3 wives seeking khula
By Uroos Ahmed
KARACHI: A man’s third wife has filed a suit against him for marrying thrice without the consent of each woman, as is legally required in Islam. His first two wives live in Sahiwal. On Monday, the defendant’s father was cross examined by the plaintiff’s attorney.
“According to Islamic law, a man is allowed four wives only with the consent of the first wife,” explained advocate Sami, who is representing the third wife who is filing for the dissolution of the marriage in the Karachi city courts. “As many times as he marries, he must acquire permission from his first wife, although in this case the first wife or any of the other two wives had no idea about his other two marriages.”
The defendant is currently residing in Germany. According to advocate Sami, he is not a very well educated man and had told his wives that he was employed as a labourer with a local company. “My client was promised that she would be taken to Germany as soon as the visa came through once they were married,” he said. “But he left after 15 days of the wedding and came back after a month. It has been ten months to the wedding and he hasn’t taken my client with him to Germany.” Sami also said that his client assumes that her husband must have married a woman in Germany as well as he regularly travels back and forth between Pakistan and Germany, which she believes would not be financially possible for a labourer.
The defendant is also under suit for fraud in the Sahiwal courts by his first and second wives along with petitions for khula and the recovery of dowry articles.
Monday, May 26, 2008
And another...
Courts full of grandparents fighting for custody
By Uroos Ahmed
KARACHI: At the city courts Daily Times found Thursday that most of the elderly people awaiting trial were fighting for the custody of their grandchildren in addition to a large number of people pursuing property cases.
“I have been coming to the courts for the past three years,” said Shahida, who said she was in her early 70s, “and before that, my deceased daughter was fighting for the custody of her son, who is now nine years old.” Her daughter Noveen, who passed away from cancer three years ago, had come back from England when her child was seven months old. Noveen had moved to London after her wedding, but her marriage was on the rocks soon after the birth of her child. She came back to Pakistan and filed for khula on the grounds that her former husband was a violent man and had even tried to strangle their child while in a drunken state.
“Before my daughter passed away, she transferred the child’s custody to me at the age of seven. He has been living with me for the past nine years and I can’t give him up, even at this old age.” Shahida agreed that although it was practical to let the child live with his father, the child himself did not want to live with him and the judge monitoring the meetings had ordered that either the child’s grandfather or his uncle be present at all times as the father had been rude to him a few times in the meetings. The suit for custody was filed after Noveen’s demise and the case had been pending for the past three years.
Another woman, Izzat-un-Nisa, was there with her two grandchildren, aged seven years and five years and her daughter. “My daughter got separated after the birth of her first child,” she told Daily Times, “but she reconciled with her husband. However, during her second pregnancy, her husband disappeared on her for two years, after which she had no option but to file for khula upon which, her husband claimed conjugal rights.” Izzat-un-Nisa recalled that khula was granted after two years and before or during that time, the husband had been missing from the picture and only came back last month, to file for custody once the elder child turned seven years old. When asked, the children did not recognise their father, who was unemployed and lived with his mother, divorced sister and her three children. The father had not provided any maintenance or child support but in his appeal, he was requesting custody of the children because he repented his loss and wanted to give them a better life, which he felt the boys could only have in the presence of a father.
Most grandparents who Daily Times talked to were maternal grandparents, regarding which, advocate Taeeba remarked: “This is a consequence of the steadily increasing divorce rate in the country. Most women who suffer from broken marriages are supported by their parents today.” She cited the increased literacy rate in women as well as greater awareness as the main reasons for parents standing up to support their daughters. Taeeba also said that women today were more aware of their rights under the Shariah laws and had become more career-oriented. “They have changed their lifestyles according to their own convenience. Where this evolution is a positive occurrence, it is also one of the major factors for the increase in divorces and long proceedings with maintenance trials, recovery of dowry and most frequently, custody cases.”
By Uroos Ahmed
KARACHI: At the city courts Daily Times found Thursday that most of the elderly people awaiting trial were fighting for the custody of their grandchildren in addition to a large number of people pursuing property cases.
“I have been coming to the courts for the past three years,” said Shahida, who said she was in her early 70s, “and before that, my deceased daughter was fighting for the custody of her son, who is now nine years old.” Her daughter Noveen, who passed away from cancer three years ago, had come back from England when her child was seven months old. Noveen had moved to London after her wedding, but her marriage was on the rocks soon after the birth of her child. She came back to Pakistan and filed for khula on the grounds that her former husband was a violent man and had even tried to strangle their child while in a drunken state.
