Tracing the Haqqani Network

The disputed and dangerous Haqqani Group is unleashed now. Amazingly it was not settled in tribal belt as always narrated but found in elite circles of power connecting Islamabad and Washington. The bad boys were very near to national security setups than ever expected. Every one was convinced to eliminate Haqqani Network if it was the case of a tribal warrior. But in case of a elite conspirator only resignation is enough. In fact Hussain Haqani and many others like him are state enemies, they have nothing to do with national interests of Pakistan.

But his resignation refreshes many other occasions in my mind when resignations were due but not processed. None of military establishment took responsibility of any of their incompetence during past and near past. Haqqani resignation once again highlights the military dominance in Pakistan.

A great Quraanic project, Tanzil

Tanzil is a Quranic project launched in early 2007 to produce a highly verified Unicode Quran text to be used in Quranic websites and applications. Mission of this project is to provide accurate Unicode text of holy Quraan for onward use on web.

Along with this mission they have provided excellent interface for browsing, searching, translating and listening of holy Quraan.

It is a much appreciable effort and we should utilize it and join hands with this team to serve this noble cause. Just click here to visit the project website.

Leadership required! a tranquilizer and a myth

Our country Pakistan is facing a number of challenges and problems in almost every field. A nation whose majority is not loyal to Islam, humanity and law. It is effect of various factors that operated here for a long time. And the remaining is covered by corrupt politicians along with civil and military establishment.

People are now in a state of pessimism about almost whole current political leadership. Often i hear views which show that majority of people consider the lack of leadership as main problem and they think that without a real and bold leadership nothing could be made better.

In fact it is a misconception and is being planted by media intentionally or unintentionally. In near history we have experienced a very successful movement which is known as lawyers movement. This movement has very profound effects on politics and democratic system of country. Following are some of these effects

• CJ Pakistan along with other judges was reinstalled 
• Played role in demolishing of Musharraf dictatorship
• Strengthened the democratic system
• Strengthened the supreme court for major decisions

These along with many other are the achievements and effects of lawyers movement. If we analyze the movement from its start, we have following important observations.

• Lawyers movement was not planned
• CJ was not a leader even not a well known public figure
• There were no campaigns to pull out the common people from their homes in to protests and gatherings
• No leaders were nominated, few determined lawyers came forward without and external influence

What we learn

This shows that leadership is not pre-requisite for any positive change. Leadership emerges automatically and it may be not well known to masses. So we should come out of dormancy and should believe that leadership would be there naturally whenever public would be mobilized.

Istikhara for every decision

Allah almighty has provided us Islam as complete way of life. Many times we are confused with available options. In such conditions Prophet peace be upon him guided to perform Istikhara for seeking guideline and blessings of Allah in that particular matter. So whenever you are confused with your options just offer 2 raka prayer and read following Dua with darood shareef. Allah would guide you to right option.

Once you have performed Istikhara, no specific dreams and cautions are required for guideline. Right option would emerge automatically and it would become easy for you. So after Istikhara your duty is over and there is no need to indulge in dreams and signs about it. Allah almighty would guide you to right option once you have asked Him for His favor in your issue.

How to remove caller tunes from Jaz, Zong, Telener, UFone or Warid numbers

Cell phones are commonly used in Pakistan by all age groups. Most of people are very well versed by new and changed packages and facilities provided by their service providers. Telecom service providers have introduced a functionality known as caller tunes. People set these so that all of their callers may hear the music or Naat while waiting the call to be attended.
I have noticed that some people complain that caller tune is activated automatically and how to remove it now?
So here is how to remove caller tunes

• For Zong           SMS UNR to 230
• For Telenor        SMS OFF to 230
• For Jazz             SMS UNSUB to 230
• For UFone         SMS UNSUB to 666
• For Warid           SMS RBT OFF to 7171

Note: I have not personaly verified the above procedures. If any thing requires correction then please mention it.

Some simple tips to be environment friendly

The Earth has already become a dangerous place to live in for the animals and birds. Soon it might be our turn. So let's pledge to save our beautiful planet so that you and your future generations can live happily and peacefully ever after. At your end follow the simple but effective tips.

Use power button

There is a cute small round press button at the bottom right corner of almost all monitors: Please make use of this button.

Avoid printing

Stop printing out Harry Porter, Jeffrey Archer and other e-books. This is a classic example of paper wastage.

Use both sides of print paper

If you have printer with double side print facility then make use of it. If it is not so or you forgot to give double-side prints, make sure you make use of the empty sides as scribbling pads or for your kids' imposition.

Make sure to shut down

Take two minutes from your busy schedule before hurrying back home to shut down the computer.

Blackle (energy efficient search engine)

All of us are big time Googlers. Have you heard of the Blackle search engine? Blackle (Google powered) is a search engine designed all in Rich Black so that your system consumes less power. So change your homepage.

