Wasif Malik > Blog

Musharraf joins Facebook

// December 1st, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Featured Articles, Pakistan

Whether you love him or  hate him, I am sure that deep down inside you, a part of you still wants Musharraf back (unless you are Nawaz Sharif).  Musharraf recently launched his facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pervezmusharraf) and has attracted 36,166 fans as of now which is not a bad number, considering that there are only one million facebook users in Pakistan. If you ever wanted to ask Musharraf a question, now is your chance to do so. Every now and then, Mr Musharraf will select the most relevant questions and answer them in a YouTube video. He has already answered a few questions already (as mentioned in the “Notes” section of his page). Give them a watch if you want to know Musharraf’s perspective on the issues we are facing these days (whether you agree or not).

The Forum -- PART 1

Q: On Constitution’s Article 6 trial
Q: Action taken by Nawaz Sharif on 12 October 1999
Q: On Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti’s death
Q: Reasons for imposing emergency on November 3, 2007
Q: War on terrorism

The Forum -- PART 2

Q: Foreign actors after Afghan war

The Forum -- PART 3

Q: Criticism by media that resignation on pressure by US
Q: Reasons did not fulfill the promise to resign as chief of Army
Q: War on terrorism, what, when, how it will end
Q: What action should US President Barak Obama take?
Q: Current law and order scenario, and future development of it

The Forum -- PART 4

Q: Current political situation in Pakistan
Q: Army response of Kerry Lugar Bill
Q: Future role of army in the context of democracy in Pakistan
Q: Significance of National security council

The Forum -- PART 5

Q: Army’s popularity
Q: Presidential form in Pakistan
Q: Solving Baluchistan problems
Q: Entering Pakistan politics again
Q: Message to Pakistani nation

Interestingly, all of these videos are being uploaded by TVONE which is a TV channel owned by Interflow Communications (one of the largest advertising agencies in Pakistan). So it seems that Musharraf has hired one of the best advertising companies to help him in carrying out a social media campaign. This is definitely a first, at least in Pakistan.

So for now, I am keeping a close eye on his Facebook page because Mushy might have a trick or two up his sleeve.

Fingers crossed.

GEO TV minivan violating traffic rules

// June 25th, 2009 // 21 Comments » // Featured Articles, Pakistan

What are the odds of a GEO minivan violating traffic rules? And what are the odds of capturing it on camera? Well, whatever the odds are, I (with the help of Moonis) was lucky enough to capture a sequence of pictures showing a GEO minivan violating traffic rules. The place is China Chowk, Blue Area, Islamabad and the time was 10:30PM 24^th June 2009.

While it is exciting to catch this moment on camera, it is equally disappointing too. A TV network that boasts so much of its achievements in highlighting key issues of our country and which talks so much about law and order, is unable to educate its employees about simple traffic rules.

GEO’s vision as mentioned on their website:

“GEO will be the voice of freedom from the Asian subcontinent. It will highlight the issues of concern and the cultural richness of its people through information, discussion and entertainment.“

Since highlighting issues of concern is the vision of GEO, then I would request the GEO team to please highlight this issue on their own channel and before doing that they should pay the fines for violation of traffic rules.

Proud Pakistani

// June 23rd, 2009 // No Comments » // Pakistan

I have always said that I am a proud Pakistani but I have never felt this proud. We are now World T20 champions. As Younis Khan put it, its “a gift for the nation”. And boy did we need this gift!

This victory is symbolic in so many ways. It has changed everything and suddenly united us again. If  you happened to watch the match in a public place or even if you watched the celebrations that happened across the nation on TV, you would know what I am trying to say. We have gone through so much as a nation recently that good news was like wishful thinking. Hats off to our cricket team for acheiving this important milestone. We will remember this victory for years to come because it gave us something to cheer about in hard times. Pakistan Zindabad!

Rawalpindi to Lahore on GT Road

// December 27th, 2008 // No Comments » // Pakistan

I drove from Rawalpindi to Lahore via GT Road today. Total travel time was 5 hours and total distance covered was 300 KM which means I drove at an average speed of 60 KM per hour. Two tanks of CNG were consumed costing approx Rs. 700 which is very cheap as compared to petrol or deisel.

Car wash

// November 30th, 2008 // No Comments » // Pakistan

Getting the car washed on Sundays is a ritual that most of the car owners follow in Pakistan. Considering the high quantity of dirt and dust on the roads, a car wash at least once a week becomes compulsory.

Some people wash their cars at home while some take their cars to a carwash service at the nearby petrol pump. I rarely take my car to the carwash and today is that rare day. And strangely, I feel light and satisfied as I watch my car getting cleaned by a team of dedicated car-washers. I took a few pictures that I thought I should upload.