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Express Tribune
5 days ago
- Express Tribune
Rooted in dreams & the dust
By HAZARAN RAHIM DAD | Hazaran Rahim Dad is a feature writer who holds an MA in English Literature from the University of Karachi All facts and information are the sole responsibility of the writer facebook twitter whatsup linkded email I find stories in everything and everywhere, because I believe stories are living things. Growing up in Balochistan, I've always felt that the land itself is alive. The mountains, the waterfalls, the canals, and the endless ocean — they breathe and whisper. The people who dwell here — how they live, how they struggle, how they endure — carry stories inside them like blood in their veins. A fisherman battles the mighty winds of the sea, returning with just enough fish to keep his modest kitchen running. A shepherd walks under the scorching July sun, guiding his flock while singing a mournful serenade. A woman bends over a field, working alongside her husband, her voice rising in a sorrowful elegy. A Zamyad driver risks his life on treacherous mountain roads, dreaming of returning with enough to sustain his family. And then there are the pregnant women in remote areas, losing their lives on roadless paths, never making it to the city in time. There are weary mothers waiting for sons who might never come back. Everyday life here is made of stories — sometimes lost, but never faded, never forgotten. They always remind me that stories are alive. And that's how, on a balmy evening in Kech, as the heat began to settle and the horizon glowed, I found myself before a sunset. The palm trees swayed gently as the sky burst into shades of orange. With a cup of chai in my hand, I watched Kuhaani Niyaama, a travel documentary by Kamalan Bebagar, who is a Balochistan-based filmmaker and cinematographer. This 32-minute documentary is rooted in a specific geography. It's set in Niwaano, a small village in Zaamuran, district Kech — nestled between mountains, date trees, mud homes, and herds of sheep and goats whose bleating fills the air. There's something gentle about how Kamalan frames his story: he doesn't rush, doesn't oversaturate. He rests his lens on stillness. As a storyteller, I may not be well-versed in the language of cinematography, but what I do know is story — and Kamalan has crafted a powerful one. With just a single village, a single character, and a single interview, he captures the vastness of a world. The protagonist is Nako (Uncle) Amin, a man whose eyes speak as much as his words. His presence anchors the film like an old tree that has withstood storms, shed a thousand leaves, yet still stands — quiet, weathered, and rooted in memory. His presence anchors the film like a tree that's seen too many seasons pass. Amin, in his steady, knowing voice, takes us on a journey through the village's past and present. He speaks of herds, of date trees, and their culture, he talks of the migration of Baloch labourers to the Gulf in the 1980s, and himself spending seven years as a police recruit in Bahrain to still choosing this land, his land., As he says, "Foreign lands can only be pleasant to those who have never been there." He recalls his nomadic life, where people roamed different places in search of necessities for survival. He notes that the migration of labourers to the Gulf has significantly reduced nomadic lifestyles, leading to a permanent settlement in Niwaano for those who once roamed freely. The decline of nomadic life, which was once the primary source of the economic system in ancient Baloch culture, has transformed over the decades. While Gulf migration has decreased, increased border trade has improved the society's economic position. When asked what his land offers, he replies, "There is nothing, but still, it is more pleasant." Then comes Kamalan's pivotal question — one that carries far more weight than its words suggest: 'Do you like it here, or can you simply not afford to leave?' The camera lingers on Amin's face. He smiles wide, then chuckles, and finally answers: 'We like it here.' There's a whole cosmos tucked within that smile. And in the small gesture he makes — adjusting his nose with his fingers — a quiet, unguarded tenderness. I paused the film. Then rewound. Watched it again. That moment, that chuckle — it is knowing. It sets the tone of the entire documentary. It tells us there is more beneath the surface. That this man's life — his gray beard, his weathered eyes — carries a story still unfolding. Kamalan uses his frames wisely. His visuals don't distract; they enrich. His storytelling allows space for reflection, for silence. He captures Niwaano's vastness: with a quiet rhythm, intercutting Amin's reflections with sweeping shots of the village. Palm trees stand tall against the jagged mountains. A little girl cradles a newborn. Water canals snake through the dry land. Abandoned mud houses bear witness to those who have left. But then the tone shifts. Kamalan shows