Category: Personal Opinion

We get so consumed by work, health, and the constant chase of everyday life that we forget to pause. To reflect. To look deeper into what’s happening around us, not just in our own circles, but in the world at large.

I’ve noticed this in myself too. Some days I’m scrolling through my feed, and I see a heartbreaking image, a child crying in Gaza, a family fleeing their home in fear. For a moment, I feel the weight of it. My chest tightens, I want to scream at the injustice … and then I move on. Another headline. Another video. Another crisis.

And that scares me. Because if I, someone who grew up in a home where world affairs and social issues were discussed daily, can feel myself going numb — what does that say about the world we live in today?

Growing up in Pakistan, news wasn’t just background noise. In my house, it was dinner table/ teatime conversation. Whether it was a natural disaster, political instability, or another global crisis, there was a sense of urgency and empathy in the air. We felt things deeply, and we were encouraged to form our own opinions and voice them on world politics and social issues. I was an active member of welfare organizations, going door to door to collect donations for earthquake victims, or volunteering with animal rights groups. Back then, empathy was action.

Later, when I moved to France for my master’s and then Dubai for work, I noticed a shift not just in myself, but in the life around me. Life became faster. More demanding. More self-focused. Work deadlines, health goals, financial security, they all crept up and started taking over. The tragedies on the other side of the screen became distant. Something to acknowledge briefly, maybe repost on social media, and then get back to the to-do list.

Part of the problem is the sheer amount of information we’re exposed to today. Our phones constantly flood us with breaking news, tragedies, and horrors from every corner of the world. One day it’s Gaza, the next Sudan, then Ukraine, Syria, or Yemen. Each crisis competes for our attention, and in the process, we become overwhelmed. Our brains, trying to protect us, go numb. We scroll past suffering because it feels endless and unsolvable. Meanwhile, the constant stream of entertainment and glamor creates the illusion that life is perfect and worry-free — sometimes it feels like we are living in The Hunger Games, spectators to both tragedy and spectacle.

But there’s also another layer: our busy, demanding lives. We’re stretched thin — trying to balance careers, relationships, health, and our own private struggles. It’s not that we don’t care, it’s that caring feels heavy and like an additional chore. And so, slowly, we stop looking too closely. We mourn a tragedy for 24 hours online, then the next day our feeds are back to workout tips, vacation reels, and coffee aesthetics.

And yet, we can’t afford to look away. When we lose our ability to feel outrage, to empathize, to pause and reflect, we risk losing part of our humanity. I understand that we need to protect our mental peace, but not to the point of becoming desensitized or selfish. Caring may feel heavy, but shutting ourselves off entirely is a risk we cannot take. Genocides don’t stop because the world looks away. Oppression doesn’t end because we’re too busy to notice.

Maybe we can’t solve every crisis. Maybe we can’t carry the weight of the world every single day. But we can remind ourselves to feel — to stay awake and aware. We can talk about these issues, even when the room grows quiet. We can notice when our hearts start to harden, and fight against it. We can choose not to be consumed only by our own struggles or distracted by life’s glamor. We can carry something, even if not everything — whether it’s reading deeply about one issue, donating AED 100, signing a petition, or simply pausing to truly care.

Because at the end of the day, silence and indifference have always been the best allies of injustice.

P.S. The purpose of writing this article is not to put anyone in guilt, but simply to remind us all that our lives have a purpose bigger than ourselves! 🙂

So today I read about McCarthyism and found it super interesting and I was convinced to research upon it and here I am now writing on it.

The ideology of McCarthyism was proposed by Joseph McCarthy who was a Republican (US Senator) and was part of Henry Truman’s government. He was of the stance that any communist minded people could be a threat to the sovereignty of US and it was imperative to get rid of them. He believed that most large businesses had explained Roosevelt’s economic policies as being socialist. And that during the unprecedented four terms of President Roosevelt, communists within the US had infiltrated the American state and government.

