which are key components in blood clotting, at the arrow wound on Oetzi’s back.

“Because fibrin is present in fresh wounds and then degrades, the theory that Oetzi died straight after he had been injured by the arrow, as had once been mooted, and not some days after, can no longer be upheld,” Zink said.

Oetzi’s remains were discovered by two German hikers in September 1991 in the Oetztal Alps in South Tyrol, northern Italy, 3,210 metres (10,500 feet) above sea level.

Scientists have used high-tech, non-invasive diagnostics and genomic sequencing to penetrate his mysterious past.

These efforts have determined Oetzi died around the age of 45, was about 1.60 metres (five foot, three inches) tall and weighed 50 kilos (110 pounds).

He suffered a violent death, with an arrow severing a major blood vessel between the rib cage and the left scapula, as well as a laceration on the hand.

According to DNA analysis presented in February, Oetzi had brown eyes and hair and was allergic to milk products.

This supports the theory that despite the increasing spread of agriculture and dairying at the time, lactose intolerance was still common.

According to a theory aired in 2010 by an Italian archaeologist, based on seasonal pollen found in his stomach contents and at the burial site, Oetzi did not die at the spot where his remains were found. Instead, he was only ceremonially interred there.

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Via DAWN.com

Tribal insurgency: Paramilitary troops kill four ‘Baloch insurgents’

“Acting on a tip-off, a Frontier Corps (FC) party raided a state-run school, which was destroyed by last year’s floods, in the Gaybun area, about 30 kilometres from Turbat city, before dawn on Friday,” an official of the Balochistan Levies told The Express Tribune.

The troops asked the suspected militants hiding inside to surrender. However, the militants opened fire on the raiding party.

“In the retaliatory fire from paramilitary troops, four suspects were killed,” a spokesperson for the Frontier Corps told The Express Tribune. “Another seven suspects were arrested.”

The FC spokesperson claimed that a huge cache of arms and ammunition was recovered from the deserted school which the militants were using as a hideout. Sources said the militants could be from one of the Baloch insurgent groups blamed for mounting attacks on security forces in Makuran division.

The bodies were shifted to a state-run hospital in Turbat where they were identified as Hassan s/o Sher Mohammad, Aslam s/o Shahsawar, Ali s/o Mohammad and Adam.

According to official sources, the suspects were wanted for their involvement in several attacks on security forces in Kech district.

The Baloch National Front (BNF) disputed the claim and alleged that security forces raided a house, killed four innocent Baloch civilians and whisked away several others. The party appealed for a shutterdown strike in Mekran, better known as Makuran, for Saturday to protest the killings.

Separately, the FC spokesperson claimed that the security forces have seized a huge cache of arms and ammunition during search operations in Naushki and Nasirabad districts. The haul included 11 small machineguns (SMG), three light machineguns (LMG), 14 rifles and 9 shotguns.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 28^th, 2012.

Flashback April 27: Shoania, Navy bus attacks and not being Dubai

Flashback is an experimental daily feature looking back at the top articles on this date featured on The Express Tribune website.

April 27, 2011:

Bomb hits navy bus in Karachi, killing five

A roadside bomb hit a bus carrying Pakistani navy officials in the port city of Karachi on Thursday, killing five people and wounding at least seven, officials said, the third attack on the navy in less than a week.

Rapists have rights — in Pakistan

Columnist Sami Shah takes on Mubashir Lucman over his show featuring Mukhtaran Mai.

“Mubashir Lucman hates rape victims. He can’t stand them, exhausted as he is by their constant suffering and seeking of justice and maligning of innocent rapists. It just makes him sick to his stomach.”

April 27, 2010:

Shoania Valima cut short!

Shoaib Malik and Sania Mirza’s second valima reception in Lahore ended abruptly on Tuesday evening as the wedding hall witnessed a string of problems due to the sheer number of guests.

At least we are not Dubai

Columnist George Fulton decimates Dubai.