us the graves of Niwaano—unmarked, nameless, some with only a single stone to remember them. The camera lingers as Amin's voice breaks the silence: "Our Baloch have also killed themselves in Muscat. The Baloch graveyard there is in good condition, but it is the land of others." Through Amin's recollections, we glimpse the transformation of the land. The decline of the Gulf migration. The slow rise of border trade from herding goats. The paradoxes of economic survival. Amin does not just tell his own story; he speaks to the broader anxieties of a neglected people. He critiques politicians who claim to bring development to the region, scoffing at their empty promises. "There is no road; this is their development," he says wryly. Lamenting over the erosion of societal values in his village, Amin points to the drug trade as both a cause and a consequence. "The sellers are destroying the younger generation," he says, "but in the end, they are destroying themselves too." "We are short of representatives," he sighs. The lack of infrastructure is a death sentence for many, and children grow up in schools that barely function. 'It has only been three years since our primary school was upgraded to middle school," Amin says, "but even now, there are so many vacant teaching posts." Amin recalls watching a local parliamentarian boast about bringing development to Buleda. "I could say nothing but shame," he says, shaking his head. "They claim progress, yet our children are still left without teachers, our roads are still dust and stone, and our sick still die on the way to hospitals that remain out of reach." In many ways, Kamalan Bebagar has done more than just document a village. He has honoured it. And through the eyes of Nako Amin, we see an entire philosophy — one that values dignity over convenience, rootedness over luxury. Through Kuhaani Niyaama, Kamalan Bebagar does not merely document a village; he listens to its heartbeat. He captures the pulse of a people, their undying attachment to the soil that raised them, and the quiet resilience that hums through their everyday lives. In the eyes of Amin, we see the unspoken weight of history — years folded into a single glance. And in his knowing chuckle, we hear a story that is still unfolding, still walking barefoot through mountain trails, still echoing through the dates and dust of Niwaano. But in the end, Kuhaani Niyaama isn't only about Niwaano. It speaks to every small village cradled by mountains, where time moves slowly, and stories are carried in calloused hands and whispered lullabies. It's about every mother who waits, and every shepherd who sings. It is about the stories we almost lose in the noise of modernity, but somehow — miraculously — find again: in a chuckle, in a silence, in a single frame. The documentary can be viewed here:
Business Recorder
6 days ago
- Politics
- Business Recorder
Pakistan rejects ‘TRF-LeT' link after US terror designation, calls for objective global CT approach
Pakistan on Friday rejected the alleged link between the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and The Resistance Front (TRF), recently designated by the United States as a foreign terrorist organisation. In a statement issued by the Foreign Office, Islamabad reiterated its zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism and stressed that Pakistan remains a frontline state in the global counterterrorism effort. It highlighted Pakistan's contributions, including the recent apprehension of Sharifullah, the alleged mastermind of the 2021 Abbey Gate bombing in Kabul. The development comes after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the designation of TRF following an April 2025 attack in Pahalgam, located in the internationally recognised disputed territory of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK), which killed 26 people. Rubio claimed TRF is an offshoot of LeT, the group blamed for the 2008 Mumbai attacks. While investigations into the Pahalgam incident remain inconclusive, Pakistan rejected any association with LeT, saying it is a defunct organisation already dismantled within the country. 'Pakistan has effectively prosecuted the leadership and deradicalised cadres of such outfits,' the statement said. The Foreign Office warned that India has a record of exploiting terrorism-related designations for propaganda purposes. 'India uses such designations to divert global attention from its ongoing human rights violations in IIOJK and its rogue behaviour in the region,' it said. Pakistan also urged the international community to pursue an objective and non-discriminatory approach to terrorism, calling for equal attention to other groups such as the Balochistan-based Majeed Brigade, which it said should be listed as an alias of the banned BLA. 'Pakistan's counterterrorism role is globally acknowledged, and its sacrifices are unmatched,' the statement added. 'Tackling terrorism demands collective international efforts, not selective attribution or politicization.'