“Before my daughter passed away, she transferred the child’s custody to me at the age of seven. He has been living with me for the past nine years and I can’t give him up, even at this old age.” Shahida agreed that although it was practical to let the child live with his father, the child himself did not want to live with him and the judge monitoring the meetings had ordered that either the child’s grandfather or his uncle be present at all times as the father had been rude to him a few times in the meetings. The suit for custody was filed after Noveen’s demise and the case had been pending for the past three years.
Another woman, Izzat-un-Nisa, was there with her two grandchildren, aged seven years and five years and her daughter. “My daughter got separated after the birth of her first child,” she told Daily Times, “but she reconciled with her husband. However, during her second pregnancy, her husband disappeared on her for two years, after which she had no option but to file for khula upon which, her husband claimed conjugal rights.” Izzat-un-Nisa recalled that khula was granted after two years and before or during that time, the husband had been missing from the picture and only came back last month, to file for custody once the elder child turned seven years old. When asked, the children did not recognise their father, who was unemployed and lived with his mother, divorced sister and her three children. The father had not provided any maintenance or child support but in his appeal, he was requesting custody of the children because he repented his loss and wanted to give them a better life, which he felt the boys could only have in the presence of a father.
Most grandparents who Daily Times talked to were maternal grandparents, regarding which, advocate Taeeba remarked: “This is a consequence of the steadily increasing divorce rate in the country. Most women who suffer from broken marriages are supported by their parents today.” She cited the increased literacy rate in women as well as greater awareness as the main reasons for parents standing up to support their daughters. Taeeba also said that women today were more aware of their rights under the Shariah laws and had become more career-oriented. “They have changed their lifestyles according to their own convenience. Where this evolution is a positive occurrence, it is also one of the major factors for the increase in divorces and long proceedings with maintenance trials, recovery of dowry and most frequently, custody cases.”
Another court story
Intermarrying means a double divorce for some
By Uroos Ahmed
KARACHI: Some of the messiest divorces can involve intermarriages in which two members or more of one family marry into another, some lawyers told Daily Times.
While intermarrying is a popular tradition, few families realize while entering the contracts, that if one of the couples runs aground, the divorce can have just as bad an effect on the other couple. Advocate Bilal related the story of two families that went through this. “It was a simple case of vata sata in which one husband divorced his wife on the grounds that she couldn’t conceive,” he said, “but this resulted in the divorce of his own sister who was married for five years with two children only because her husband retaliated to the divorce of his sister.”
Some people reason that intermarrying is a deterrent to a break-up as double family links have been created. “The general assumption in such cases is that the couple will be made to reconcile due to family pressure and the case will not go very far as there is dirty family politics involved in these matters,” said Advocate Shahid. He gave the example of a case he has been working on for the past eight months in which his client and her sister married two brothers living in the same house. When his client filed for khula in September she had provided proof that her husband was not earning enough and that she had been supporting him and their three children by working as a sweeper in two houses and a school. “She came with the firm conviction of getting khula and latter acquiring custody of her children as there had been incidents of physical abuse by her husband and she was scared for her daughters,” Shahid said. Once the evidence for the defendant began his client backed out, saying she had reconciled with her husband and would withdraw her case. “However, she came back after two months and filed for khula again.”
Advocate Jamal Agha said that ironically such cases were common in families that considered divorce taboo. But they are also common in ‘wata sata’ or the tribal custom of spousal exchanges to settle disputes. “This is common mostly in the Sindh interior courts or in the Punjab,” said Advocate Bilal, “although you do get these case in the city courts.”
An estimated five thousand divorce cases are pending each month due to adjournments, the lawyers added. The delays add to the stress and strain. “Apart from the recent backlog due to the protests, on a regular basis over the year 2006 approximately 16,000 divorce cases were carried forward to 2007,” said Mushtaq, a registrar at the city courts.
Lawyers said that they felt that the litigation, especially for cases of khula, is complying with the fast track system that has yet to be established properly in everyday court proceedings. “The reason why these cases take time to reach a final order lies with the plaintiff’s own actions as we know that the lower and lower middle classes opt for legal aid as a last resort,” said Advocate Shahid. For him, a majority of the cases were pending as some domestic issue or the other prevented the plaintiff or the defendant from either coming to court or providing sufficient evidence.