“It has imported all the worst aspects of western culture (excessive consumption, environmental defilement) without importing any of its benefits (democracy, art). This is a city designed for instant gratification a hedonistic paradise for gluttons to indulge in fast food, fast living and fast women.”

Quetta in focus: ‘Terrorists killed in encounter belonged to LeJ’

QUETTA: Two terrorists killed in an encounter near Hazara Town on Monday have been identified as key members of the banned outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ).

The group has claimed responsibility for a number of attacks targeting Shia Muslims in the province.

“They belonged to LJ and were identified as Hafiz Naseer and Hafiz Wazir Ali alias Ali Sher Haideri, the spokesperson of the banned outfit,” city police officer Amir Mohammad Dasti told The Express Tribune on Tuesday, adding that the government had earlier announced a bounty on Hafiz Naseer.

According to police, the LJ spokesperson had introduced himself as Ali Sher Haideri to the media while claiming responsibilities for several sectarian target killings in Quetta.

“Several cell phone numbers of media outfits were recovered from them,” an official told the media.

According to official sources, a DNA sample of the terrorists had also been sent to Islamabad to confirm their identities while their bodies were being kept at a morgue in Bolan Medical College (BMC) Teaching Hospital. The relatives of the suspects had identified the bodies as Ali Murad, a resident of Mach and Gul Jan, a resident of Dalbandin.

Earlier, Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani announced half a million rupees for the police party which took part in the operation, in addition to promising them a promotion to next rank.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 25^th, 2012.

Regime fire kills 28 civilians in Syria’s Hama

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An image grab taken from a video uploaded on youtube on April 23, 2012 shows smoke rising following bombardment from Syrian security forces in the city of Hama. -AFP Photo

DAMASCUS: Syrian troops killed 28 civilians in the central city of Hama on Monday, monitors said, as UN military observers toured protest centres near the capital and both the European Union and the United States imposed new sanctions.

The persistent bloodshed 11 days into a promised ceasefire sparked growing criticism from opposition activists of the fledgling UN mission which still numbers just eight observers out of a planned initial deployment of 30.

Government troops strafed Hama’s Arbaeen neighbourhood and its environs with light and heavy machineguns, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Video footage posted online by activists showed mortar rounds hitting the area with plumes of smoke rising skywards. The UN observers visited several rebel suburbs near the capital and were met by thousands of protesters demanding the collapse of the regime.

Amateur video posted by activists on YouTube showed four of the unarmed observers in blue helmets walking in Douma, a northern suburb of Damascus, surrounded by a huge crowd waving Syria independence flags.

“The people demand the fall of the regime,” some chanted while others called for the arming of the rebel Free Syrian Army.

Monitors also visited the town of Zabadani, 50 kilometres (30 miles) northwest of the capital, where regime forces and rebel fighters have clashed repeatedly in past months. Fares Mohamed, an activist in Zabadani, said the observers’ visit lasted barely a half hour.

“They refused to head to a location less than a kilometre (mile) from the town to see tanks hidden by the regime,” said Mohamed, who was reached via Skype.

Two members of the observer advance team on Sunday set up base in the central city of Homs, scene of some of the fiercest fighting between government troops and rebels since the outbreak of the 13-month revolt against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

The official state news agency SANA said the observers toured the battered city’s Al-Waer neighbourhood on Monday.

UN leader Ban Ki-moon has decided that the deployment of 300 ceasefire monitors in Syria can start next week, a UN spokesman told AFP on Monday.

Following a UN Security Council resolution that allowed the mission, Ban was left to make an “assessment” as to whether it was safe for the monitors to go. “The decision has been taken” and the monitors should start arriving next week deputy UN spokesman Eduardo del Buey said.

Activists have been sceptical of the UN mission, saying the regime was simply buying time and was not committed to the ceasefire plan.

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Via DAWN.com

Countrywide Polio vaccination campaign to kick off from Monday

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The file image shows a health worker in the field for anti-polio campaign. – AP Photo

ISLAMABAD: Begum Shahnaz Wazir Ali, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Social Sector Polio Vaccination and focal person on Polio Eradition, has said the three-day polio vaccination expedition campaign will be started from Monday.

