My Loneliness with None I Share..!!

PESHAWAR/LANDI KOTAL: Eid Bibi was sixty years old when she was shot dead in Fata’s Kurram Agency by her nephew—for having an affair. The truth is that her nephew killed her as he was after her property. Her father had given her a share and her nephew was demanding she put it in his name. She resisted. “[He] spent four years behind bars and when he was released he had the land transferred to his name,” said one of his relatives, who did not want to be named. He got what he wanted in the end. In Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas, the rule is that women cannot inherit property. This disenfranchises its population of approximately 2.4 million women. “There are no land records either in Fata and land is distributed verbally and under Riwaj,” explains Sakina Rahman, who lives in Mohmand Agency. Even when a man inherits land, it is done verbally. “Whether the property in question is that of her father’s or her husband’s, a woman can neither claim nor go to court or a jirga to g...

Kids will say the darndest things. And children from the place formerly called Fata are no different.  “Today we joined Pakistan,” said 10-year-old Yasir when we called him up after the news broke of the merger of the two regions into one province. “We got independence today. We have reunited with Pakistan.” He added that the last thing is what he had learnt from overhearing the way his elders were talking at his home’s hujra. The merger of tribal area with K-P is not less than the day of independence for the people of Fata. “We have been given equal rights like other Pakistanis for which we thank Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi,” he said. There have been mixed feelings in the place formerly called Fata. In Khyber Agency the few people Samaa Digital spoke to said they were interpreting it as a “reunification” of sorts. “Shadows of darkness in the shape of the Frontier Crimes Regulation system based on injustice and days of non-accountability are over,” said N...

As Fata merges with KP, the hope of peace and stability getting more and more stronger in one of the most troubled area of Pakistan, and its no other Place but Parachinar..!! It was a sweet, awkward moment. The brigadier held out the keys. The Sunni tribesman stood there, surrounded by a nervous yet puffed-up crowd. “Take the key, take the key!” someone prompted him. He hesitated for a moment, unsure and aware of too many people around him. It had taken several rounds of talks and confidence-building measures to bring him to this point. But when he did take the keys, three heavy seconds later, a sigh of relief was expelled and people clapped. Everyone knew that years from now, they would all be able to say this was the moment when one place in Fata did something to leave some collective pain behind. This historic ceremony was held last week in Parachinar to welcome back 10 Sunni families who had fled when sectarian violence erupted in 2007 . The fighting left hundreds dead a...

The relations between Afghanistan and the US are often a hot topic of discussion in international media circles. Since the US-led invasion of Afghanistan and the consequent overthrowing of the Taliban regime in 2001, a number of democratically elected governments have served their terms in the war-ravaged country. With passing time, the level of trust and the nature of expectations from each other has not only continued to evolve but for the most part has deteriorated. The civilian leadership of the two countries has not always been on the same page. Their relations have seen a lot of ups and downs over the last decade and a half as a result. The very nature of their partnership is intricate and complicated. One major factor is the lack of success in resolving the core issues of Afghanistan. On one hand, the removal of Taliban government has been welcomed largely by the Afghans, on the other, the inability of the new civilian administration to take charge and contro...

Afghanistan can perhaps be labelled as one of the most war affected country in the world. Peace has seldom been achieved since the  Soviet invasion . After the end of the Soviet occupation, the country saw severe infighting over power which led to major internal armed conflicts. The fact that Afghan groups who took arms against the former USSR but later turned to each other for support is not a surprising story. By nature, Afghans are a tough people, they have further been hardened by a war they fought against an extremely powerful foe. It was only natural all major players involved in the Afghan jihad saw themselves fit to lead the nation and reign supreme as well. Many of these warlords were mostly interested in serving their own purposes, rather than work towards the greater good of the locals. But this changed after the  rise of the Taliban  in the mid-90s. Within a few months, a major part of the country was under Taliban rule. They were rece...

Living all my life in Karachi, the biggest and the most progressive city of Pakistan, I never actually felt the need to think about living anywhere else, until now. My recent trip to the United States of America has led me to believe that there is still so much in this world that I need to see and learn from.   Being a journalist in Pakistan, a society that was exposed to free and impartial news channels a decade ago, I was selected for the ICFJ Journalism Exchange USA programme which provided me an opportunity to visit Washington DC, Virginia, Chicago, Denver and meet people shaping American news media. Working with the professionals was a great feeling. Before going to the US, I was not very optimistic after reading and watching anti-Muslim rhetoric going on in America and just like any other foreigner I was afraid to face some hostility towards my faith and country. However, what I received instead was love, love and more love. I fo...

The US symbolizes democracy in its true spirit which is why after every five years the presidential elections in the country are observed by the whole world as whoever sits in the White House impacts the world. Which is why these are not just elections for the US but for the whole world. And since I can remember, the presidential candidates have always exhibited tremendous restraint and maturity, which is not the case this time. This time, it is different, this time the US elections look like a power struggle between leaders of some banana republic under the cloak of democracy. he US Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, has taken the center stage by storm. With no political background this real estate tycoon is all set to take United States of America into a new era (where the US will no longer be considered a tolerant world leader). This is a big change without a doubt. A nation built by immigrants is now considering imposing a ban on immigrants under ...