Brand Pakistan
By Saad Hafiz: Nation branding is an increasingly important and influential field of theory and practice which attempts to measure a country’s reputation and provide guidance on a country’s image management around the world. This is because the branding and image of each nation state is important in maintaining a nation’s sustainable competitive advantage. Nations like corporations must craft complex strategic communications strategies to achieve their aims through planned communications campaigns. The annual Anholt-GFK Roper Nation Brand Index (NBI) has become recognized as the most credible measurement of a country’s international brand image. The six categories which combine to form the NBI rating are exports, governance, culture, people, tourism and immigration/investment. The overall NBI ranking is based on the average of these six scores. Despite the growth of emerging nations, the BRICS (Brazil, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Opinion
3Ms
By Abuzar Butt: Many of us must have heard the business term 4 Ps (product, price, place, promotion) which are important to run and sell a product. But in these Ps, there is only one ‘p’ which is most important, which, by no second thoughts, is the product itself. If you have a bad product, no matter where you place it, how you advertise it or at what price you sell it, it will never get you any business. Similarly, I was pondering over which ‘M’ (money, manhood, mind) in a man is more important for him to lead a stable and successful life. We must have heard anecdotes from our fathers, uncles and other elderly relatives about their masculinities and how they exhibited it in front of others by thrashing around … Read entire article »
Filed under: Opinion
Today’s Murderer – Tomorrow’s Hero
By Aziz Bilal: Remembering Abdul Qudoos It’s been long since I did my Pakistan Studies course and learned that the Objective Resolution of Pakistan has as its leading contour; “Whereas sovereignty over the entire Universe belongs to Almighty Allah alone, and the authority to be exercised by the people of Pakistan within the limits prescribed by Him is a sacred trust.” I still recall the extreme honoured sensation while bearing in mind my existence in a realm which accepts … Read entire article »
Filed under: Reviews
Modern challenges to the institution of matrimony
By Fair World: Marriage or Matrimony or Wedlock is not just about love and romance but also a combination of some more realistic components. Some of them are social, legal, procreation, economic etc. Needless to say that love has the tendency to ignore the reality, but reality always kicks in sooner or later. Plato has gone as far as declaring “love to be a serious mental disease”. Helen Fisher, a leading expert in the topic of love, divides the experience of love into three partly overlapping stages: “lust, attraction, and attachment. Lust is the feeling of sexual desire; romantic attraction determines what partners mates find attractive and pursue, conserving time and energy by choosing; and attachment involves sharing a home, parental duties, mutual defense, and in humans involves feelings of safety … Read entire article »
Filed under: Opinion
Cultural Diversity brought into limelight
By Mehak Ameer: The picture was somber. The barricades on each of the thoroughfares leading to the other side of the frontiers were quite distinct and not so embracing. The pertinacity to traverse these boundaries was increasingly seen to be less stern every time. Unknown was the idea of looking beyond the veil. In contrast, every region simply seemed to be an enclosure with artificial barriers, obstacles that are self-created and merely imaginary. The globe manifested itself as a spider web, where the robustness of each strand challenged its perfection; a perfection that determined the well being of the planet. But what was it that produced these divergent illustrations in my mind? The International Study Visit organized by the British Council, played a pioneering role in this regard. Having brought inhabitants of 7 different … Read entire article »
Filed under: Opinion
Fashion pakistan week diary
By Shoaib Taimur Fashion is something which I don’t follow religiously as I do not follow any trends nor am I a Fashion victim. I believe that the key to Fashion is to wear what you like and not bother about what others think. The general view is that there is no unity within the Fashion industry and that there are three different councils. Pak tea house was kind enough to ask me to cover Fashion Pakistan … Read entire article »
Filed under: Opinion
MV ALBEDO
By Yusra Askari The MV Albedo and its crew ; 7 Pakistanis, 7 Bangladeshis, 6 Sri Lankans, 2 Indians and 1 Iranian national have been held hostage by pirates off the coast of Somalia, for now over 17 months. With the final deadline, fast approaching, last ditch efforts are underway in Pakistan to ensure the safe return of all 22 sailors. Docked 60 nautical miles off the coast of Somalia, onboard the MV Albedo, food and water … Read entire article »
Filed under: Opinion