Talking to Radio Pakistan, she said polio teams will go house to house to administer polio drops to every child below the age of five years.

She said about 33.4 million children will be administered polio vaccination during the campaign to get rid of the fatal disease.

She said the government machinery at every level will coordinate with the concerned staff in this expedition.

She added that Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani has advised Governor Khaber PakhtunKwa and Prime Minister Azas Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) to accord top priority to the campaign for ensuring that not a single child may deprive of vaccination.

Prime Minister also advised them to supervise vaccination expedition by themselves and get independent report from different areas to ensure vaccination of every child in far flung areas, adding, polio vaccination teams will try to reach even difficult areas of Faderally Administered Tribal Areas with the help of security personnels.

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Via DAWN.com

Dominant Vettel wins Bahrain Grand Prix

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Red Bull Formula One driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany punches the air after winning the Bahrain F1 Grand Prix at the Sakhir circuit in Manama April 22, 2012. -Reuters Photo

MANAMA: Defending double world champion Sebastian Vettel won Sunday’s controversial Bahrain Grand Prix with a dominant drive in his Red Bull, the 24-year-old German controlling the race from start to finish.

Vettel claimed his first victory of the season and the 22nd of his career with a near-flawless drive from pole position to the chequered flag to come home ahead of Kimi Raikkonen, the 2007 champion, and his Lotus team-mate Romain Grosjean.

It was Grosjean’s first podium finish in Formula One and Raikkonen’s fifth and Vettel’s first win since the Indian Grand Prix last year.

Australian Mark Webber finished fourth in the second Red Bull, confirming their return to form after a lacklustre start to the year.

Vettel’s win lifted him to the top of the drivers’ standings with 53 points ahead of Hamilton on 49 and Webber one point behind. He was the fourth different winner in four races so far in the 2012 season.

German Nico Rosberg, who claimed his maiden victory for the Mercedes team at last weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix, finished fifth ahead of Briton Paul Di Resta of Force India and two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Ferrari.

Lewis Hamilton, who led the championship before Bahrain, came home eighth after a troubled race for McLaren, ahead of Felipe Massa in the second Ferrari and, amazingly, seven-times champion ichael Schumacher in the second Mercedes. Schumacher had started from 22nd on the grid.

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Via DAWN.com

Think carrots, not candy as school snack, group suggests

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In this file photo, a teacher is showing a chart to the pupils explaining the importance of fruits in healthy diet. – AP Photo

WASHINGTON:  Junk food may soon be hard to buy at American public schools as the US government readies new rules requiring healthier foods to be sold beyond the cafeteria – a move most parents support, according to a poll released on Thursday.

With childhood obesity rising, the survey found most people agreed the chips, soda and candy bars students buy from vending machines or school stores in addition to breakfast and lunch are not nutritious, and they support a national standard for foods sold at schools.

The findings from the advocacy group Kids’ Safe and Healthful Foods Project came as the federal government prepares to roll out a nationwide standard that may set up another battle among health experts, schools and the food industry.

The US Department of Agriculture is expected to issue its guidelines by June, according to some experts. These could limit the amount of sugar, salt and fat foods sold at schools could contain.

Agriculture Department Under Secretary Kevin Concannon said an important step in addressing childhood obesity is to help make the “right choice an easy choice” while at school.

“We look forward to working with parents, teachers, school food service professionals and the food industry to craft workable guidelines so that healthier options are available for our students,” he said.

Many states have already enacted their own laws mandating  healthier non-cafeteria food options.

Jessica Donze Black, a dietician who leads the Kids’ Safe and Healthful Foods Project, said the results show growing support for updating standards that surfaced in 1979.

“What has changed in the last 30 years is that the childhood obesity epidemic has more than tripled,” she said. “The school environment has also changed. … Today, there are a lot of other places throughout the day that compete with kids eating a healthy school meal.”

Support for higher standards

Eighty per cent of the 1,010 adults polled said they would support nutritional standards limiting the calories, fat and sodium in such foods. Seventeen per cent would oppose it.

