Al Aman

Al -Aman  

by 

Main nahi janta meri manzil kahan 

zindagi hai kidhar roshni hai kahan

Watan hai mera ujra hoa bay-aman

na khabar kisi ko na hosh yahan 

Kahin bijli nahin hai  kahin gas band ,na ho sans band

bhook hai qehat hai lalay hain zindagi kay yahan 

Kahin ehtajaj hai kahin hartal aur kahin hangama e bekar

har shakhs ro raha hai aur day raha hai apni jaan

Aesi raat aaei thi na dekha tha aesa din

mout arzan hoi aur zindagi ho gae bay-aman

Dua hai meri ay Allah ! Al-aman Al-aman

mere pak watan ko rakhna tu sada shadman

Sidrah won a bronze medal for this truly inspirational poem recited at Renaissance`s poetry competition hosted at COMSATS. Her submission reflects the lament of what Pakistan is currently undergoing, from load shedding to strikes, from hunger to devastation.


Sidrah completed her Matriculation securing a First division from Garrison Academy, Quetta and her FSC from APS Westridge in Rawal Pindi. She simply adores photography grasping a great command over Picassa and is fascinated by world architecture. Sidrah aspires to become an architect one fine day.   

An Unsolved Mystery

Image courtesy of Lisa Reynolds 

Pak-US Relations: A Mystery to be Solved

by

Sahar Arshad

Pak-US relations are a burning topic for these relations are caught up in a storm and are dwindling just as the waves rise and collide. The relation has, and always will be, a  hot topic du moment due to (perceived) interference of both countries in each other`s matters. 


Pakistan relies deeply on the US for aid to carry on and (in erroneous allegation) the US does whatever it wants to within the country by hiding under the cape of that all-too popular catchphrase “war against terror” to become a "hero" in the rest of the world’s eye. 


Pakistani politicians are merchants of manipulation. They try to blame the US for everything and do not tolerate US interference and thus the opposition is taking full advantage of such sentiments to manipulate the statements in such brutal ways so that people`s anger towards the US touches the sky and the government looks worse and weaker than ever. 


The US tries to show the Taalibans as the most brutal animals of the world whereas the maulana’s and some other people wrongly try to portray them as the “soldiers of Allah”. Between the clash of these two countries, the people of Pakistan are suffering the most and are getting grinded to a halt. People have become patients of schizophrenia with their one personality supporting US and the other hating it like hell. Such split personality disorders are nothing but divisive.




The recent curbing of NATO supplies and the demands of Pakistan against drone attacks have further pressurized this already fragile relation and now the relations are on the verge of falling by the wayside. The problem in all this is that the people have no idea of what’s going on. They only rely on the news that is selectively edited by the media for its own betterment. 


People pick pieces of news like a riddle and try to join them to complete the picture and get an idea but, truth be told, many of the puzzle`s pieces are missing and these pieces lie deep within the government itself. 


Thus people are torn and are suffering because Pakistan`s economy is highly dependent on US aid and with the relations sour, it means that the aid would stop and people and the economy will suffer. Pakistan cannot afford to loose its cherished relation with the US and thus needs to fix it. 


The only solution to the problem is that Pakistan needs to become self-sufficient and Pakistan is in need of a government that is true to the country. It does not need a government that seeps through the pillars slowly chewing them away. Thus the government needs to be changed and Pakistan needs to rise. 


Otherwise the relations would eventually fall in the dump and Pakistan will be left isolated with a collapsed economy and become an easy target for conquering. 

Sahar Arshad is, without the shadow of a doubt, one of the brightest Economics and International Relations BS-Economics 2^nd semester students at Quaid-i-Azam University. She honored the institution with a 4 GPA in her first semester. Sahar completed her thesis on US Pakistan relations and her Matriculation and FSC pre-engineering. 


She has received accolades and awards aplenty, for speeches delivered. She was awarded with a bronze medal for this sage and sobering piece hosted by Renaissance at Quaid-i-Azam University for youth activation and empowerment as well as for the Kangaro arithmetic  competition.

Sahar scored first position nation-wide in social sciences in a GAT test in her 8th class. She aspires to be the world’s most renowned economist and endeavours to make this world a better place to live in through the power of economics. Sahar has always cradled a passion for writing and would like to write and publish books in the future.