Without giving any logical explanation or proof McCarthy was able to convince Henry Truman that the federal government was crawling with socialists and communists who were working against domestic and international US interests. Due to this mass hysteria dozens of state workers, artists, and others were investigated and demonized. And lobbies who were against public health services claimed that forced vaccination, mental care services and the fluoridation of water were plans of communist world government.

However, Dwight Eisenhower after coming into power realized that this hysteria was doing more damage than good to America’s image and interests. He took initiatives to subside this hysteria. Eventually, McCarthy looked more and more like a demented, egotistical demagogue (this reminds me of stranger things lol) who was discredited by many US journalists.

Now the new research tells that there is a wave of McCarthyism being observed in the American society. Controversial clinical psychologist Professor Jordan Peterson and Lee Jussim found out in their research that there has been a rising tide of leftist intolerance on American campuses. And it has resulted in harassment, violence, directed at speakers from non-left backgrounds. Speakers who present perspectives challenging ‘leftist sacred cows’ such as affirmative action, diversity programs and feminism have been subjected to aggressive proto-authoritarian tactics.

Professor Peterson blames post modernism for the intolerance exhibited by the liberals and the new leftists. He describes post modernists as ‘cultural Marxist conspiracy theorists’ who emerged in the 1970s after Marxism failed to win the class war. He adds that post modernists readjusted Marxism’s core axiom of class struggle to other frameworks of perceived group struggles: race, gender, ethnicity etc. So he is of the viewpoint that all subjects that fall under the umbrella of post modernism use unscientific methods to reach conclusions that have more to do with peddling ideologies than intelligence.

The response to the far right would require a more informed and less reactive retort which should involve making pragmatic alliances. But I think that such alliances cannot be made when the new liberal left too spirals into acts of demonization and reckless accusations.

Period.

“True leaders understand that leadership is not about them but about those they serve. It is not about exalting themselves but about lifting others up.” 

— Sheri L. Dew 

Pakistan has three mainstream political parties right now: PPP, PMLN, and PTI. There are other regional parties and religious outfits too but I believe that they are not capable enough to achieve majority seats.

Now elections in any country is a starting line where journey begins as well as it ends. It is an extended race in which you have to remain on one path/side till the race ends. It is a race in which hurdles are inevitable but you have to necessarily cope with them. Election is vehicle, Constitution is fuel and political parties are drivers and their motto is a path to lead one to his destination. So we have three prominent parties in Pakistan: three drivers, three paths and three destinations. The question is which path to choose and the reason for choosing it? The path which is led by a genuine and reliable person who can be trusted, the path which has least number of hurdles and dacoits than others, the path which favors equality and the path that promises the prosperity and progression of our beloved country.

So, both PML-N and PPP have gained the government three times each and both failed to make Pakistan a progressive and prosperous nation. They became looters of our resources or supporters of them. They became criminals and Ghaadars by defaming the institution (Pakistan army) which remains most sincere to the country.  Thousands of people were killed during their eras. Bribery, nepotism, fraud, money laundering, terrorism and other social evils became custom of the days. So why to choose a path which is full of bloodshed, corruption, injustice and oppression of course?

So given below are a few reasons which have convinced me to support Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf and vote for it:

• I am in love with the ideology for which PTI stands for; which is providing INSAFF (justice) to everyone.
• Imran Khan has struggled for 22 years to reach this stage, with zero political capital, background or legacy. He stood for a cause to make Pakistan a progressive nation and has remained loyal to it throughout. History tells that he has selflessly and tirelessly worked for public health and education of the under-privileged.
• He refused close to 200 million pounds sterling as part of his settlement during Jemima’s divorce proceedings. If he was greedy for wealth, well there it was lying at his feet. Even the adjudicating British judge was taken aback at the refusal and had to ask him twice.
• He is incredibly patriotic and unbelievably determined. The way he supports Pakistan army in his speeches is impressive too. He openly criticized Sharif’s “disloyalty” to the Pakistan army. “I have never seen a leader defaming his own military. There remains no difference between him and Indian Prime minister” said Imran Khan in a recent rally”.
• He has a clear plan of making public sector institutions independent and free of political control.
• Imran Khan does not have a history of having had people punished brutally or beaten or attacked. He has not been involved in any indirect or direct criminal activity that ever harmed or took another human’s life. A Big reason for which  support him.
• Khan’s courage and valor is unquestionable. Barring a bullet-proof jacket, the man hardly has any security. His well-wishers often worry about him for this reason, but he is the fearless man that he is.
• He plans to give constitutional protection to bureaucrats so they cannot be changed like chess board pieces and work without fear or favor.
• He plans to make the police totally apolitical and an accountable institution, strong, free of political control, so they can do their jobs without fear or favor.

It is unfortunate that as a nation we have become so used to being led by corrupt leaders  that many of us have turned a blind eye towards the sufferings of our motherland and have accepted dishonest and corrupt leaders. As strange as it may sound but for a lot of people dishonesty and corruption is acceptable, but a straightforward and sincere leader with much less serious mistakes is lambasted. Always remember that our leaders are a reflection of who we are. 

It’s is time that we think rationally and vote wisely for a progressive and prosperous Pakistan! Period.

Is the life of a woman in Pakistan just restricted to looking fashionable and pretty? Or is there more to it? Over the last couple of years we have seen a revolution in how women dress themselves and an inevitable hysteria among women regarding clothing brands. Every month we get to know about the launch of some new clothing brand and then further on, the launch of clothes for different seasons in Pakistan. The fact that Pakistan experiences four seasons, namely Summer, Spring, Autumn and Winter has given clothing brands an advantage of launching seasonal collection four to five times a year, Eid collections being an addition to this. Summer collection is always treated as the “MOST WANTED” by the customers and many a times women become impatient when it comes to buying the best “branded” dress for themselves. Also, buying branded clothes with an intention to look better than your aunt’s daughter or with the intention of comparing yourself with the model you saw in a clothing brand’s Ad does not look wise. There has to be a meaningful and a positive approach to why we wear what we wear.

Now there are two campaigns which have been successful in giving meaning to why we wear what we wear. And unlike all the previous clothing brand campaigns their creative idea is unique and more meaningful. Let’s first look at Nishat’s campaign, NL-YOU and how it has associated itself with young female generation of Pakistan. What fascinates me about this campaign is how they have empowered women to feel confident and beautiful in their own skin. Also, the fact that they have taken girls who are not recognized models but are girls who come from different professions like for instance, there is a motorbike enthusiast, who has explored Northern Pakistan on her bike (Zenith Irfan), an illustrator from Peshawar (Saheefa Jabbar Khattak), a head-scarf designer (Mahoor Jamal), virtual artists (Alina Tauseef and Samiha Khan) and so many other girls, who may not be fashion icons but are role models for many young girls in Pakistan.

I believe that we can relate ourselves better with such role models for they are not models obsessed with a perfect body shape or contoured skin, rather girls who have dreams of travelling the world or opting a career which reveals their various skills and capabilities. Another thing that I truly appreciate about this campaign is how women belonging to different social backgrounds have been shown, for instance you see a girl wearing Hijab and then a girl wearing a sleeveless top. This shows that every girl should be given the choice to wear what she is most comfortable wearing and a dress which brings out the best in her. This is indeed a step towards accepting diversity.

Moving on to the second most liked campaign that has addressed the stereotypical imaging of Pakistani women, is that by Gul Ahmad, MeinPerfectHoon. In a very subtle way they have empowered women to feel confident about their so called imperfections, emerging mainly in the form of dark skin tone, crooked nose, and short height etcetera. This campaign is an initiative to change the mindset of people who shatter a woman’s confidence on the basis of unrealistic and self-created beauty standards. Another insight into this campaign is that women should be accepted and respected for who they are and they should be encouraged to follow their dreams and passions rather than restricting their mindset to something as ordinary as looks and beauty. This campaign is a step towards making women realize that beauty is not in the face, rather beauty is a light in the heart!