Most also agreed there are now few healthy options. Just 5 per cent of adults said vending machines offered totally or mostly healthy choices compared with 10 per cent for school stores and 21 per cent for a la carte lunch lines.

Changes to school foods may be controversial. New standards for more fruits, vegetables and whole grains in traditional school meals announced in January drew scrutiny when lawmakers blocked limits to french fries and counted pizza as a vegetable because it contains tomato sauce.

Efforts to give students more healthy options to help fight childhood obesity have historically faced pressure from food and beverage companies and even from schools themselves, who rely on such food sales for extra cash.

But health experts, pediatricians and other advocates say that is changing as more companies and school districts come on board at a time when more than one-third of U.S. children are overweight or obese.

“Most people accept that soda, candy bars and other unhealthy foods just don’t deserve a place in school on a regular basis,” said Margo Wootan, head of nutrition policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

She said there are still concerns that members of Congress and industry lobbyists could water down the proposal.

The American Academy of Pediatrics’ Laura Jana said new rules are imperative now that kids consume more than half of their daily calories in school. More students are getting most of their calories from snacks and drinks, not meals, she said.

“To me, it’s a no-brainer. …  They can’t make that healthy choice when we stick all those temptations under their noses,” said Jana, a pediatrician based in Omaha, Nebraska and co-author of “Food Fights: Winning the Nutritional Challenges of Parenthood Armed with Insight, Humor and a Bottle of Ketchup.”

Juice, Granola Bars

Food and beverage makers have expanded their portfolios to include juice, granola bars and other healthier products.

Vending machine companies focused on nutritious offerings have also sprung up.

US drink companies have already taken voluntary steps to keep sodas out of some schools and their trade group says this has cut calories consumed from beverages in schools by 88 per cent.

Christopher Gindlesperger, spokesman for the American Beverage Association, said its voluntary guidelines are a good model for the government to follow.

“It’s a standard that’s already in place that is working. It strikes a balance,” he said.

ABA’s guidelines eliminate soda in elementary and middle schools but allow diet sodas and low-calorie sports drinks in high school.

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Via DAWN.com

Big B ‘frustrated’ with frequent stomach pain

Amitabh Bachchan may have returned to work after his two abdominal surgeries, but pain isn’t leaving the megastar. The veteran suffered stomach pain again during a dubbing session for Ram Gopal Varma’s “Department”. Big B, as Amitabh is fondly called by his fans, says the constant pain is frustrating. “Six a.m. up to dub for ‘Department’, but stomach strain while doing that brings back shooting …

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Search operation: Excavation work accelerated

According to a military official from the engineer corps taking part in the operation, excavation work at Giari has been speeded up in the face of landslide fears following a rise in temperature. Already, the temperature had been higher than normal over the last four days, he said.

In addition, the official said, protective measures were being undertaken and concerned authorities were notified hour-by-hour in this regard.

At the same time, the search operation continues at all sites with all available resources. Some 495 people, including 83 civilians, along with 29 engineering machines are employed at the sites.

Rescuers have managed to complete tunnel access from five points, despite harsh weather conditions. Digging was also commenced at four new points on Thursday. The military official informed The Express Tribune that in addition to the latest equipment, explosives were also being used to break through rock.

According to an ISPR update on the rescue operation, ground penetrating radars along with relevant experts had been dispatched to Giari. The seven-member Norwegian team, meanwhile, has carried out a survey and is preparing a map of the area. The team remains in Giari and is assisting Pakistan Army in the operation. The team of US experts, however, left Giari on Wednesday after completing all its tasks.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 20^th, 2012.

George Clooney to make Obama the $6 million dinner man

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Hollywood actor, George Clooney. — Photo AFP

WASHINGTON: Hollywood A-lister George Clooney will host a $6 million fundraising dinner for Barack Obama at his Los Angeles home as the president fills his campaign coffers to battle Mitt Romney.

The event, on May 10, will feature in the “Dinner with Barack” campaign which the president’s political braintrust dreamed up to drum up small donations and fire up grassroots supporters.