By Uroos Ahmed
KARACHI: Some of the messiest divorces can involve intermarriages in which two members or more of one family marry into another, some lawyers told Daily Times.
While intermarrying is a popular tradition, few families realize while entering the contracts, that if one of the couples runs aground, the divorce can have just as bad an effect on the other couple. Advocate Bilal related the story of two families that went through this. “It was a simple case of vata sata in which one husband divorced his wife on the grounds that she couldn’t conceive,” he said, “but this resulted in the divorce of his own sister who was married for five years with two children only because her husband retaliated to the divorce of his sister.”
Some people reason that intermarrying is a deterrent to a break-up as double family links have been created. “The general assumption in such cases is that the couple will be made to reconcile due to family pressure and the case will not go very far as there is dirty family politics involved in these matters,” said Advocate Shahid. He gave the example of a case he has been working on for the past eight months in which his client and her sister married two brothers living in the same house. When his client filed for khula in September she had provided proof that her husband was not earning enough and that she had been supporting him and their three children by working as a sweeper in two houses and a school. “She came with the firm conviction of getting khula and latter acquiring custody of her children as there had been incidents of physical abuse by her husband and she was scared for her daughters,” Shahid said. Once the evidence for the defendant began his client backed out, saying she had reconciled with her husband and would withdraw her case. “However, she came back after two months and filed for khula again.”
Advocate Jamal Agha said that ironically such cases were common in families that considered divorce taboo. But they are also common in ‘wata sata’ or the tribal custom of spousal exchanges to settle disputes. “This is common mostly in the Sindh interior courts or in the Punjab,” said Advocate Bilal, “although you do get these case in the city courts.”
An estimated five thousand divorce cases are pending each month due to adjournments, the lawyers added. The delays add to the stress and strain. “Apart from the recent backlog due to the protests, on a regular basis over the year 2006 approximately 16,000 divorce cases were carried forward to 2007,” said Mushtaq, a registrar at the city courts.
Lawyers said that they felt that the litigation, especially for cases of khula, is complying with the fast track system that has yet to be established properly in everyday court proceedings. “The reason why these cases take time to reach a final order lies with the plaintiff’s own actions as we know that the lower and lower middle classes opt for legal aid as a last resort,” said Advocate Shahid. For him, a majority of the cases were pending as some domestic issue or the other prevented the plaintiff or the defendant from either coming to court or providing sufficient evidence.
One of the first court stories
Divorce rate rising 30% yearly over incompatibility
* 1,800 cases pending in East wing of city courts alone: a lawyer
By Uroos Ahmed
KARACHI: Rough estimates on the divorce rate in family courts shows that in the last 10 years numbers have gone up by 20 to 30 percent every year.
"This is mostly due to the fact that women are granted khula without the husband's consent," claimed Advocate Riaz Alam Khan. "There are over 1,800 divorce cases pending in the East wing of the city courts Karachi alone, which caters to a small area only," he said. Divorce cases that should take six months, usually go on for an average of two years.
Daily Times spoke to a large number of people filing for divorce or going through divorce proceedings at the city courts. A rough estimate indicated that every third to fourth family had a direct divorce case. "The abuse of the woman is not a major factor affecting the divorce rate as such anymore," said advocate Humaira. "In rape or harassment cases there may be some form of abuse but actual physical abuse is not very common anymore as women are more liberal now."
In her experience, Humaira said that the divorce cases she handled focused on compatibility. "In court people may give a lot of excuses and stories to get out of the marriage contract but in fact the real issues lie in the awareness of women and men these days."
Most young unmarried people who were questioned by Daily Times felt that divorce has become too easy a way to get out of a "bad deal" they made. A survey of the women filing for divorce showed that their primary reasons were being "unable to adjust" to family life. "I have been working on this marriage but the fact is that different backgrounds do bring about several issues which cannot be compromised upon," said Salma, a claimant for khula. She was married to Kamran for three years with no children and had a "non-friendly" marriage as described by Kamran. "It is important to have the compatibility element in any relationship, let alone marriage," he told Daily Times.
