Alcohol and Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Few days back, I experienced a discussion on my Facebook with my mates when I put a photo in my album in there. The background was that I got to stay at PC Hotel for couple of days and there I felt something about our value system and religion. Alcohol which is strictly prohibited in Islam, is becoming fashion and norm of our culture. We can watch many video clips on different TV channels and many articles in the newspapers about alcohol. It is condemned everywhere. But surprisingly, VIPs are allowed to have this anywhere.


“According to the government regulations, alcohol can only be served in the room from 0930 hrs till 2100 hrs. Should you wish to place an order; you may do so in given time. Please call room service on Ext. 42 (Ref: PC Hotel, Karachi – Pakistan)”. The above lines took my attention and made me restless. I stayed silent for a moment and then asked myself:

• Do we live in Islamic Republic of Pakistan?
• Why our government has allotted time window to alcohol lovers?
• Why does government maintain this double standard for Muslims and non-Muslims when alcohol is equally injurious?

Some of my friends left some comments on the photo attached in here. Some of them were very loud, against and some of them took it light. Here you go with their opinions along with my one:

Hussain Haider chal jany dy na yaar, international standard bhi maintain kerna hota hy, aur 2 alg alg menu nahi banay ja sakty, one for paki mula and other for international guests,jis nay nahi peeni us ko free bhi do gay to nahi piyay ga, aur jis nay peeni hy, wo pataal sy bhi dhoond lay ga, so mere jan tu tension na lia ker, chill maar buss

Faheem Shahzad It's up to u. I totally agree with Haider above. Secondly, I can recall (probably) Holiday Inn LHR, where they have maintained that "alcohol shall only be served to the non-muslim guests during the ABC to XYZ timings". Honestly speaking, you can purchase alcohol from anywhere, i repeat; "literally anywhere" under the supervision of higher-ups (even by paying 10 bucks extra)...... Read more It's not all that hard to do.. but then again being an Islamic Republic, the GOVT. shall and MUST ban it.

LogiSmith Kaleem meri jan shuker karo time limitation de di hai Islamic state ne warna 24hrs hoti to b ham jaise dar pok log kia ker lete really we are dead pplz really

Hussain Haider sorry to say but it reality bros, k aik taraf to hum rotay hain foreign investment k liay jo k ro dho ker bhi nahi ate, dusre tarf hamara behavious yeah hy, apnay app ko aur apnay ayman ko mazboot nahi kerty, hona to yeah chiey k koe jo bhi kerta app islam ko practice karo, main to kehta hu disco facility bhi dyne chiey, its business man, ap un ko ... Read morewo do jo un ko chiey aur wo hasil karo jo apko chieyy, aur apnay piyary muslim bhioo ka apko ache tarah pata hi hy, yeha to PC ki baat ho rhe hy, u all knows better what the fucking hell is going on in our society, rape, alcohol, dishonesty, etc etc, u know all,,,,,,,, to jab in sub cheezon ko roak nahi sakty to phir kam sy kam aysa atmosphere hi dy do k koe pakistan anay sy dery na, sakoon sy pakistan a hi saky, phir visit ho ya busniss,,,, voila!!!!!

Bilal Mirza Faisal, nice to know, however in my opinion, we should treat all haram things EQUALLY, if alcohol is considered haram (and it is) then INTEREST is also haram EQUALLY, then RAPE, PROSTITUTION, LIE, etc are also on same level...I must say that we all should be equally shock to see (and accept) all these evils in our society as we are in this case...[e.g., Statebank, MCB, ALFALAH etc interest rate advertisements also shock us, as that is also haram as this is)

Syed Aabid Hussain Faisal EXPECT everything so next time you wont be surprized .. :),, U remember the history of Pakistan Ref:QUS & MM.. Alot of things do happen in our society however, because of little interaction with that society we usually get shocked.. n the question is are we really muslims? we hike prices of general items in Ramzan, we blast bombs to kill innocent people. . Not rEALLY.. first to find true muslims in the country than think about Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

Moonis Shah We are at the back, its due to us only. Sadly : (

LogiSmith Kaleem i agree wid moonis

LogiSmith Kaleem everything is because of no one but ourselves. . . .if society is horribly dis guided...we are accused...if enemies are on the door ... we are accused if enemies are powerful that means we are weak in fact

Faisal Riaz thanks all. I agree we live in a country where dirty heads are all around. There are good people too and believe me they are good in numbers otherwise this state would have crashed. I know bribing is a standard practice in all institutions, killing on roads has become daily news, rapes (willful and forced) are not new to us, people don’t have money for food, economy is based on interest and left people with no affordable choice and list goes on and on… But who is at the back?

