Crow's Nest...

It was a refreshing series.  I did not get to watch it online.  I blame Dish Network for being guilty of greed.  They make us pay arm and leg for their programming but could not get us the coverage.  I am paying for a cricket channel's package but still was asked to shell out money if I wanted to watch this series live.  I think dish Network should be ashamed of these policies.  I do not believe they alone are the ones who adopt this kind of strategy though. I was pleasantly amused by the results.  It has been a long time since Pakistan and India met in a bilateral series.  I would have liked to see a test series as well but Indians do not want to oblige us that much.  I do appreciate even this little series.  It was such a show.  Such a short lived stint but interesting nonetheless.

Pakistan played a one day against Afghanistan in Sharjah.  Sharjah is the adopted home ground of the Afghanistan team since conditions are not suitable for home games in Afghanistan.  Both teams had something in common, both do not have home grounds available for playing games.  This is a sad situation.  But this also makes this match up interesting and unique.  Afghanistan did better than my expectation in the game.  They were able to score more than 100 in the game.  Then they bowled well as well and were able to take three Pakistani wickets.  So I would say that Pakistan win was good and expected but not thoroughly impressive against a non test playing nation.  Then again Pakistan's record against non test playing nations is not a very good one. I do think that Pakistan should have rested its experienced players and played with a different one day squad.  This way new players would have received some exposure. I was also interested ...

In these times of uncertainty the question remains, 'Shall there be war?'  The answer might not be that simple.  There might be but there will not be war.  One might infer that it is my desire and denial to disagree with all things apparent that drives me to make this statement.  But the case is otherwise.  There is an implicit understanding between the two neighbors that there can be no war for the better of the two and the best of one. I was reading the news article posted in Dawn about the recent incursion of Indian fighter/reconnaissance planes into our air space in two separate sectors in one day.  Our planes had to chase them out.  It was claimed by our information minister that it was a un-intended mistake by the Indian side.  I know all too well.  But i am not impressed.  The thing is very simple.  It is Pakistani government's necessity to diffuse tensions.  We simply can not afford a war on our eastern front when we ...

It took the indian forces 60 hours to flush out 10 or so killers out of Mumbai . It was a horrible scene as it is always when innocent lives are lost and unsuspecting bystanders butchered. I have seen this all too often in my country lately to know any better. There is a blame game being played for meeting political ends on both side of the border. All the little trust that was ever there is being lost. My western friends are almost convinced that it is the Pakistani terrorists who are behind these happenings in Mumbai . I am not all too sure right now about that. The important question is who is to benefit from all this that has happened. Is it Pakistan, US, Al- Qaeda , other non state actors or perhaps India itself? It would be foolish to think that some 20 odd people will bring this carnage on a city without any clear and positives ends to meet in their own pereverted minds. But a look into their minds is the most difficult and likely impossible sight right now as all of them are ...

Indian security forces arrested two senior Muslim leaders in Occupied Kashmir and enforced a strict curfew on Monday to prevent locals from holding a pro-independence rally... To read the full story go here .

Dawn reports, What began as a dispute over land for Hindu pilgrims visiting a shrine in Kashmir snowballed into full-scale anti-India protests this month, boosting separatists who want India's only Muslim-majority region to secede... Police have killed at least 23 Muslim protesters and more than 500 have been injured in clashes in two weeks of demonstrations in Kashmir Valley. Protests were halted for three days, until Friday, to allow Kashmiris to stock up on rations... Read the full story here

Pakistan released an Indian spy who had been convicted for his spying missions in the country. Our minister stood with him hand in hand, elated with success and pride dripping from his face. He thought he had done a job that will make him a place in the midst of those who are known for their humanitarian work. His gesture is OK. It is neither good nor bad. A spent weapon is worth getting rid of. But it becomes all the more difficult when this same spent weapon spits malice for the very people who brought him freedom. He doesn't waste any time in telling his nation that he has been a hero who kept mum while he was with the enemy. I think he needed to do this to ward off the suspicions of his own countrymen. But this has turned into a whole lot of embarrassment for Burni who thought he had championed the cause of humanity by winning Singh's freedom. The Indians were quick to thank us. They thanked us in no uncertain terms by brutally torturing and then killing in cold ...