Baithak Desi Jun 26: Abdul Sattar Edhi, Qazi Nazrul Islam, Mahmud Sipra, Ansar Abbasi, Cartoons

Edhi Foundation has launched charitable campaign on Wednesday aimed to provide the poor people food throughout the province. A renowned social worker Abdul Sattar Edhi said addressing a press conference at Peshawar Press Club, saying that the foundation was started its drive from Bolachistan, his wife had provided him Rs.25 millions for the purpose. Abdul Satter said that the people of Balochistan had warmly welcome him, despite the fact that people were asking him not to visit the war-tore area, because he had security concern but Baloch had donated Rs. 20 lakhs to make the campaign successful. “Preliminarily, the program has initiated from the big cities, which would be extended to all the small centres of Edhi,” he maintained. He further said that the foundation was not concerned with violence and exploitation, but it aims to invite the richest people in order to that the poor get rid of the poverty, adding that our duty was to convey the message to masses to put them on the right path. Abdul Sattar Edhi



The 109th Joyanti (birth anniversary) of Kazi Nazrul Islam, the rebel poet of Bengal, was celebrated this past May. He was a rare quality poet and musician par excellence. He had a clear vision of gender equality and firmly believed that ‘art is for the people’. Being egalitarian in approach, he launched a vigorous assault on extremism and dogmatism.

Nazrul Islam, for the first time, effectively incorporated Urdu, Persian and Arabic words and expressions in Bengali, the language which now ranks fifth among the languages spoken worldwide. After the conquest of Bengal by the Muslims in 1201 AD, Muslim immigrants of Turkish, Iranian and Arab descent migrated to Bengal in large numbers and assimilated with the natives through intermarriages. A large number of Turkish, Arabic and Persian words consequently entered the Bengali language. Jalil Ahmed


One day someone will chronicle the history of advertising in this country, and hopefully devote some time and space to salute the pioneers who came from disparate backgrounds to lay the foundations of this great profession. The agency heads who stood tall on the ramparts were Abdul Ghafur, the centrifugal force behind two big agencies, United and Adarts; the brothers Bashir Khan and Aziz Khan of Manhattan; Nusrat Bokhari of JWT fame; and Abdur Rauf who I believe still runs Lintas. The next generation of practitioners who literally rose from the ranks include the much missed Naseer Hyder of IAL and Javed Jabbar, who was one of the founders of MNJ. (Majeed is dead and Nafees is in Canada.)Both went on to successfully run heavyweight agencies of their own. Of memories past —Mahmud Sipra


Unelected advisers have outnumbered the duly elected ministers in Yousuf Raza Gilani’s cabinet and the first violation of the Constitution was committed on Wednesday when the sixth adviser to the prime minister was named whereas only five were permitted. Presently, the total number of federal ministers in the government is 15. However, the number of advisers to the prime minister or those holding some other key positions but enjoying the status of federal minister or minister of state has gone up to 16. This is perhaps for the first time in the country’s history that such a team of unelected advisers has outgrown the size of regular ministers. Article 93 of the Constitution says that the president may, on the advice of the prime minister, appoint not more than five advisers, on such terms and conditions as he may determine. Ansar Abbasi


Saga of jailed Pakistani family in India - Rauf Klasra
In Urdu - Nazir Naji on Shehbaz's Dilemma