Say no to plastic bags

Plastic bags these days indeed come in bright and flamboyant colours and tempt us to take them home with us. But the saying, "Appearances are deceptive" holds true for these plastic things too. Next time, hold back or go prepared to counter temptation with a cloth bag.

Grow small plants

Roses, Jasmine, Hibiscus and Peas; All these saplings cost hardly between Rs 10 - 20 each. Can't we afford to plant these in and around our houses? Also, more importantly, caring and maintain them as they grow.

Avoid horns

Try to minimize the use of horns. Honking has drastically increased and this adds to the noise pollution and does not provide a conducive environment to live in.

Categorized waste

Try to segregate the different kinds of waste into Bio-Degradable (Fruit or vegetable waste) , Recyclable (waste Paper, paper products) and Electronics (Floppy disks, CD-ROMS ). Once you have segregated your thrash, look for specialized trash cans to throw them away.

Rechargeable Batteries

Use rechargeable batteries though it's an expensive product, it's one-time purchase. Recharge when required. (Same applies to cell-phones, MP3s, iPods and Laptops)

Ink pens and pencils

The best pens to use would be ink ones. Though if you have to use a ball point pen, buy refills instead of buying new pens. Pencils are much better for rough use!

Take care of water tap

Remember to close water taps before preening in front of the mirror. Of course you are beautiful, but Water is a precious resource!

Turn the lights off

Let's not just wake up and walk out of finished meetings and conferences with a sigh of relief, let us remember to turn off the lights and projectors too. Also make sure to off the lights when going out of rooms at home.

Do you know?

Take few minutes to learn about topics like 'Global Warming' , 'Air / Noise /Land / Water Pollution ' etc apart from constant surfing of News, Latest Gadgets, Movies and Music.

And as last tip, spread this message to your friends and colleagues. They too can make a difference.

To be a fan does not loose the right to disagree

Keeping a view about some personality is not digital 1 or 0. You can not tag a person as right always or other wise. I have observed that when people like some one they always praise the thinking and idea of that personality. You can note this behavior at face book pages of  public figures. If you have some reservations about a point or you disagree from what the public figure mentioned that your views should be expressed with free mind. A person with right views may be wrong some time.

It becomes more important when you are dealing with social, cultural or religious matters. Right to disagree is always there and every one should use it for moving towards a better society. 

15 years long hunt with over 3 trillion $ ends at a disputed claim

US claim of Osama Bin Laden hunt became dubious due to a number of reasons. From common people to media and political representatives there are many voices with different questions about the issue. Along with these the changing statements of US officials regarding the Abbottabad operation have further complicated the issue. Majority of people have accepted the death of Osama due to reason that Al-Qaeda announced his martyrdom after couple of days. 

Osama Bin Laden emerged as a symbol of struggle and Jihad against the exploitative systems in the world. It is bad luck of America that Bin Laden ideology has got its roots inside the hearts and minds of vast majority of Muslims all over the world. Muslim youth got a real alternate of Che Guevara that may be even more problematic than a hidden Bin Laden of past.

What to do, when you get a suspect job offer letter?

Recently i came to know about a case where some one started coordination with a fresh graduate (i would call Mr. X) about a job contract. A Email was send with attached contract letter and Mr. X was asked to send a signed and scanned copy of offer letter along with scanned copies of passport and photographs. Email and contract letters were showed to be from Shell Company Malaysia. A lucrative package was offered as salary and benefits. Also some amount was mentioned for visa processing in contract letter but not demanded at the moment. 

Facts  in Case

• Mr. X never applied for Shell Malaysia
• He was never called for phone/online test/interview
• Offered package was much more than normaly being offered in market
• Mail senders were insisting for one day for document submission

Further investigation revealed

With these apparent points, Mr. X further investigated the issue and came to know that 

• Domain used for Shell Malaysia (deducted from email) was proved fake as Shell official domain pointed to its domain in Malaysia, that was totally different
• EMail of Malaysian man power ministry was provided the further cover the case
• That domain (concluded from Email) was also proved fake as original Malaysian man power ministry website was found on Malaysian domain

Potential threats

This was terrible effort of disguise and fraud. It involved following major threats.

• Signatures on scanned agreement were subject to potential misuse
• Scanned photographs and passport may also be misused in very dangerous manner
• With further home work and disguise Mr. X may be convinced to pay a suitable amount on behalf of case processing or documentation

What to do?

If you get any such agreement/ proposal from unconfirmed sources. Then try to confirm the origin of offer. You may easily verify the domains related to EMail used in whole coordination process. Try to talk on phone also. You may involve the related departments to get verification of suspect employer. And most important thing is that never ever expect that some one would issue you a job contract without any test/interview and without your application for that job. Be extremely conscious for over seas offers because that may be complex to verify and may result in great loss.