Another factor affecting the divorce rate appeared to be the female literacy rate. "Men need to earn a living and usually don't get the opportunity or time to study beyond middle school," said social worker Samra. "Their wives, on the other hand, are working as housemaids or sweepers and are thus interacting with the educated members of upper society compared to their husbands doing physical labour at a construction site." The women she came across felt the need to learn. "The women working as housemaids learn English from the children of the house, or the schools they work in or just generally from their friends in the same network."
* 1,800 cases pending in East wing of city courts alone: a lawyer
By Uroos Ahmed
KARACHI: Rough estimates on the divorce rate in family courts shows that in the last 10 years numbers have gone up by 20 to 30 percent every year.
"This is mostly due to the fact that women are granted khula without the husband's consent," claimed Advocate Riaz Alam Khan. "There are over 1,800 divorce cases pending in the East wing of the city courts Karachi alone, which caters to a small area only," he said. Divorce cases that should take six months, usually go on for an average of two years.
Daily Times spoke to a large number of people filing for divorce or going through divorce proceedings at the city courts. A rough estimate indicated that every third to fourth family had a direct divorce case. "The abuse of the woman is not a major factor affecting the divorce rate as such anymore," said advocate Humaira. "In rape or harassment cases there may be some form of abuse but actual physical abuse is not very common anymore as women are more liberal now."
In her experience, Humaira said that the divorce cases she handled focused on compatibility. "In court people may give a lot of excuses and stories to get out of the marriage contract but in fact the real issues lie in the awareness of women and men these days."
Most young unmarried people who were questioned by Daily Times felt that divorce has become too easy a way to get out of a "bad deal" they made. A survey of the women filing for divorce showed that their primary reasons were being "unable to adjust" to family life. "I have been working on this marriage but the fact is that different backgrounds do bring about several issues which cannot be compromised upon," said Salma, a claimant for khula. She was married to Kamran for three years with no children and had a "non-friendly" marriage as described by Kamran. "It is important to have the compatibility element in any relationship, let alone marriage," he told Daily Times.
Another factor affecting the divorce rate appeared to be the female literacy rate. "Men need to earn a living and usually don't get the opportunity or time to study beyond middle school," said social worker Samra. "Their wives, on the other hand, are working as housemaids or sweepers and are thus interacting with the educated members of upper society compared to their husbands doing physical labour at a construction site." The women she came across felt the need to learn. "The women working as housemaids learn English from the children of the house, or the schools they work in or just generally from their friends in the same network."
Interview with Barrister Kamal Azfar
Even kangaroos can become derby winners: Kamal Azfar
By Uroos Ahmed
KARACHI: Kamal Azfar, who is a former governor of Sindh, a barrister and is affiliated with the Pakistan Peoples Party, has justified party chairperson Benazir Bhutto’s comment that the judiciary was hopping around like ‘kangaroos’ by saying, that “even kangaroos can become derby winners”.
“I look upon this as a great awakening ... a time when Pakistan is coming of age,” he said when asked how he viewed these developments on the judicial front.
“The unconstitutional removal of the chief justice by General Musharraf has succeeded in uniting the entire legal fraternity of Pakistan. I don’t regard General Musharraf as the president any more as he keeps re-electing himself, which is illegal appointment; he cannot be both the chief of army staff and the president.”
According to him, the judiciary is a fundamental organ of the State along with the executive and the legislature but by keeping it non-functional [Musharraf] has put the state on a respirator.
When asked to comment on the nature of the allegations against the chief justice, Azfar said that: “The only crime that the chief justice committed was [that he was] independent and as Justice Wajiuddin said, our only non-negotiable demand is for General Musharraf to withdraw the reference and reinstate Justice Iftikhar Ahmed Chaudhry as the chief justice.”
However, this is not the first time that such action has been taken against a judge. In the past there have been such references, Azfar said. Three of those judges resigned even before the proceedings began. “The only difference right now is that the chief justice will not resign from office and the reference will be conducted through and through.”
Azfar was critical of what he called the government’s belief the problem would have “fizzled out” in the absence of Justice Rana Bhagwandas as the first hearing was scheduled on March 21 when the senior most judge of the Supreme Court was not in the country.
“In [my] meeting with Iftikhar Chaudhry, [he] said he had gone to meet the president under the impression that the issue of the elevation of the judges of the judicial council was to be the focus of the meeting. Instead, he found he was detained there and notified about the reference against the chief justice.”