This landlord and filthy rich niche has been ripping off our nation from day one. They got control over our minds and pockets and have played a vital role in bringing Pakistan to a stage where we see it today i.e. at the brink of a disaster. Purpose to post this pic was to let people know that we should know dirty players of the game to take consistent steps (even little one) to condemn them by arms/ speech or in the heart. May Allah be with us in all good deeds!


What is your take? Please do share.

Traveling, traveling and traveling…

Its 2nd week I’m flying from one place to another and to another. My journey took off from Islamabad to Karachi in the last week where I spent 2 days. I went there for the first time and realized that Karachi is a metropolitan city indeed. The city is congested with vehicles, with marks of “PAN” on the roadsides. The city has significant importance due to its history and location on the world globe. Greenery used to be very limited in this city in the past but picture is different now. I saw many parks and trees across roads. A park near sea view of Clifton is a good development for locals.

Karachi has many good restaurants and those cater for almost all sorts of income groups. I heard a lot about Student Briyani before going there so my first visit to that place was obvious. Briyani was really tasty with a good price tag. In the night, I went out to BBQ Tonight with a friend of mine and enjoyed the meal. In the noon when temperature was around 39 Celsius, I went to a tomb. It was very emotional when I saw grave of the person who spent all of his life for the establishment and better future of Pakistan. I’m writing about Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. In the night, I slept for just 5 hours.

Second day, I spent most of the time at work and got tired like anything. I went to bed and waited for my friend to enjoy night life of Karachi again and we went to Roasters and The hot Spot. Next day, I had a flight to Islamabad with mere 4 hours of sleep.

At this moment, I’m in Lahore for a training session and will spend one and half day more. I met my old college buddy and had food with him during lunch break and now resuming work.

See you later. Allah hafiz!

Gunah-e-kabera

• Allah ka shreek tahhrana...
• Muslman ko qatl karna...
• Sood khana...
• Yateem ka maal khana...
• Naik aurat pey tohmat lagana...
• Maidan e jahaad sey bhagna...
• Waldain ki nafarmani karna...
• Kisi pe jado karna...
• BaitUllah ki be hurmti karna...

I want to die in your arms

O, dear
After meeting you
I recognized love
Now where should I go?
I want to die in your arms

My eyes, your dreams
My heart, your memories
What is mine now?
Everything is yours
Life is yours, breath is yours
My eyes start watering
My sorrows start to smile
When you are near

This heart doesn't feel good anywhere
What should I say?
What should I do?
You keep on sitting in front of me
I keep on watching you
You called me up
Look I came up to you
No swear is bigger than love

O, dear
After meeting you
I recognized love
Now where should I go?
I want to die in your arms

By: Faisal Riaz

23-09-2006
Saturday
2:48am

Ramdhan - A Commando Training Program for Muslims

My dear readers, as you know that the holy month of Ramdhan (Ramzan) is ahead of us and we are counting days for its arrival. This wait reminds me of the last Ramdhan when I was working somewhere else with my fine buddy Mansoor Ehsan (I call him “EMEE”). One day he was putting some light on the blessings of Allah and the holy month of Ramdhan and named this month as “Commando Training Program” for Muslims. I really liked the term he used to describe Ramdhan and duties Muslims try to perform during this month.

I believe that it will not be wrong to say that this month is a sort of test for human body, human conduct, human desires and human actions. This month teaches us ‘tolerance’ we probably lack in our regular lives. We can see zeal in people when they get up early in the morning, have food to keep fast, stay hungry the whole day, abstain from what Allah has forbidden, perform their rituals, pray a lot, wait for the evening and have food after Azaan-e-Magrib. In Aftaar, the magnitude of happiness can be witnessed by looking at people faces. They feel fulfilled as if they have attained something out of this world. The whole month goes like this and then a day comes everybody waits for i.e. Eid Ul Adha. Muslims wear new cloths, go to offer Eid prayers and meet their friends and family later on.