Obama fans are invited to enter the contest and donate as little as $3 dollars on a webpage titled “Obama, Clooney and You” featuring pictures of the Oscar winning star and the president. Lucky winners earn a spot at the dinner.

“George Clooney is doing his part to help re-elect the president, but he knows that it’s grassroots supporters like you who will decide this election,”the website reads.

“That’s why he’d like you to invite you to donate for a chance to be a part of this event.” A campaign official said the A-list dinner, likely to be the most star-studded night of the Obama campaign so far, was expected to draw 150 supporters paying a cool $40,000 each for a ticket.

Obama and Clooney last met in March when the star of “Oceans Eleven” and “The Descendants” visited the White House to brief the president on a clandestine visit he had made to war-torn Sudan.

Clooney also attended a state dinner for British Prime Minister David Cameron.

The president periodically visits California, especially Hollywood and Silicon Valley, where there is a strong base of committed, famous and wealthy supporters to help him raise millions of dollars ahead of November’s election.

Exclusive events for the wealthy, like the one at Clooney’s house, are often paired with cheaper, larger and more open fundraisers with less well-heeled supporters who get fired up by Obama’s campaign speech.

Obama, who is rebuilding his national political machine to battle the all-but-certain Republican nominee Mitt Romney, announced Monday he had raised $53 million for his reelection effort in March.

He has now taken in over $200 million for his campaign and up until the end of February, he had spent $75 million, much of it on his new grassroots infrastructure.

Obama will be aiming to beat his total of $745 million in the 2008 election, which also included the long and expensive Democratic primary battle against his then foe and now Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

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Via DAWN.com

Power pylon blown up in Dera Allahyar

QUETTA – Militants blew up 220KV power pylon near Dera Allahyar area of Jaffarabad district on Wednesday.
According to sources, unidentified armed men had fitted explosives to an electricity tower of 220-KV that went off, damaging the pylon.
Power supply to Sibi, Kachi, Machh, Quetta and some other districts was suspended. Following the blast, the personnel of law enforcement agencies rushed to …

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Toxic gases hamper search at Gayari base

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Army personnel using heavy machinery to search for avalanche victims in the Siachen Glacier. — AFP Photo

ISLAMABAD: Toxic gases Tuesday hampered the search for 138 people buried by an avalanche at a high-altitude Pakistan army camp, as teams from the United States and Norway arrived at the site to help operations.

A huge wall of snow crashed into the remote Siachen Glacier base high in the mountains in disputed Kashmir more than a week ago, smothering an area of one square kilometre.

Rescuers have dug tunnels in the hard mass of snow and ice to try to reach the buried soldiers and civilians at the Gayari base, but toxic gases have built up inside one of them, the military said in a statement.

A rise in the temperature has increased the risk of further snow slides, the statement said, forcing workers on the site to take extra precautions.

Specialist teams from Norway and the United States arrived at Gayari, while Swiss and German teams have returned home after helping the efforts.

Search teams are looking for the trapped soldiers and civilians at six different points on the site, around 4,000 metres in the mountains.

More than 450 rescuers are working at the site near the de facto border with India in the militarised region of Kashmir, though experts have said there is virtually no chance of finding any survivors.

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Via DAWN.com

Midnight knocks turn blood into water

-Illustration by Feica.

“What shall I tell my children when they ask, ‘Dad, how was home?’ I want them to learn to love before they learn to hate. So I will share my story with you, not them. Not until they are old enough to understand.”

This was Dawar, a political refugee, and a member of Virginia’s Alif Laila Tavern of storytellers. And this is his story.

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A midnight knock wakes fear in the heart, chills blood and numbs the mind. May God save you from midnight knocks! But you can’t escape them if you visit our city.

Our city has no name or maybe it has many. Take any name from dozens of cities spread across the globe and it will fit the description.

In our city, demons stalk people in sleepy winter nights and take out their hearts. And a blind, faceless hatred rules the streets. This hatred is unfathomable and alive. It spits fire and smoke, sucks blood and lives on human flesh.