Azfar said that he found the chief justice under house arrest even when he went to meet him on March 17. “I had to pass three barricades to get to the house and I found that his vehicles had been confiscated as well,” he said. According to Azfar, this was why Justice Chaudhry decided to walk to the reference on the 21st and refused the transportation provided by the government.
According to the rule of law, the head of the state does not have the right to make any decisions unless it is on the advice of the prime minister, Azfar maintained. If the Supreme Judicial Council had sent the reference, then it was at the president’s discretion to allow the reference or not but he himself was in no position to take such a decision, he said.
When asked whether he believed that the president could impose martial law if he were not re-elected, Azfar replied in the negative.
“I don’t believe General Musharraf is in any position to impose martial law as he is no longer the darling of either the western powers or the people of Pakistan. The time of Ayub Khan and Yahya Khan back in 1969 was a different story altogether.”
In the end, he said, there is a need for checks and balances in all three limbs of the State. “But the legal fraternity has faith and we are now standing at the crossroads of a trial-and-error democracy and martial law.”
Media's influence on students
Parents unhappy young people dropping out to join the media
By Uroos Ahmed
KARACHI: More and more students are deciding to enter the Media as a profession before finishing school and many colleges report a steady dropout rate for young people venturing into the broadcast media.
Since the country’s first FM radio channel hit the waves in the late 1990s, radio has largely become a source of extra pocket money for young people who wish to work and study.
Students who spoke to Daily Times said this had not affected their career or education. “It’s fairly simple. I’m sure people my age join the media for money and exposure. Also, you get to meet people in the media and you realize what you have been missing out on,” said Ali Sattar, who dropped out of his first-year of law to work for a radio channel. His mother’s friend, who is the CEO of the radio channel he works for, approached him and said they were expanding their channel’s marketing department for which, they were putting together a team. “Each year, there has been tremendous growth and there is a lot of exposure. Since I joined, I have met most of the owners of Karachi’s most posh restaurants. It’s just a really fun job and what makes it even better is that I have [the channel] backing me up with everything I do.” When asked what about his education, Ali said he had every intention to complete a degree because one can’t go too far without it.
“I started off as one of the very first DJs at the radio channel back in my A-Levels and there has been no turning back since because after I started working with FM, I realized this is what I want to do for the rest of my life,” said Fahad Panni who has been with the media for the past 12 years. He said it wasn’t about money initially and he joined because it was just a fun job. The money became good later on and 12 years later, he had foreign universities offering him a Masters degree without an undergraduate degree because of his work experience. “I have no regrets dropping out of college but I firmly believe that education is important,” Panni said.
Others choose to hang on to college and work at the same time. Shahzad Sheikh is one of them. Currently in his last semester of his undergraduate degree at one of the city’s most reputable business schools, Sheikh is ready to follow in the footsteps of his father, a well known name in the film industry. “I want to pursue a media career but I want to complete my education first. I do feel that it is important to learn how things work in the industry so I have occasionally taken up modeling offers.”
Ahmed Safder is studying towards an undergraduate degree but also hosts three television shows for a local channel. “I can cover my basic expenses and my tuition fee at college and save up enough as well,” he told Daily Times. “Initially, I hadn’t planned to go into the media but then, I got an offer for a play called ‘Karachi High’ and I started off from there. Before that, I used to work for a multinational company and study in the evenings but it was very tiring. Media, however, has given me the opportunity to make money, keep myself busy and have time for myself and my studies as well.”
When Daily Times spoke to parents of those who had dropped out of school to pursue a career in radio or television, opinions seemed divided. “I appreciate it that my son feels responsible enough to be working at the age of 19, but I also feel that he will not make it very far in this field. Let’s face it, it is not a very promising career,” said Mrs Hussain. Her son took up Law after his A-Levels. While he was waiting for his results, he received an offer from a radio channel and decided to take it up until he went back to college. However, he then chose to drop out of college to continue his job at the radio station. Mrs Hussain is a doctor.
Her husband agreed that academics were essential. “I have nothing against the media and I agree that my son enjoys his work, but he doesn’t have a degree and his work is at odd hours, which does not allow him to have a proper routine in life. God forbid but I eventually foresee him having trouble with his family life as his work is bound to interfere with the family structure.”
