Category: Articles

STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan Canadians are warm, friendly and kind. My routine is an afternoon walk wherever I live or travel to. You exchange more greetings and nods in Canada than any other country. We are often at the receiving end of many comicjokes from our Southern neighbors that we accept smiling graciously. However,…

STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan Pakistan is in deep trouble. Everyone realizes it except those in control who are power drunk. We are on a downward trajectory on all fronts. Politically we are fractured, economically we are devasted and terrorism is on the rise. Courts have been neutered, incapable of delivering justice and police have…

STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan It is an abomination to be deprived of freedom. Forced confinement on false pretexts is unnatural and triggers various responses. Some folks buckle under and surrender, others reconcile and accept it, and then there are those who get rejuvenated in their resolve to resist. I experienced these feelings during my…

STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan “Dushman maray te Khushi na kariye, sajnaa ve mar jaanaa” translates “do not rejoice death of an enemy, our dear ones will also pass away.” These are profound lyrics of Punjabi Sufi poet Mian Mohammad Buksh. It signifiestruth about the finite nature of life; futility of vendettas and reminds us…

STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan We all live our lives with the face we are born with. It’s a fact of life you cannot argue with. At times one succeeds in concealing shortcomings or enhance some features, temporarily through make-up aids. Developments in technology does give some long–term respites like hair transplants for baldness. Those…

STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan While talking to my buddy Hassan Nisar along with Afzal Ghauri we went on a nostalgic binge recapping our 60 years of friendship. Revisiting our memories of yesteryears when we met up in 1965 upon joiningGovernment College, Lyallpur. We reminisced about my first election for students’ union and friends who…

STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan Marie Antoinette was the last Queen of France. An Austrian princess, she married into French royalty. Her husband, King Louis XVI’s degenerative acts were the final straw triggering the French Revolution. Marie got married at the tender age of 14. She had always lived in luxury and wealth and had…

STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan Anyone who has witnessed PMA Kakul passing out parades would bear me out that it is an awesome experience. The uniformity of movements, the emotions generated by music in the background and the glamor of the marchpast is overwhelming. Having grown up in the garrison city of Abbottabad, the image…

STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan “Masi Barkate”, Aunt Barkate was a permanent fixture in our ancestral “dera” in Lyallpur. She was widowed at a young age with no offsprings and was woven into our joint family structure. She ran the staff with an iron fist and spoilt us to bits with “taaza Lassi”, fresh butter…

STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan We are a nation of 250 million living in a state of anxiety. Every day, survival is a challenge for an overwhelming majority. Spiraling inflation, constant fear of the midnight door knock, lack of hope for the future is ruining the Pakistani psyche. In this state of despondency and heightened…