My Colors

     “MY COLOURS”

by
Syeda Shafia Kiran
When I feel blue

I see no one besides you

When I feel green

I see nothing but my dreams

When I feel yellow

I reflect the time I spent with my dirty fellow

When I feel red

I see you and feel blessed

When I feel black

I lose all but my dad’s back

When I feel pink

I remember the day when you winked

                    When I feel grey

Nothing helped but my mother’s pray

When I feel white

I try to remain quiet

When I feel indigo

I just say let it go

Shafia was born on the 10th of February 1993 in Mangla cantt. She is an awesome poet, the daughter of an  army officer and is of Kashmiri background. She likes to visit new places, especially cultural heritage museums, adores the Northern Areas and is passionate about cooking and photography with a strong hold at PICASSA. She is a very high academic achiever with an A+ in Matriculation and holds an FSc(A) along with various sholorships.

Shafia participated in numerous science-based physics exhibitions. She conducted annual functions at her school and college, for which she received numerous awards, performed
in many plays the best one was a comedy play,''2010 ka mughal e azam' with a new modern twist on the romance with Anarkali.

Shafia is addicted to cats and owns one pure-bred white persian named ''spotty''.
She is blessed with excellent creative skills, is fond of painting and colouring.
For her homeland she remains a most concerned and consumed patriot.
In today's jaded post-modern world she wants to spread colours in everybody`s life.
Shafia is a strong supporter of Imran Khan (the only hope for change) and wrote her thesis on his party-Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (Movement for Justice) .

Joy

    Image courtesy of Sergei Loznitsa

by 

Sumbal Jamal 

Let us live in joy, not hating those who hate us.

Among those who hate us, we live free of hate.

Let us live in joy,

Free from disease among those who are diseased?

Among those who are diseased, let us live free of disease.

Let us live in joy, free from greed among the greedy.

Among those who are greedy, we live free of greed.

Let us live in joy, though we possess nothing. 

Sumbal Jamal`s poem “Joy” heralds a ray of optimism much like her submitted thesis at COMSATS on how to breed positivity in Pakistan through culture and tourism. She proposes novel ideas and is a creative thinker. Sumbal graduated from Punjab College Lahore. Her infectious optimism is what  developing countries all need.

My Beautiful Homeland

My Beautiful Homeland

by

Syed Uzair Zameer

ae watan mere pyare watan

tu hi to he mera tann,mann,dhann

tujh hi se he aan meri

tujh hi se he shan meri

tujh me baksheeshe khaas he us paak zaat ki

jis me baat he chaar moosamoo k karamaat ki

tere mulk k mazdoor hn shan meri 

jo sarbulandi me magann hn ae maa meri

tere is mulk ke rakhwaalo ke kya kehne 

jo difaa k liye khare hn seena taane

ae watan waqt aane par jaan bhi baha de ge ham

tu kahe to sir ki baazi bi laga de ge ham

ae watan tere zameen ki matti is qadar zarkhaiz he

patta patta boota boota herat angaiz he

ae watan mere pyare watan

tu hi to he mera tann,mann,dhann

Uzair was the silver medalist for this award-winning poem hosted by Renaissance at COMSATS Institute of Information Technology. Born on June the 14^th, 1992, Uzair belongs to Multan and has previously studied at the Global College System and the Army Public School in Westridge Rawal Pindi. He is an excellent all-rounded footballer and also enjoys cricket.  

Be Zuban

                                                 Image courtesy of s359.photobucket.com

Be zuban hain hum zuban rakhte hovy

by

Sehrish Kanwal 

Be zuban hain hum zuban rakhty hoye

Aj Q hont hain tere sily hovy

K bola b na bole gat u kuchla jaye ga

Himat tu kar phir khuda kop aye ga

Sunna hai tu ne b wo he jo k sonna hai main ne?

Na ho sunna tu aj sun le

Hain hum he suraj par wo kirnain kahan hain

Hain aasman pra wo bulandi kahan hai

Dekha hai tu ne k sitare hamain kaha jata hai

Aj tuh se puchun jo main k wo chmak kahan hai

Hum hain miti the miti the apnayet is mein

Par bata k aj wo apnayet kahan hai

Hum the wo k jis pe kanp uthta tha ghair

K jb okab b tha apni parwaz pe pasheman

Na darr k mehnat hai khuda dad

Roshn kr de diya k phir daikh

Sehrish Kanwal in this piercingly powerful poem raises our collective awareness. She has previously worked at Starbucks and studied at Boston College in Chestnut Hill,  Massachusetts. She was born on October the 30th, likes cooking and always remains inspired by her father. 

Unity

Image courtesy of Jonas Ellison a contributor to Aiki Living

Unity 

by

Umer Kaleem 

Had there been unity in Pakistan

The aliens would no longer have disgraced us.