The hatemongers rule over the city with such viciousness that blood thins to water as they look into your eyes. Once trapped, you also learn to hate. You fear all, so you hate all.

Love and understanding do not come easy to a land laden with poverty and sucked barren by centuries of misuse. Misunderstanding sprouts like weeds in this soil and slowly  grows into hatred — pure, blind hatred.

And that’s why most of the killings in our city are done by our own, not outsiders. It is always a brother against a brother. A friend against a friend. A neighbor against a neighbor. They hunt each other, lust each other’s blood. Sometimes the killers wear uniforms. Sometimes they don’t. They can kill you for many reasons: being in the wrong ethnic neighborhood, praying in someone else’s place of worship or simply because you were the nearest target.

Dozens of ethnic and religious groups live in our city but the main division is between “them” and “us.” The definition of them and us varies from place to place. In one neighborhood, you could be one of us and in another one of them. In one mosque, you are among us, in another among them. It is so confusing that no matter how hard you try, you can always make a mistake.

There are some who don’t accept this divide. I still remember a man from the other ethnic group who lived in our neighborhood instead of somewhere where his group was a majority. When the riots began – and riots are common in our part of the world – he refused to move out and go to his people. He continued to live among “them,” trusting those he had lived with for decades. But when the midnight-knockers went to his door, none of his neighbors came to his rescue. A few gunshots and it were all over. In the morning, everybody said he was good but foolish. He should have moved to his people before the riots started.

This hatred is compounded by extreme poverty, overpopulation and lack of civic facilities. Millions live here, but our city does not even have a proper transport system. The buses are few and uncomfortable. Trains do not run, at least not on time. The roads are bad, in some places so bad they are beyond any repair. The streets are narrow and often dark. Most people can’t afford private transport.

The city has no drainage system, so when rain comes it floods the whole city. Except a few posh areas, most neighborhoods have open drains. They remain clogged with mud and filth, constantly heaving forth an unbearable stench. The municipality bins overflow with rubbish and are hardly ever emptied.

The city’s economy cannot provide jobs to all who live here and to those who come from other areas looking for jobs that do not exist. Most neighborhoods have large numbers of unemployed, both educated and half-educated. Bored and frustrated, they are always ready to fight with anyone willing to oblige them.

The young and the old, the male and the female, the noble and the wicked, the devils and the angels, all live together in half-lit, congested, and poor neighborhoods which offer little more than worries and diseases. The most common diseases are those of the stomach, caused by unclean water, adulterated food and malnutrition.

But even more common are intolerance and anger stemming from uncertainty and bad living conditions.

Children born here grow into frustrated adults. As they grow, their desires grow with them, but absence of a healthy outlet to fulfill these desires plays havoc with their bodies and minds. Most of them look to be born old. Even the teenagers wear a deadly serious look, far beyond their age.

Growing up in a city like this is not easy. When I was young, I often walked in the streets after midnight to calm my nerves. But this was before the present madness caught the city and turned some people into beasts.

In those days, we could walk in the streets at night and return home unharmed. We could hear our footsteps rather than the gunfire that echoes the streets now. The midnight knocks had not yet started and the bloodthirsty beasts had not yet begun to prowl our streets.

The echo of one’s own feet in a dark deserted street after midnight invokes fear in a peaceful city too. But I liked that echo. I liked listening to it. I enjoyed walking through densely populated neighborhood after most people had gone to bed, leaving the streets to
mangy dogs and me.

The dogs were so wracked with fatigue and hunger that the feeble sound they made attempting to bark did not intimidate anyone. Not even someone as cowardly as I was.

I liked walking late because the night adds a mysterious romance even to ordinary sounds. I loved listening to the sound of a distant train or a bus brought to me in the silence of the night, sounds that drown in the commotion of the day.

I also liked listening to the tired, worn-out engines of distant trucks groaning under their heavy loads. It seemed as if they were protesting against being put to work so late at night. They sound very different from the well-oiled engines of newer vehicles. To me old trucks are like horse carts. And like the animals that drive these carts, they seem to have a soul of their own.