India Today
02-07-2025
- Politics
- India Today
Baloch man, protesting dad's kidnap by Pak forces for 10 years, found dead now
After a decade-long fight for justice to find his father abducted by Pakistani forces, Baloch activist Zeeshan Zaheer was found dead on July 1, reported human rights group Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), the Balochistan-based human rights bullet-ridden body was found two days after he was reportedly abducted by "unknown men". The BYC alleged Zaheer was picked up by a Pakistani state-backed "death squad" in who had been campaigning for over a decade for the release of his father, Zaheer Ahmed, who was abducted by Pakistan's Frontier Corps (FC) in April 2015, was last seen on the night of June 29. According to BYC, he was returning home after a football match around 8 pm when two vehicles intercepted him. Bystanders reportedly saw him being beaten with his hands tied before he was thrown into one of the vehicles. That same night, Zaheer's family and residents blocked the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) highway in protest, demanding his release. But by morning, the protest had turned into mourning. Zaheer's body, riddled with six bullets to the chest, knife wounds, and clear signs of torture, was found dumped in had become a familiar face in Balochistan's resistance movement against what is the Pakistani establishment's cruel tactic to curb dissent, enforced disappearances. He took part in a long march to Islamabad and other public campaigns to shed light on Balochistan's enforced DISAPPEARANCE AND EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLINGS COMMON IN BALOCHISTANadvertisementThe human rights wing of the Baloch National Movement, Paank, stated that his killing was part of a broader pattern of "state-backed" targeting of youths and activists in the restive must be noted that for decades, the Balochistan province of Pakistan has been a hotbed of unrest, with the ethnic Baloch people agitating against what they perceive as exploitation by the Pakistani establishment, and the Chinese, and their interests tied to projects of the BYC called Zaheer's murder an extrajudicial killing and organised a campaign to condemn it. The BYC, formed in response to systemic human rights abuses in Balochistan, said Zaher's death marks the ninth such killing reported in just one persons BYC named on X included Qaim Hayat, Wazeer Khan, Subat Khan, Haider Ali, Khalid Zehri, Masood Baloch, Qadir Bakhsh, and Dolat Baloch — all allegedly victims of Pakistani forces, death squads, or custodial disappearances and extrajudicial killings to suppress Baloch nationalism are a common occurrence in per the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), an enforced disappearance is an "arrest, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty by agents of the State or by persons or groups of persons acting with the authorisation, support or acquiescence of the State, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person, which place such a person outside the protection of the law".advertisementThe ruthless tactic of the Pakistani establishment's playbook, long used on Baloch men, children, and the elderly, is now being unleashed on women Baloch, a 24-year-old, became the latest victim of the Pakistani state's suppression when she was kidnapped in the last week of disappearance shows a growing pattern in Balochistan, where the targeting of women has increased since the March detention of renowned activist Mahrang Baloch, a development the Baloch Women Forum describes as a deeply troubling intensification of human rights abuses in the the "death squads" have stepped up their activities, targeting anyone they suspect of having ties to the Baloch freedom death squads have been frequently linked to the Pakistani military and are reportedly composed of local militias or criminals who suppress dissent through violence. While Pakistan's military denies these allegations, human rights organisations have long documented a pattern of enforced disappearances, torture, and extrajudicial killings in Balochistan.- EndsMust Watch
Express Tribune
13-06-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
From forerunner to far-runner
Listen to article As Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) marks 75 years of service with a ceremonial celebration at the Karachi Golf Club on 17 June 2025, it is not only a time to recognise longevity, but to reflect critically on what sustains corporate institutions — and what imperils them. Corporate history is filled with tales of giants that faltered. The East India Company, established in 1600, grew to dominate trade across Asia. For over two centuries, it enjoyed extraordinary power — military, economic and political. But in the aftermath of the Indian Mutiny of 1857, it was dissolved by the British Crown. A potent symbol of unchecked expansion, its fate remains a cautionary tale of what happens when institutions outgrow accountability. A more recent and instructive example is the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) of Canada. Founded in 1670, HBC was one of the oldest and most iconic companies in North America. Originally created as a fur trading business, it evolved into a vast retail empire, owning department stores, land holdings and financial interests. For over three and a half centuries, it adapted to changing markets and consumer needs. But cracks began to show in the early 21st century. Faced with mounting digital competition, shifting