Anees Ansari is another concerned parent. His daughter changed her major to Journalism while she was in her final year of BSc Economics and Management. “A career in the media is no career at all. The fad would eventually fade away unless you are working in production or direction or anywhere behind the scenes, which in itself is not a steady income sometimes,” said Ansari. He was also critical of the monetary benefits of journalism. “I don’t think that the salary that young people get or would get in another five years with the steady rise in inflation is sufficient for a comfortable lifestyle.”
By Uroos Ahmed
KARACHI: More and more students are deciding to enter the Media as a profession before finishing school and many colleges report a steady dropout rate for young people venturing into the broadcast media.
Since the country’s first FM radio channel hit the waves in the late 1990s, radio has largely become a source of extra pocket money for young people who wish to work and study.
Students who spoke to Daily Times said this had not affected their career or education. “It’s fairly simple. I’m sure people my age join the media for money and exposure. Also, you get to meet people in the media and you realize what you have been missing out on,” said Ali Sattar, who dropped out of his first-year of law to work for a radio channel. His mother’s friend, who is the CEO of the radio channel he works for, approached him and said they were expanding their channel’s marketing department for which, they were putting together a team. “Each year, there has been tremendous growth and there is a lot of exposure. Since I joined, I have met most of the owners of Karachi’s most posh restaurants. It’s just a really fun job and what makes it even better is that I have [the channel] backing me up with everything I do.” When asked what about his education, Ali said he had every intention to complete a degree because one can’t go too far without it.
“I started off as one of the very first DJs at the radio channel back in my A-Levels and there has been no turning back since because after I started working with FM, I realized this is what I want to do for the rest of my life,” said Fahad Panni who has been with the media for the past 12 years. He said it wasn’t about money initially and he joined because it was just a fun job. The money became good later on and 12 years later, he had foreign universities offering him a Masters degree without an undergraduate degree because of his work experience. “I have no regrets dropping out of college but I firmly believe that education is important,” Panni said.
Others choose to hang on to college and work at the same time. Shahzad Sheikh is one of them. Currently in his last semester of his undergraduate degree at one of the city’s most reputable business schools, Sheikh is ready to follow in the footsteps of his father, a well known name in the film industry. “I want to pursue a media career but I want to complete my education first. I do feel that it is important to learn how things work in the industry so I have occasionally taken up modeling offers.”
Ahmed Safder is studying towards an undergraduate degree but also hosts three television shows for a local channel. “I can cover my basic expenses and my tuition fee at college and save up enough as well,” he told Daily Times. “Initially, I hadn’t planned to go into the media but then, I got an offer for a play called ‘Karachi High’ and I started off from there. Before that, I used to work for a multinational company and study in the evenings but it was very tiring. Media, however, has given me the opportunity to make money, keep myself busy and have time for myself and my studies as well.”
When Daily Times spoke to parents of those who had dropped out of school to pursue a career in radio or television, opinions seemed divided. “I appreciate it that my son feels responsible enough to be working at the age of 19, but I also feel that he will not make it very far in this field. Let’s face it, it is not a very promising career,” said Mrs Hussain. Her son took up Law after his A-Levels. While he was waiting for his results, he received an offer from a radio channel and decided to take it up until he went back to college. However, he then chose to drop out of college to continue his job at the radio station. Mrs Hussain is a doctor.
Her husband agreed that academics were essential. “I have nothing against the media and I agree that my son enjoys his work, but he doesn’t have a degree and his work is at odd hours, which does not allow him to have a proper routine in life. God forbid but I eventually foresee him having trouble with his family life as his work is bound to interfere with the family structure.”
Anees Ansari is another concerned parent. His daughter changed her major to Journalism while she was in her final year of BSc Economics and Management. “A career in the media is no career at all. The fad would eventually fade away unless you are working in production or direction or anywhere behind the scenes, which in itself is not a steady income sometimes,” said Ansari. He was also critical of the monetary benefits of journalism. “I don’t think that the salary that young people get or would get in another five years with the steady rise in inflation is sufficient for a comfortable lifestyle.”
Final HP launch
Pagal for Potter!
By Uroos Ahmed
KARACHI: The morning of July 21 saw Park Towers coming to life with children and adults of all ages coming in one by one to collect their copies of the last Harry Potter book, ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’. The launching ceremony, scheduled for 4:00 am on July 21, was cancelled due to a bomb threat at Park Towers earlier in the night.
