While being out tonight, i was browsing through a used bookshop in Ayub Market (F-8) when this guy, wearing all black, ran up to the doorway. With arms outstretched and something in his hands he screamed, in the most terrifying tone i have ever heard, “Allah o Akbar”.

Before any of in the shop had a chance to react, he lowered his arms and ran away. It was a couple of seconds before i realized i had just witnessed a precursor to a suicide bombing. Only, that it was done as a prank or a dare (thankfully).

Moments later, a car was screeching away with boys laughing at the top of their voices.

Some people… are just plain sick!

Today i read an article saying that CNG prices have been increased as of 12:00 AM today by Rs. 1. I thought, great! yet another price increase, when i read the article and it said the price has gone upto Rs. 37 per litre.

All this, while the Chairman of the CNG Dealers Association denies that the prices in Islamabad have increased by Rs. 2.50!

I wonder if he’ll give me back my Rs. 10 which PSO apparently stole?

whats your take on the new look? love it? hate it? tell us about it!

Are people still waiting for election results and a answer to their uncertain future? Or are they looking for an excuse to slack off? What was the turn out at your workplace?

However, one concept which stood out was ‘voting for party’ vs ‘voting for candidates’. Much of the discussion on the posts were revolving around party and the ultimate party leaders. The actual candidates, the people who would be representing you the voter, were all but ignored.

The candidates are the people who would be responsible for raising your voice to the provincial and national assemblies and making sure your needs are taken care of. But will they actually raise your voice if they have no responsibility to you?

I urge you all to find out who are your local candidates (no longer a problem since doc is making it all public) and find out
who would best represent you. Next, go out and actually cast a vote!

added: can you guess which sector this is?

The event expected 15 to 20 people. After the phenomenal success of the Karachi event, the expectations were raised to around 70 or so, At 6:20, we had a full room, with people standing in the aisle, and the number of participants being 100+. Not a bad turnout for the sleepy city of Islamabad.

The event was scheduled as a series of questions and answers from a panel of six successful entrepreneurs, and we got right down to them. From how to set a vision, how to know if your vision is even correct, how select a team, who to have in a team, and ups and downs of a writing a business plan, the event covered a large majority of concerns budding entrepreneurs have.

 Visit the blog to read about some of the lessons learned from that night.

He further said that Islamabad green city action plan, provides for
energy conservation strategies, solid waste reduction and management,
water conservation and quality management, wastewater management
and urban design.
It also provides for air quality management, seasonal fumigation,
maintenance of parks and gardens, enhancement of tree plantation and
grass cover, launching of public awareness campaigns, introduction of
environmentally friendly transport and the introduction of green
journalist awards.

A very good initiative, if i do say so myself. Islamabad Traffic Police became a beacon of hope and a viable solution for the rest of the country (with the Lahore City Traffic Police and hopefully in Karachi soon too), lets hope this new program brings fruit as well. Lets make a pact to ensure we play our part in making Islamabad a green city!

From the previous discussion we’ve had on why wont you vote, it appears the ‘candidate’ is the leader on top of each political party. However, i ask you this. Who *is* the actual candidate? The leader on top might go ahead to be Prime Minister and make decisions for the functioning of this country, but s/he is not determined by you. They do not represent you, they do not even know you exist for the large part, and they are not the ones asking for your vote.

You vote for your local candidate. The one who’ll be representing your constituency, the one who’ll be fighting for or against laws which directly affect the people in their area, so that they can get another term. They will have an agenda, which i agree largely follows the party agenda which is nothing currently but ‘continue the policies set forth by the previous government’ in most cases, but still, there’s is a more localized one. Your local candidate is the one who ’should’ care about you, should care about getting your vote and should care about getting your voice heard in the assembly. They will not do it, unless you make them realize that your vote is not free, and they’ll have to work towards it.

To all the readers, i put forth this one question, which constituency do you belong to? And who are your candidates?

This post in part of a series of posts to understand the current apathy our visitors feel towards elections and democracy.