“Ramdhan” also reminds me of my childhood when my mother used to awake me and my brothers. She used to cook food for us in cold nights of the winter. I can recall going out to market for buying some eggs, milk and yogurt near 5 o, clock. I was in my teen years then. I used to shiver and cover myself with warm cloths. This also reminds me of my whole family sitting across the table, having meal and offering prayer. I used to go to mosque with my younger brothers that time. I can remember walking in the dawn.

To me, Ramdhan means memories. I wish this Ramdhan brings in immense happiness and blessings of Allah in our lives. Aamin!

Pakistan and our family histories

14 August 1947, the day when my piece of land was born as a new country. I’m blessed as I did not have to sacrifice my belongings as my elders did 62 years ago. My grandmother and my grandfather were from India and they migrated to Pakistan after partition. This land was new and full of challenges. Living was not easy that time like today. Shelter, money and food were the fears in the minds of people those embraced new nationality which was “Pakistani”. Even then they opted for a change for the betterment of coming generations. By the grace of Allah, they managed to survive. Some of them couldn’t sustain and they died without complaining.

My grandfather was an army officer. He had the honor of participating in the war of 1965 occurred between India and Pakistan. Same way my maternal grandfather was in army too and he was also part of that fight. My elder generation was like a squad of soldiers having men, women and children. Some of them got martyred in transition of being “Pakistani” in year 1947. Some of them got martyred in 1965 and rest in 1971. If today any Pakistani ask his father or mother, he/she will come to know same kind of history. Everybody participated to turn Iqbal’s dream into reality.

Today, Pakistan wants us to repeat the history. It wants us to sacrifice our ease for the tomorrow of coming generations. We need to hear its call. We need to react. Our silence and stationary stance can kill coming generations. We need to realize that it’s time to return the favor our elders did decades ago. I wish may Allah be with us and help us to succeed! Aamin

Dil Dil Islamabad, Jan Jan Islamabad

The city Islamabad, capital of Pakistan, a rare city which was planned years ago where everything is at 90 degree angle (most of the times), the town in shape of blocks looks like an excel sheet (as quoted by one of my friend Ammar Waheed) is the place where I live.

I came to this city in 2001 to study. I was 18 years old then. I got admission in International Islamic University and spent there 4 years to do my bachelors followed by MBA in marketing. From day 1, I started liking this place. I have an association with it spread over long 8 years. This is the place where I met a sincere friend Adnan Masood (I call him AD after his father). My most of time was occupied by him during uni days. We shared good and bad times of ours with each other. We use to do it then and we do it even now. I have memories of visiting famous restaurants of the city with him. I remember going to CJ (Civil Junction), Gelato Affairs, Hot Shots, Olive Garden, United Bakers, Shaheen, KFC, Kabli, Italian Oven, Café Grind etc. I remember going out in the nights to NARC, Rawal Dam and Super and Jinnah Super markets with him.

Faisal Masjid and old campus of International Islamic University are located very closed to each other. Being true, university is part of the building of the masjid. I have memories of going to the campus for depositing my semester fees. There used to be a huge crowd of the students and it was an art to deposit fee without hassle.

After uni, my professional career took off. Probably, my Allah wanted me to stay here for more time. I can think of the times when I was interviewed by many companies of Lahore and I had to think of migrating from Islamabad to Lahore. It appeared very tough and hard on nerves. I remember, I cried once or twice. For me, it was not easy to leave this city so easily. Finally, I settled here.

Apart from natural beauty and climate, I like the cleanliness of the city. Off course, Major credit goes to CDA and the citizens. Here, you will not see any rikshaws but yellow and black cabs.

There is one dark side of living here and that is ‘high rents’ which make it the most expensive city of Pakistan. Cost of living is really high and hyped to some extent. However, some good initiatives are done by the government to open Sunday Markets which caters for poor and rich people offering reasonable rates of domestic commodities. Last 3 years have really changed the shape of the city. Main infrastructural changes have given new looks to the city in the form of wide roads, greenery and fly-over. Down side to it is cutting of trees at the larger level which affected the climate of this heaven badly.

I will conclude by saying that one should come here for some days to spend quality time. It’s a very calm and serene city where markets get closed early in the nights and rush is observed in office hours only. I love being here and hopeful that people those have never been here will love to spend time once here. I love you Isloo… I love you Pakistan...