Man Disposes and God………..(Cross-checks?) Soon after the Pope declared the Albigenses, members of a catharist religious sect, as heretics(kafirs) and launched a crusade for their extermination, the first significant engagement took place with the siege of Beziers in Southern France in July 1209. When it was over, the papal ligate Arnaud-Amaury, under whose spiritual and military command the crusader army operated, proudly reported back to…
Traditionally Bound
The Navy as they say is a world of its own. And this doesn’t just refer to a ship at sea which is virtually a floating city; everything that one does or utters, though second nature to a man in whites, is a source of great perplexity and amazement for others. Every questioning glance is parried by the stock reply ‘Tradition’, wherein lies the key…
Maritime Missteps
The maritime domain is a fascinating one. Just as there are maritime marvels enveloped in its folds, it also features equal doses of maritime missteps. The recent case studies which follow will hopefully enable the readers to get a better feel of recurring tragedies in its hostile environment.
Maritime Marvels
The sea hath no king but God alone Dante Gabriel Rossetti The maritime domain,which constitutes over 70 percent of the world’s surface area,holds many marvels in its midst,the pity being that few are bold enough to venture deep into its realm or discerning enough to notice. These marvels include natural wonders,technological innovations and feats of superhuman endurance.
The Family Way
While taking our daughter to the Airport to catch her flight to Scotland, where she worked, we decided, on her insistence, to briefly stop over at her Aunt’s place to enable her to say her goodbyes in person. When what was meant as a few minutes break was seen getting unduly prolonged, my wife sharply prompted her to hurry up and get in the car….
Naval Anecdotes from Another Era
While under basic training at the Pakistan Naval Academy, our class of cadets was taken to a coastal battery for a week-long attachment. The powerful 6 inch guns of that time used silken bags as cartridges and needed a large number of personnel for tracking, loading and firing. All positions in the bridge, Transmitting Station and turret were manned by the cadets for training purposes….
Protecting the World’s Oceans
“My soul is full of longing for the secrets of the sea, And the heart of the great ocean sends a thrilling pulse through me”. H W Longfellow The oceans have been variously referred to as the ‘lungs of the planet’ and a ‘global sink’, signifying its importance, though the latter description is also a testimonial to man’s indifference. It is regrettably a little…
State of Governance
The Pakistan Tehrik-e- Insaf has emerged as a progressive party in Pakistani politics and its founder President Imran Khan has touched the right chords and made all the right noises on all the vital issues the country is confronted with. There is possibly a single notable exception though. Has anyone wondered that while most of our countrymen were exercising their right to vote, those in…
Pakistan’s National Elections 2013
As the countdown to the National Elections commenced, we came across a number of E-mails and SMSs, advising everyone to cast their votes as soon as the polling begins. When we got to our polling stations early in the morning, the realization suddenly sank in that a whole lot of people had access to the same advice. Anyway, since polling hadn’t started a good forty…
Indigenous Destroyer Construction – A Giant Technological Leap
PNS ASLAT, a F22P class destroyer, is expected to be commissioned this month (April 2013). What makes this event significant is that it would be the first destroyer to have been constructed in Pakistani yards, no mean achievement in itself. The first three vessels of the same class, namely PNS ZULFIQUAR, SHAMSHEER and SAIF, had been constructed in China by the Hudong Zhonghua Shipyard.