To conclude, both these campaigns have a powerful message to give and I appreciate their step towards giving women more than just clothes; that is to feel confident and beautiful in their own skin. Also, young Pakistani women, especially millennials are driven by career goals, education and values and so the need is to impress them by showing something meaningful and constructive, one which they can relate to.

One of the reasons for which I enjoyed taking Sales Force Management course was because our course’s syllabus was not restricted to any one specific course book or a set of ready-made slides, rather we were given the opportunity to read from different authentic forums, make professional presentations and practically apply our learning of both sales force and consumer behavior concepts to practical life.
This course encouraged me to read extensively and to learn more about how companies successfully apply Sales Force Management concepts in collaboration with other relevant strategies. So I recently read this book called Customer Mania which talks about building a Customer-Focused Company the Right Way! The author of the book has highlighted four points which ensure the success of any company, a success which is not just focused on making money but on building strong relations with customers as well. By drawing on examples from the world’s largest restaurant company, Yum! — owner of KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Long John Silver’s, and A&W Restaurants — the authors explain how any company, large or small, can develop a unified, people-first, customer-oriented culture. And the most interesting fact was that all the four steps ensuring the company’s success were people related i.e. the primary resource for the success of any company is its workforce and its customers. 

Now let’s talk about the four steps that have been highlighted by Ken Blanchard.  Step one is to set a company’s sight on the right target and vision. Step two is to treat the customers in an amicable way. Step three is to treat the employees in an appropriate manner and the last step is that the company should have a strong type of leadership. 

First step states that a customer-focused company with its sight set on the right target should be the Provider of Choice and should focus on taking care of its customers. Secondly, it should be the Employer of Choice and should aim at creating a motivating environment for its people. Thirdly, it should be the Investment of Choice and should have a register go ca-ching. And the most important thing is having an agreed-upon, compelling vision of the company. 

Coming towards the second step i.e. treating the customers in an amiable way, the company has to make sure that it does whatever it can to satisfy its customers. This in turn would aid them in acquiring customer loyalty in the future. Blanchard has stated this thing several times in the book that the company should listen to what its customers have to say.  The salesmen should be trained to ask questions from the customers in a polite way so as to gain customer trust.  It is very imperative for every company to be creative in discovering what customers want. After knowing what they want it becomes easy for a company to include their suggestions in the company’s vision. By giving them what they want, a company can create raving fans who would brag about how nicely the company treats them. 

Step three is another essential step which is also very much related to what I learned in my sales force management course. This step states that if the company treats the workforce in the right way, only then would the workforce in turn, treat the customers in the right way. For making this cycle work, it is suggested that the company integrates four human systems: recruiting and hiring, training and development, performance management and career planning.  By doing this any company would be successful in recruiting and hiring the right people on the team. Effective training along with constant motivation would help in improving the performance of the workforce. Also, performance management, if done in the right way, would help the workforce in getting help when they need it and in accomplishing their goals which would ultimately lead to the company’s success. 

Last of all is having a plausible kind of leadership.There are two aspects of leadership: vision and implementation. While top leadership sets the vision and direction, anyone who is in a position to influence can be a leader. There are two kinds of leaders. Driven leaders who happen to be self-serving whereas as servant leaders are those who take responsibility of developing a compelling vision; then invert the pyramid and move to the bottom as cheerleaders, supporters and encouragers. Every company should remember that leadership is not about them, rather it’s about serving the vision of the company and people who make it come true. 

In short, this book helped me in knowing how important it is to focus on good customer service which many businesses fail to focus on. Also, the fact that if one gets the title of a leader, it doesn’t mean that one is all-knowing and omnipotent. Every leader should know the art of identifying the strengths of people around him and bringing out the best in each one of them.