shopping behaviours and strategic indecision, HBC failed to reinvent itself fast enough. After years of losses and restructuring, the company filed for creditor protection in March 2025 and officially ceased operations in June. The fall of HBC underscores a central truth: legacy cannot be taken for granted. Even the most enduring companies must remain rooted in operational logic and responsive to change. This brings us to a decision that is currently casting a shadow over PPL's otherwise commendable milestone — the reported plan to relocate its head office from Karachi to Islamabad. This move raises serious concerns not only about efficiency but also about motive. PPL's operational backbone lies in Sindh and Balochistan. Its major gas fields - Sui, Kandhkot, Mazarani and many others - are located in these provinces. The company's ventures in lead, zinc and iron ore are Balochistan-based. Bolan Mining Enterprises, a 50:50 joint venture with the Government of Balochistan, produces barite from Khuzdar and is headquartered in Quetta. Most technical and operational coordination, along with joint ventures and field logistics, are centred in the southern region of the country. Above all, PPL's 8.33% share in Reko Diq gold mine, a game changer for the Company, is also situated in Balochistan. Thus, a shift to Islamabad appears neither administratively necessary nor economically sound. Rather, it seems to reflect parochial considerations, disconnected from ground realities. Such a move risks weakening the company's alignment with its core operations and alienating the very regions that support its business. Strategically, it would place management further away from operational hubs, complicate coordination and increase costs — without any clear upside. Symbolically, it risks diminishing Karachi's historic role as a corporate and industrial hub, and more critically, sending the wrong message about national cohesion and balanced development. At a time when PPL should be consolidating its position, investing in exploration and preparing for energy transition challenges, such a move seems both untimely and unwise. It is hoped that the Petroleum Minister, known for his energy and intellect, will examine this matter closely. Pragmatism, not symbolism, must guide policy. The story of corporate survival is rarely about grandeur — it is about good judgment. Hudson's Bay did not fall overnight. It fell by drifting away from its strengths and delaying key decisions. PPL has the experience and legacy to endure — but only if it avoids complacency and stays connected to its operational roots. Longevity in business is not just about staying alive — it is about staying relevant. Let us hope PPL chooses wisely as it steps into its next quarter century. My thoughts are best reflected in these verses by Iftikhar Arif: Yeh kya keh khaak huwai hum jahan wahin kay nahin; Jo hum yahan kay nahin hain to phir kahin kay nahin Wafa sarisht mai hoti to samnay aati; Woh kya falak sai nibhain gai jo zameen kay nahin
Express Tribune
31-05-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Govt declares Baloch terror groups, organizations as ‘Fitna al Hindustan'
The federal government on Saturday ordered all state institutions to refer to militant groups operating in its restive Balochistan province as 'Fitna al Hindustan', accusing India of sponsoring a proxy war through these insurgents. According to a notification issued by the Ministry of Interior on Saturday, the move stems from 'the involvement of some organizations and groups in terrorist activities in Balochistan, which are detrimental to Islamic faith, the sovereignty of Pakistan, and its customary traditions.' The notification further stated that the new designation is intended to reflect 'the true nature and ideology' of these groups and their 'nefarious designs' allegedly sponsored by India. Read more: Pakistan labels TTP as 'Fitna al-Khawarij' to expose its true ideology 'All government entities are directed to start the above practice immediately,' the notification said, underscoring a concerted effort to reframe the narrative around insurgent violence in the province. The announcement came as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif accused India of escalating indirect aggression after what he described as its defeat in a recent security operation dubbed 'Marka-e-Haq'. Accuding India of intensifying a proxy terrorism campaign in Pakistan, particularly in Balochistan, he said, 'India, after suffering strategic setbacks, has resorted to indirect aggression'. 'But Pakistan will thwart all such nefarious designs and stand resolute against Fitna al Hindustan and its proxies.' A day earlier, Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir had also addressed the ongoing unrest in Balochistan, stating that insurgent groups there were not indigenous but rather acting on behalf of foreign interests. 'These terrorists are not Baloch. They are agents of disruption sponsored by India,' the army chief said, reiterating the armed forces' stance that separatist violence in the province is externally instigated. Also read: Won't accept India's hegemony: COAS The government's decision to adopt a new label for Balochistan-based insurgents mirrors a similar move last year, when the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was officially designated 'Fitna al-Khawarij'. At that time, the Ministry of Interior said the term 'Khariji' was chosen to expose what it described as the TTP's misrepresentation of Islam.
