The Next Best Thing

An important realization has struck our president, and he has has approved RS 11.7 million for a limited number of deserving artists and writers. He believes that creative writers and artists should be given the platform that they need to exhibit their work, for their work is what promotes cultural values and brings pride to a nation. 

I can't, I just can't.

The conscience of the government is not dead; it is distributing wheat in the famine-struck areas of Balochistan, doing its best to eliminate this issue.

The death toll, however is rising all the same, a child or two dying each day.

This region of the country has been left untouched and uninterrupted for far too long. The ramifications of such negligence are disastrous, and must be coped with.

Efforts are being made to get the alarming rate of deaths under control. But effectiveness won't be visible until a significant amount of time of providing aid has elapsed.

The climate of the desert is to be held responsible, too. Because of the natural aridity of the landscape, the food production hasn't seen much success, adding to the problems of the farmers living there.

Medical facilities and doctors are being provided, the government claims.

A step has been taken in the right direction.

May these people be saved from the misery they are living in.

She bursts her way to the surface.

She inhales. She's been under too long. 

These waters are dark. 

The demons below, even darker. 

They are of her own making. 

She let them out, out of the depths of her mind. 

And now...

They seek her destruction. 

Her absolute destruction. 

Something wraps itself around her submerged frame, tightening its hold around her.

She is pulled under.

She can't see anything. 

But.

Tentacles. Thousands of tentacles. 

They are imprisoning her.

She is running out of time, out of breath.

Time is ticking away.

So is she.

So is she! So is she!

Into...

oblivion.

Whenever a person from Pakistan happens to collide with fame and fortune abroad, the chaotic jubilation seen by Pakistanis is almost too much to bear. The same can be said about about the fifteen minutes of Nargis Mavalvala, a US-based quantum astrophysicist and member of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, who contributed to the recent scientific breakthrough of the detection of Einstein's foretold gravitational waves.

The country she hails from is more proud of the fact of Mavalvala being a part of the discovery than Mavalvala herself. Who can blame us? We Pakistanis are seen as terrorists and whatnot, by the entire world. To be associated with a gifted scientist is a must-grab opportunity for a nation gripped by global scandal and hatred.

There are more people like Mavalvala in Pakistan, waiting for recognition. This country has a generation of talented and competent people, that can prove to be an asset to the welfare of this whole world, if given the much-needed opportunity.

We are proud of you, Nargis. More than you are, yourself.

You are our pride.

If you think you have something that the world is in need of, make sure that it knows.

Get up!