In fact, their drivers will be offended if I describe these trucks as mere machines. For them, they are living beings, each having a body and a soul. They dress them up with colorful lights, plastic flowers, colorful flags and religious signs and symbols.

When their vehicles are ill, the drivers tie amulets around their necks and also pray for their fast recovery. They do go to motor mechanics but only after saying their prayers.

Hearing these trucks at night also reminded me of journeys I had taken and places I had seen. Also of places I had not seen but hoped to see one day.

When I heard the constant noise a train makes while struggling against loose, rusty tracks, I would visualise the faces of tired passengers in a dirty old compartment, trying to sleep on rough wooden planks designed to break their ribs.

Even now, my imagination works faster when the streets are deserted and everybody within sight is sleeping. If I listen hard, I can hear their dreams tiptoeing around them in a hushed silence.

In those days, I had a sharper imagination. So when I went out at night I watched my steps and suppressed the desire to sing loudly to fight my fear of darkness. I also tried not to hit uprooted bricks lest I disturbed the silence.

As I turned into a narrow street, the silence spoke to me. The wind picked up the whisper of a newly married couple. The words were inaudible. The female voice was weaker than that of the male. The wind also mixed the rustling of curtains with the whisper.

Those were very poor neighborhoods where some houses did not have proper doors. Instead, people would hang a piece of cloth on the entrance to protect their privacy. But it seldom worked. When the wind blew, it exposed much.

I was in my late teens and so were most of my friends. No, our teenage time was not full of dreams – we could not afford to live in dreams. Realities of our lives were too crude to afford us this luxury.

It does not mean that we did not dream. We did. But our dreams grew out of our surroundings: narrow streets, open sewers, hellishly hot small houses and a sense of helplessness that was like a hand, holding us down, preventing us from coming out of our holes.

But sometimes we allowed our imagination to run wild, especially when dreaming about women. Our fantasies knew no limits. We fantasized about every woman we saw, whether in the bazaar or on the television screen.

Our local market was more like a traditional oriental bazaar, but we preferred to call it a market – perhaps to feel equal with the city’s posh areas which had Western-style supermarkets rather than bazaars.

Our bazaar also was a recreation center for the entire community. It started with two rows of stalls selling newspapers and flowers, which led to a chaotic market where butchers sold meat next to a garbage dump. The people who arranged burials sat next to those who decorated bridal rooms. The donkeys and camels stood shoulder to shoulder with trucks and van.

And it was here that one of my friends was shot dead by the police.

Even now when I go past that spot, I see him lying there, half dead, half alive. He looked like a big bird, looking at everybody but unable to speak. Blood was oozing out of his mouth mixed with water that people tried to make him drink.

In our culture it is considered bad to let someone die thirsty. So when people see someone dying, they try to make his transition from life to death as smooth as possible by offering him water.

Only minutes ago he was a young man, full of life and energy, but now limp and lifeless. He was shot by the police while participating in a demonstration against the government, another common practice in cities like ours.

When I lifted him, his eyes were still alive and still conveyed his desire to live. It seemed as if he was saying: “Please help me, please don’t let me die.” But we had already given up. We waited till he died, and then we started running around.

Someone went and fetched a doctor, who confirmed what we already knew: “The patient” had died. Patient he was, for he waited patiently for his death.

A group went to inform his parents. Another started throwing stones at the policemen who had withdrawn into another alley after shooting him. Some went to call the elders of the area to decide what to do next.

It was our first encounter with death.

The author is a correspondent for Dawn, based in Washington, DC.

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Via DAWN.com

Rescue battle continues

RAWALPINDI – The rescue teams continues efforts round the clock at Gayari to reach the officers and jawans buried under mounds of snow even against heavy odd, ISPR said on Monday.
The weather remained very harsh, posing serious challenges to the men and machines working at the avalanche site alike, according to ISPR.
However, the spirit and zeal of courageous soldiers has not wavered under …

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