Zahra speaks

“You have to cross this forest and face all the difficulties that you may encounter in order to meet your prince.” She remembers each and every word that the old lady told her at the castle. These words motivated her to travel all the way to the forest and she was ready to face any difficulty as well. The forest was scary but her desire to meet the prince of her dreams made her fearless. As she approached the entrance of the forest, there was a black cat, it remained in front of as if stopping her to enter the forest. She tried to shoo it away but the cat remained steadfast and did not pass. There was a rock on the ground, she picked it up and threw it towards the cat and ultimately, it ran away. The journey was challenging but she was ready for it. Tall and shady trees were intimidating her. She told herself: “I will not look at anything.” She looked right in the foreground and avoided glancing at anything that would make her scared. Suddenly, something dropped on her nec

The government is always under the radar for various reasons but recently it was highly appreciated for the temporary shelter provision for the homeless scheme which is called the Panah Gahs. It will be implemented in Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar. Imran Khan took Twitter to announce this scheme. Panah Gah literally means refuge. It is a very unique scheme which only focuses on helping the citizens. There are innumerable homeless people on the streets and as the weather gets harsh, they face a lot of difficulties. The winter gets very brutal in Pakistan and the temporary tents would be a fabulous haven for the homeless to sleep in during the extremely chilly nights. However, there are a lot of drug abusers among the homeless people and there should be a government based rehabilitation program for the same group of people but this scheme will create a sense of solidarity between the government and the citizens. Such attempts exhibit the government's sincerity and loyalty

We have this constant urge to plan everything ahead of time but when was the last time that everything went just like you had planned? Planning is not something that the humans are made to do and this task basically belongs to the Almighty. Some people may disagree with the fact but this is what my experience teaches me. Spending day and night, thinking about our further education, careers or relationships is simply worthless. This very moment is what you have in your hands. Are you sure that you are going to live until tomorrow or even the next moment? No, then what makes you think that you can plan ahead of time? In this fast-paced life, we have forgotten to live. Living does not include planning for the future but it's about rejoicing the "now." If you are eating something, then completely focus on each and every flavour that you feel on your tongue because, in that very moment, you are interacting with nature through those flavours. Another new trend is to click pi

Mahek's father became Ali's fan. The way he managed to bring Mehek home in such difficult circumstances was really commendable. He was determined to get Mehek married to Ali and was discussing the same with his wife when Mehek overheard them. She was stunned. Mehek did not understand whether to be happy or depressed, happy because Ali was a gentleman who protected her and brought her home safely but in just a day she got acquainted with a few bad habits of Ali as well such as his egoistic attitude and stubbornness. She started thinking that maybe it was fate that because of the riots, she came to know about Ali and their relationship that was being arranged by the elders. But the question endured in her mind, Was Ali also aware of the relationship that was being arranged between them? Perhaps all this was just a selfish act? As soon as the university is re-opened, Mehek got diligent with studies. Whenever she spotted Ali anywhere in the University, she would think about co

Both reached a Dhaba nearby. They ordered lentil soup, vegetable gravy and bread. They were very hungry as they hadn't had anything to eat since the morning. They literally attacked the food when it arrived. They did not even lift up the head and silently ate food for ten to fifteen minutes and then Ali said: "Look, don't take me wrong, I was very hungry and that's why I ate about four loaves. As soon as the university re-opens, I will give you the money back." "That doesn't matter, just take me home safely, that would be enough!" He shook his head and said: "The account is not even with a parent. Inshallah as soon as the University re-opens, I will return the money." In this little span of time, Mehek understood that Ali was a little stubborn and there was no use in discussing anything with him that's why Mehek fell silent. About an hour later, other people started coming there, they seemed suspicious and dangerous.  Ali

It was a usual day at the university. Mehek was going to the cafeteria to grab a bite amidst her classes. Suddenly, there was a chaos and a huge bunch of students were leaving. She was puzzled so she called her friend Maryum and asked, "Why's everyone stirring a chaos?"  Maryum told her that a violent protest has erupted in the city and the situation is not looking good, it may go on for a prolonged period. She also told her that she is going home as well. Mehek got really frightened. She used to travel all the way from Kasur each day only for the University and upon discovering the riots she got very confused on how she would go home. She knew some students who, also, travelled from Kasur to Lahore but everyone had already left. Sitting on a bench, outside the University, she was wondering how she would go back to Kasur and the mobile services were also disconnected for security purposes. Now, things got more complicated. University administration issued a notice th