The children had initially suffered the most disappointment. “I had been counting down the days to the launch ceremony, and was really excited about going to get the last book at 4:00 am,” said 12-year-old Mehr Ahmed. “We didn’t make a fuss when my mother sent us to bed early. Then 30 minutes later she told us the devastating news. I couldn’t believe it.” Mehr said that she wanted to make the bomber understand the devotion to the Harry Potter series, adding, “I wanted to tie him up, make him read all the books from the beginning to end, and then bomb him!”
Eight-year-old Zain Ahmed felt the same. “Since July 1 we had all been looking forward to the final book, and then we were told that there was no launch,” he said. “Now I have to wait till 10:00 am to get my book. I’m very disappointed.”
“I couldn’t wait to get started on the book. I slept early, around eight last night, so that I could come to the launching ceremony and start reading as soon as I got my copy,” said excited 13-year-old Asma Aijaz. “But when I woke up in the morning I found out the launch had been cancelled. I finally got the book around 10:30 this morning.” With crossed fingers, she added, “I can’t wait to find out how it ends. I just hope J.K. Rowling doesn’t kill Harry!”
It was not only the children who were let down. Even grown-ups were disappointed over having to wait till morning to buy the book. Mariam told Daily Times that, although she had not been a Harry Potter fan for too long, she had actually made plans till 3:00 am so she could wait for the launch.
Others who had not yet read the book were impressed with the service provided by the bookstore. People who had booked their copies received text messages till after 9:00 pm. The government also issued a notice announcing the launch’s cancellation. “I was informed of the launch ceremony being cancelled well in advance,” said Sameea Rashid, a mother of two who had brought her children to get the book early in the morning. “The cutest was the text they sent to customers on how the event was to be an invitation to all the little witches and wizards to find out the fate that awaits Harry!”
There seemed to be a lot of argument over children wanting to read the adult version of the book. “The shopkeeper said that there isn’t much difference in the books apart from the easier English in the children’s version, so I am letting my children get the adult one,” said Sualeha Siddiqui with a wink. “But obviously I will proofread it first.” She said that Harry Potter had fostered a fondness of reading in her children and she trusted that the adult version would be just as child-friendly. The bookstore has suffered a big loss, according to its representative Ronnie. It had prepared live characters from the book to mingle with the crowd during the ceremony. “We had two containers full of props and costumes to make the entire area look like a scene right out of Harry Potter,” he said. Over a thousand books had already been pre-booked by mid-day, but a lot of people had purchased copies without prior booking as well. “I can’t imagine the amount of money and effort that has been wasted,” added Ali Rizvi.
Mehr added that it had taken her six hours to finish the book. “I had lunch at 5:00 in the evening because I couldn’t stop reading the book. At first it was boring because I already knew the ending from an Internet link my uncle sent me the previous day, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. The ending is really awesome!”
Children being stalked by parents on Facebook
By Uroos Ahmed
KARACHI: Sadia was disgusted to find her mother popping up on Facebook one day.
“I was horrified when I realized my mother is on Facebook. She just popped up on my cousin’s ‘friends list’ one day and here I was thinking she didn’t even know how to send an e-mail,” said the dismayed surfer.
But that wasn’t the end of it; Sadia’s mother made it her business to check her wall whenever she logged on. “We don’t feel comfortable including our parents in what we do online no matter how close and friendly our relationship is. It’s like a code; you don’t interfere with someone’s online activities,” Sadia told Daily Times.
For young people, Facebook, Myspace and Orkut were the only space where they could interact minus parental control. Initially designed for the benefit of university students to remain in touch with their classmates during the academic year, Facebook has branched out into thousands of social networks from high schools to cities, linking almost anybody and everybody. But now, the latest group to jump on the Facebook bandwagon is the parents, who are receiving a less than welcome reception from the young ones.
Second-year BBA student Umaina who always did well in class, was grounded during her exams because her mother came across certain posts on her ‘wall’ that indicated Umaina had been socializing when she was supposed to be studying for her finals.
“I always study in a group with my friends, and of course when we got together every day and we didn’t always study and not talk. We do a lot of crazy stuff when we are taking a break from work,” she said.
However, despite Umnia’s heartfelt explanations, her mother stuck to her decision. “It was unbelievable! I am a BBA student and I was told to sit home till my exams and what’s more embarrassing is that my mother talked to my friend’s mother and my friend ended up getting grounded as well.”