When the nation has lost its unity

It has lost its wealth.

One is the enemy of the other.

And the foreigners watched it.

O our countrymen why are you sitting idle.

Awaken and befriend your countrymen.

If you seek the welfare of your motherland

Don’t consider your countrymen as your enemies

Treat all of them kindly and gracefully

Take them as perfect equals

Before Blochi and before Punjabi

We are just Pakistani we are just Pakistani

Before Sunni or before Shia

We are just Pakistani we are just Pakistani

Umer Kaleem`s "Unity" is a patriotic plea for uncompromising unison. This gifted writer is accomplished at rowing and taekwondo, heads his group`s Economics Society at Quaid-e-Azam University. He likes musician and social activist Shahzad Roy, is inspired by Abdul Sattar Edhi and his favorite movie is Braveheart- a film about freedom.   

Twitter Banned in Pakistan Over Blasphemy

Twitter - Access Denied

by

Saad Hasan 

Excerpts of this article were initially authored by Saad Hasan and reported by Suhail Chaudhary from Express News the Tribune, part of the International Herald Tribune. However, addendum has been cast, from independent and various sources, in light of news that has been revealed  over the past few hours. 


Micro-blogging website Twitter was temporarily banned across Pakistan on Sunday by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Express News reported. Twitter, had especially become a hub of activity following the nationwide ban on Facebook and YouTube. The PTA has denied the overall blockage of Twitter and has stated that any users experiencing difficulties with the site should contact their ISPs. Denying the news, PTA spokesperson Colonel Muhammad Younus said that he “does not know anything about the ban”, adding that he “would check” if anything like this has happened.

Pakistani Telecommunication Authority (PTA) blocked Facebook following a Lahore High Court (LHC) order to ban the website temporarily till May 31. On May 20, PTA also blocked the popular video sharing website, YouTube for hosting “blasphemous content”. Wikipedia and Flickr.com were also blocked by various ISPs on May 20.

The controversial page by the name “Draw Muhammad Day” had been created by a Facebook user in response to American cartoonist, Molly Noris’s protest to the decision of US television channel, Comedy Central to to cancel an episode of the popular show “South Park” over its depiction of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). Such ongoing caricatures have often been the source of heated controversy.  

Noris has however disavowed having declared May 20 “Draw Muhammad Day” and has condemned the effort and issued an apology.

Many Pakistanis were enraged by the hosting of sacrilegious content by Facebook and anti-Facebook protests were carried out across the country. At the same time, a group of civil society activists against internet censorship held a press conference to protest the curbs on various websites by Pakistani authorities.

Facebook said it was disappointed on being blocked in Pakistan and was considering making objectionable content inaccessible in Pakistan.

This move was made, keeping in mind the “emotions of the masses” reported Chaudhry.The PTA blocked the access to Twitter directly from the upstream links without notifying Internet Service Providers (ISPs), said Wahajuz Siraf, convener for Internet Services Providers Association of Pakistan (ISPAK).

Express News reported that the Ministry of Information and Technology tried getting through to authorities on Twitter throughout the night and that about five faxes were sent to the micro-blogging website.

Eventually, in reply to PTA’s e-mail, Twitter authorities replied saying that they “cannot stop any individual doing anything of this nature on the website”.

One ISP provider, on condition of anonymity has advised callers registering complaints to use Vtunnel and proxies as an alternate to access Twitter. Currently, the micro-blogging website is still accessible by means of mobile phones and secure browsers such as Opera Mini.

Peace

    Image courtesy of http://the2012scenario.com 

Peace

by

Shamsa Hamid

I wonder if there was ever a time so happy with joy,

When there was nothing to kill, nothing to destroy.

Where we lived with tolerance, and did so accept-

The wrongs we did and the promises we kept,

Who we talked to wasn’t based on their religion or race,

Wasn’t based on their nationality, their size or their face,

A time when we did what was best for what was around,

When we loved what was above and we loved our ground,

A moment when we cared for those elder and young,

And we so dearly loved those who we were amongst,

When we would help those in need,

And always be beside them and share with them, indeed.

I just wonder if such a time exists with peace, love and smiles,

Where happiness and joy runs through miles.

Shamsa in her inspirational poem for Renaissance renders a resolute call for Peace. She is from Bhimbar, Kashmir, graduated from APS ACS and in 2008 from the Army Public School in New Delhi, India. Shamsa has a humorous nature, is based in Rawal Town and aspires to complete her MBA.