Khoon ke Aansoo

Phir na nikalna iss tareh ay guruub e aftab
Ke mera dil aaj khoon ke aansoo ro raha hay

Ye mera dil, meri dharkan, meri saans
Aaj saneha-e-buzdili ki daastaan pe ro raha hay

Voh maa, behan, voh bhai aaj kyun apnon se bechar gaye
Farishta-e-sifat bachon se kyun koi badla le raha hay

Qaatil tum naheen, hum naheen, koi bhi naheen
Voh phir masoom lashon ke unbaar kyun laga raha hay

Dekho aaj ilm ke paristaar wahan chal basay
In taarik rahon main kyun koi dia bhuja raha hay

Raasta hay kathan, manzil bohat door apni
In halaat main kyun koi kaante bicha raha hay

Phir na dilana yaad mujh ko ye din saaqi
Ke mera dil aaj khoon ke aansoo ro raha hay

Ke mera dil aaj khoon ke aansoo ro raha hay . . . .

(C) Atif Mumtaz December 16, 2014

Dedicated to the victims of Peshawar Attack.


Afridi does an Afridi!

Shahid Afridi - Asia CupI mean wow! Shahid Afridi’s two sixes in two balls sealed the fate of the Pakistan vs India’s game in favor of the defending champions, Pakistan at the Asia Cup group match. While billions of hearts sank in India, another 200 million supporting Pakistan worldwide felt a new life run through their veins.

Never have I seen Twitter, Facebook, News media and SMS flutter with so many congratulatory messages before. #Lala is a trending topic, and so is #Boomboom on Twitter. Open your Facebook timeline in Pakistan, and chances are Lala’s heroics are the only thing on it.
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Ruet-e-Hilal Committee Needs a bit of Science Jolt

Coin of Abbasid CaliphateHave you ever wondered how are the ancient mosques (over 500 years old and more) pointing in the right direction? That is, towards Makkah. I mean, how did the ancient Islamic scholars figure out the direction of the Kaaba without having access to any modern instruments like GPS, or even advance mathematics like Calculus?

Have you ever wondered, how did a Muzzin called the faithful to prayer five times a day without the use of a clock? Some would argue the stars helped him, but then how was he so precise for Salat time on a cloudy night (or day for that matter)? How were they able to account for changing of the day and night and the length of daylight?

Did you know that the first Scientist to figure out Earth’s circumference to within 1% of accuracy (of what we know today) was no other than Al-Beruni, the muslim mathematician in Baghdad. And he did it in 900AD!
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Why do we gain weight during Ramadan?

ramadan-iftarEver wonder why do we gain weight during the holy month of Ramadan? We fast. From Fajr till Maghrib. Thats a whopping 15 hours (your local time may vary) of no food or drink under the blazing July Sun. But instead of making us thinner and fitter, we end up with an even wider waistline than before. Makes no sense!

Or does it.

The real problem is not what we eat. But how much we eat. And by God, we eat a lot after dutifully abstaining during the hot summer day. Just visit your nearest Iftar party in a typical Lahori restaurant; we literally invade the buffet trays as if we are famished for days.

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Cricket Champions Trophy – Pakistan the favorites?

ICC Champions TrophyAnother major ICC tournament is up for grabs and yet again, Pakistan is ranked among the favorites to lift it.

Since crashing out of the World Cup 2007 in the first round, Pakistan has shown remarkable consistency by reaching at least the semi-final stages of all the six major ICC tournaments to date. On their way, they were able to make it to the final of two (winning one of them, World T20 2009 in England) and semi-finalist in the other four. This is remarkable, considering they are the only team to have played so many semi-finals or finals so far. The other team that comes close is Sri Lanka with 5 such appearances since 2007 World Cup Final. However, Sri Lanka, on the other hand, has not won anything yet, even though they were in the finals four times.

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Load-Shedding & Electricity Production Figures are Fudged











IPL is nothing but a circus


Photo courtesy of BBC. Ban IPL

If you (BCCI) can build a business (IPL) on greed and not Cricket, then do not cry foul if cricketers and bookies also have the same mission.

I had always contended IPL is nothing more than a circus. The recent investigations by Indian Police that spot-fixing is ripe in Indian Premier League (IPL) have made it abundantly clear that none of the matches are a reliable and taint-free day in the field.

It is not just the fringe players out to make some quick bucks, but some of the leading Indian cricketers are found guilty of the offense. To make matters worse, now even the IPL owners are under Police investigation leading one to speculate, is everything reallyCricket?

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