کسی بھی معاشرے کی سب سے بڑی کمزوری عدم برداشت ہوتی ہے. جو معاشرہ برداشت کی قوت کھو دیتا ہے اس میں ترقی اور بہتری کی گنجائش نہیں رہتی. برداشت ایک ایسی قوت ہے جو معاشرے کو جوڑ کر رکھتی ہے اور اس کی مکمل غیر حاضری میں افراتفری کی صورت حال پیش آتی ہے. حال ہی میں ہم سب نے عدم برداشت کا نتیجہ دیکھا جہاں عام شہریوں کو لوٹا گیا اور پورے ملک کو پامال کر کے رکھ دیا گیا. یہ قوم بہت عظیم ہے اور اس کے اندر کا ہنر کسی ہیرے سے کم نہیں مگر عدم برداشت اس کو تانبے کے برابر بنا دیتی ہے. کسی بھی شخصیت کا سب سے خوبصورت پہلو اس کا اپنے مخالفین کے ساتھ رویے ہے کہ کیسے وہ اپنے مخالفین کی تلخ باتیں اور تنقید کو برداشت کرتا ہے. یہ بات اگر پاکستانی قوم سمجھ جائے تو بہت سارے مسائل کا حل نکل سکتا ہے. اس کی سب سے عام مثال ٹریفک ہے. ہر کوئی جلدی میں ہوتا ہے کسی کو گھر پہنچنے کی جلدی، کسی کو کام پر پہنچنے کی جلدی، کسی کو بلاوجہ ہی جلدی ہے. یہ جلدی اصل میں بے صبری ہے اور ایک دوسرے کو برداشت نہ کرنے کا نتیجہ ہے. کیوں کوئی گاڑی میری گاڑی سے آگے نکلے یا کیوں میں ٹریفک کے سگنل پر کھڑا رہوں یا کیوں زیبراکراسنگ پر لائن س

دو دن عوام کو یرغمال بنانے والے یہ لوگ کون ہیں؟ کیا یہ عشق رسول صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم ہیں؟ میری کنج عقل کے مطابق تو یہ لوگ صرف اور صرف اشتعال پسندی اور دہشت گردی کی عکاسی کرتے ہیں۔ عام شہریوں کو لوٹنا اور ہراساں کرنا کہاں کا احتجاج ہے؟ Image Courtesy haqbaattv.com بے شک احتجاج کرنا ہر شہری کا حق ہے مگر احتجاج کرنے کا بھی ایک صحیح طریقہ ہوتا ہے۔ اگر احتجاج کرنے کا اصل مقصد صرف اور صرف ملک کا پہیہ جام کرنا ہے تو اس طرح کے احتجاج کا اصل مقصد سمجھنا بہت مشکل ہے۔ پچھلے ہفتے عوام کو دو دن تک اپنے گھروں میں محصور کر دیا گیا اور باہری دنیا سے کسی بھی طرح کے رابطے کو بھی منقطع کر دیا گیا۔ ٹیلی ویژن کے علاوہ باہر کے حالات جاننے کا اور کوئی ذریعہ نہیں تھا۔ میں لاہور کے جس کے علاقے میں مقیم ہوں وہاں ان احتجاجوں کے شدت کچھ زیادہ تھی اس لئے موبائل سگنل اور انٹرنیٹ سروسز دو دن مکمل طور پر بند رہیں۔ پورے ملک میں کئی تاجروں کا اربوں روپے کا نقصان ہوا اور کی لوگ اپنے مقامات میں محصور ہو کر رہ گئے۔ میری ایک سہیلی مری گئی ہوئی تھی اور واپسی پر اسلام آبادآباد میں اکر ان دھرنوں کی وجہ سے پھنس گئی۔ اسی طر