A Level student Mohsin Anis was “stalked” by his mother on Facebook for weeks. “She told me I shouldn’t be on it because I was acquiring bad habits,” he told Daily Times. “I’d like to ask her whether invading other people privacy is a bad habit, because she is guilty of doing that. Two more weeks of constant arguments with [my mother] and she finally admitted to thinking that I and my friends were addicted gamblers because we had added the Texas Hold’em Poker application and we played poker on Facebook.”
Tania has taken a softer approach. “We don’t mind that our parents are on Facebook as long as they don’t expect to become our buddies. We live in the same house for God’s sake!” she cried. Now her parents expect her to allow them in on her Facebook fun and actually got upset with her when she didn’t “Superpoke” them enough.
“I cannot block my mother or put her on my limited profile because she will know something is missing,” said Maryum, who got into a lot of trouble because her mother saw tagged pictures of her on the beach when she was clearly told not to go. “I have to be very careful of what people are writing on my ‘wall’. I also have to worry about what is being said on my friends’ ‘walls’ because my mother has added them as a friend too.”
Some people don’t mind their parents getting a Facebook account, as long as they don’t abuse the application and stalk them. Not adding them as a friend would be a better idea. “They should go get friends of their own,” said Sadia Jatoi. “Facebook is a means of communicating with people you don’t see every day. I don’t leave daily posts and emails for my friends nor do I expect them to, and that is why I don’t really see the point of adding my parents or even siblings to my list.”
By Uroos Ahmed
KARACHI: Sadia was disgusted to find her mother popping up on Facebook one day.
“I was horrified when I realized my mother is on Facebook. She just popped up on my cousin’s ‘friends list’ one day and here I was thinking she didn’t even know how to send an e-mail,” said the dismayed surfer.
But that wasn’t the end of it; Sadia’s mother made it her business to check her wall whenever she logged on. “We don’t feel comfortable including our parents in what we do online no matter how close and friendly our relationship is. It’s like a code; you don’t interfere with someone’s online activities,” Sadia told Daily Times.
For young people, Facebook, Myspace and Orkut were the only space where they could interact minus parental control. Initially designed for the benefit of university students to remain in touch with their classmates during the academic year, Facebook has branched out into thousands of social networks from high schools to cities, linking almost anybody and everybody. But now, the latest group to jump on the Facebook bandwagon is the parents, who are receiving a less than welcome reception from the young ones.
Second-year BBA student Umaina who always did well in class, was grounded during her exams because her mother came across certain posts on her ‘wall’ that indicated Umaina had been socializing when she was supposed to be studying for her finals.
“I always study in a group with my friends, and of course when we got together every day and we didn’t always study and not talk. We do a lot of crazy stuff when we are taking a break from work,” she said.
However, despite Umnia’s heartfelt explanations, her mother stuck to her decision. “It was unbelievable! I am a BBA student and I was told to sit home till my exams and what’s more embarrassing is that my mother talked to my friend’s mother and my friend ended up getting grounded as well.”
A Level student Mohsin Anis was “stalked” by his mother on Facebook for weeks. “She told me I shouldn’t be on it because I was acquiring bad habits,” he told Daily Times. “I’d like to ask her whether invading other people privacy is a bad habit, because she is guilty of doing that. Two more weeks of constant arguments with [my mother] and she finally admitted to thinking that I and my friends were addicted gamblers because we had added the Texas Hold’em Poker application and we played poker on Facebook.”
Tania has taken a softer approach. “We don’t mind that our parents are on Facebook as long as they don’t expect to become our buddies. We live in the same house for God’s sake!” she cried. Now her parents expect her to allow them in on her Facebook fun and actually got upset with her when she didn’t “Superpoke” them enough.
“I cannot block my mother or put her on my limited profile because she will know something is missing,” said Maryum, who got into a lot of trouble because her mother saw tagged pictures of her on the beach when she was clearly told not to go. “I have to be very careful of what people are writing on my ‘wall’. I also have to worry about what is being said on my friends’ ‘walls’ because my mother has added them as a friend too.”
Some people don’t mind their parents getting a Facebook account, as long as they don’t abuse the application and stalk them. Not adding them as a friend would be a better idea. “They should go get friends of their own,” said Sadia Jatoi. “Facebook is a means of communicating with people you don’t see every day. I don’t leave daily posts and emails for my friends nor do I expect them to, and that is why I don’t really see the point of adding my parents or even siblings to my list.”
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