The Indefensible Silence of Media over the Sickening Slaughter of Qudoos
By Rashid Zafar: Every time I gripped my pen to write about the most sickening murder, imagery of deceased Master Abdul Qudoos would incapacitate my fingers to paralysis and my senses to numbness. I, too, am considerably cognizant of my disability to meet with the requisites of this very sore subject. The spokesman of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community – who is not deemed a reliable enough source by a bunch of human rights activists-cum-journalists – reported; “… today, a well-known and respected Ahmadi, Mr Master Abdul Qudoos Ahmad (43), died succumbing to brutal police torture in Rabwah. Few months ago MuhammadYousuf a stamp (deed) paper seller from Nusrat Abad was murdered and police on the basis of suspicion illegally arrested Master Abdul Qudoos. Police made him subject to inhuman life threatening torture, which resulted … Read entire article »
Filed under: Opinion
Finding ‘izzat’ (honour) in cowardly murder
By Saad Hafiz: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) in its recent annual report said, “At least 943 women were killed in the name of honour in the country, of which 93 were minors.” While, reliable worldwide estimates of honour killing incidences do not exist, a UN study in 2000 suggested there were as many as 5,000 women and girls killed each year by a family member as part of some so-called honour crime. These incidents involved Muslim, Hindu and Christian families in South Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and as far away as Ecuador and Brazil. Such crimes are also showing up in Canada, the U.S. and Europe among immigrant communities. Britain, Italy and Germany have all convicted people for the so-called honour killing of a close family … Read entire article »
Filed under: Opinion
An unsubstantiated piece of reporting on Pakistan
Here is a prime example of an extremely unsubstantiated program aired last week on one of the biggest American Television network. The expert, Dilip Hiro, does not provide facts & figures to support his claim, and the air date, especially in the light of the recent Nuclear summit in Seoul, serves only one purpose. Xenophobia, xenophobia & xenophobia. Please watch it through and then read my comments below. Where are his facts when he says that Pakistan has the most Jihadis per every million[00:29]? How can you even measure extremism on such a large scale? But that’s not my main concern. Click here to read complete article … Read entire article »
Filed under: Opinion
RANDOM THOUGHTS ABOUT EVERYDAY LIFE CHILL
By Khaula Mazhar: Life is really tough these days. No matter where you are in the world. In this country there are a lot of things going on, which I am definitely not going to repeat. You hear about it on the T.V. ALL DAY LONG, we must have the highest number of news channels in the world. I guess we just have so much news it can’t be contained in a few channels. We also have an alarming number of experts, it is impressive just how many qualified people there are to tell us exactly how deep the cow manure is, that we are standing in. So with all the essential reminders we get every minute of the day that we are doomed , I feel what we really need to do is ……..chill. You … Read entire article »
Filed under: Opinion
Networking Holy Wars
By Hifza Shah Jilani: Religion, ‘opium of masses’ (Karl Marx, Communist Manifesto) deems to be a near truth phrase. Indubitably in the passages of history, we have seen religious warfare starting from the first ever war if you follow Genesis 4:1-12, the Cain’s Anger had been a religious war, not caused by religion but a religious war. While the writings of Josephus and two books of Maccabees claim the first religious war by the Jews in the year 167 BCE against Hellenism. Modern history defines the period of 1562-63 as the first religious war, France. The whole concept of Holy War, used incessantly over and over by religionists, dates back to a history of a continuous warfare in desperate attempts to justify their version of religion, to fulfill a religious goal or to win a group’s conformity. From the Crusades, French wars, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Opinion
OBL, Saddam and the War on Terror
By Hassan Naqvi: Ever since Man learned to swing a sword there have 2 types of conflicts: Those that revolve around issues and those that revolve around people. The current war on Terror was meant to be the latter type. The ultimate objective of the Iraq invasion was to vanquish Saddam Hussein. The ultimate point of the Afghanistan Invasion was to vanquish Osama Bin Laden. It could be said the war on terror was initially just a man hunt for these two. Now Saddam is dead, and Osama is dead yet the war continues. Furthermore it continues with no end in sight. When President Mubarik stepped down in January last year the Egyptian revolution ended. When Hitler committed suicide in 1945 WWII ended. Conflicts that revolve around people end when those … Read entire article »
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