Salman Siddiqui's writing archive

Entrance to the shrine of Sufi Saint Lal Shahbaz Qalandar - All pictures courtesy of Arif Soomro By Salman Siddiqui AT times it is difficult to differentiate between madness and love. It defies logic what magnetism pulls thousands of devotees each year to the shrine of Syed Usman Marvandi Qalandar Lal Shahbaz on 18 Sha’aban in Sehwan , where the 755th Urs was held last week (in September 2007). With temperatures soaring above 45 degrees, pilgrims from all corners of the country, in particular Punjab, start to converge at the small town in Dadu district weeks before the annual three-day event takes place. Many walk barefoot from as far away as Larkana to pay homage to the most revered saint of Sindh. Mohammad Ismail was one such young devotee. Hailing from Muzaffargarh, he abandoned his family to become a Mureed at Bodla Bahar’s shrine, located near the Qalandar’s Dargah. Bodla was a steadfast disciple of Lal Shahbaz and legend has it that he used to sweep the floor with hi...

By Salman Siddiqui   A father and son duo who work as post mortem specialists recall Karachi’s violent history which they have together literally dissected over the last 50 years.  Saleem Karachi: When Saleem digs in his blade into a gunshot victim, his hand doesn’t shiver. He says he blocks out all his thoughts so that he can focus on his mission to retrieve the bullet, which according to instructions handed out to him, he must at all costs. As the on going violence in the city spirals out of control, there are people like Saleem, whose workload literally increase with the death toll of the day. Working at the mortuary as an attendant for the last 16 years, his job is to preserve the evidence of injuries to the victims no matter what the nature of incident might be. It could be poisoning, accident, homicide or bomb blast case. But whenever a body turns up on his table, he must work like a robot. Although illiterate, he will tell you the names of each bone and organ in...

Salman Siddiqui talks about his father Hamid Siddiqui's meeting with the late boxing legend Muhammad Ali. My late father Hamid Siddiqui with Muhammad Ali prior to his press conference in Kuwait in Jan. 1972. It is January 1972 and Muhammad Ali, the legend, is replacing a Cross chain pendant around the neck of an Indian woman with a small Quran one in Kuwait. “Mary Lobo is now a Muslim,” the Kuwait city-based Daily News, for which my late father then worked as a journalist, splashed on its main page as it reported on Ali’s visit to the tiny oil-rich gulf state. News clip from Daily News, Kuwait, dated Jan. 11, 1972. The daily also prominently displayed a picture of a beaming all-smiles Lobo along with Ali, who was dressed in a white half-sleeve shirt sporting a massive yet stylish tie, during a small conversion ceremony held at a fancy hotel. 46 years later, as the world mourns the loss of The Greatest, my family rummaged through my father Hamid Siddiqui’s long forgot...

By Salman Siddiqui This story published on Dawn.com on Feb 5, 2010, was my first real close shave with death. I was at the hospital area when the second blast took place and only minutes before it went off I had interviewed the humanitarian Edhi at the exact sane spot it exploded. Everytime I think of this day I feel quite bewildered and lucky that nothing happened to me, at least physically. Unfortunately there were many young men like me who were not so fortunate and died in that senseless violence. Here's my report from that day which I had to do file asap following my own harrowing experience.   Edhi just minutes before the second blast outside the Jinnah hospital in Karachi on Friday Karachi: On Friday, an explosion in Karachi targeted Shia mourners on their way to a Chehlum procession. A second blast hit the main public hospital where causalities from the first blast were being taken. According to agencies, the latest death toll is 25, while nearly 100 people were wound...

By Salman Siddiqui The Gadani Ship Breaking Yard in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province hosts one of the most beautiful untouched beaches on earth where handsome men from the country's north come not to enjoy the waters but to blacken their skin through back-breaking hard labor. This is their story. Gadani: When 55-year-old Gul Rehman says he has been working at the Gadani Ship breaking yard since Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s reign in the 70s when he was just 16 years old, it is hard to believe him. Not because one would have a doubt about his ‘39 year work experience.’ But because of the smile he continues to have despite the back breaking labour work the man from Peshawar continues to do. Even more surprising is the fact that his 20 year old son Habib too has joined him in this hardcore line of work. “I wanted him to study and be a big man, but he just wouldn’t listen,” said Rehman. “I find studying harder than this work,” said Habib behind his father’s back, who already ...

Fossils of Baluchitherium are believed to have become collateral in the 2006 military operation against the late Nawab Akbar Bugti in Pakistan. By Salman Siddiqui KARACHI: The scorched, dusty hills of Dera Bugti held invaluable treasure that could have made the world a richer place. That treasure, however, may have been destroyed in a military operation in 2006. Besides the Baloch chieftain, Nawab Akbar Bugti, who was targeted and killed in the operation, another great casualty was the fossilised remains of the largest mammal that walked the earth – Baluchitherium. The discovery of the first, almost-complete skeleton of the mammal was made by a team of French scientists in 1999. Thirteen years later, they fear that their discovery, packed into containers at Bugti’s mansion, may have been lost. Continued military control of the region, however, ensures that there is no way to find out if the fossils, that hold invaluable information about the world as it existed millions of years ...

I did an expoze on wiretapping in Pakistan for which I had to face some heat back in 2010.  By Salman Siddiqui It’s an irony Benazir Bhutto would have appreciated. Much of the ‘evidence’ that poisoned her voters, brought down her govt and even became the justification for her husband’s conviction was culled from wiretaps. Now again in 2010 wiretaps are being conducted while the PPP’s in govt. Surveillance:  Finding Orwell in Pakistan Karachi: It’s an irony slain PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto would have appreciated. Much of the ‘evidence’ that poisoned her voters, brought down her second government and even became the justification for her husband’s conviction was culled from wiretaps. Fast forward to 2010 and perhaps the most invasive wiretaps by federal intelligence agencies in recorded history are also being conducted while the PPP’s in government. When Benazir challenged the dissolution of her government, the Supreme Court devoted several pages of its judgement to t...

I interviewed WWE professional wrestling star R-Truth in 2013 Doha who explained how despite breaking almost every bone in his body he was willing to go on. R-Truth By Salman Siddiqui Wrestling superstar R-Truth, whose real name is Ronnie Aaron Killings, is not just a professional wrestler who has been a one-time United States Champion and WWE Tag Team Champion. The multi-talented entertainer is also a rapper who is widely known for his over-the-top dancing styles. In an exclusive interview with the Gulf Times, R-Truth revealed his story - one of struggle with injuries in his 17-year-long career and his determination to never give up.  How does R-Truth define himself? “That’s a hard question. Music just lives in me. It’s food for the soul. Wrestling is will (power) man, part of me just got bit by that bug when I first saw it. First, I had a desire to train; to want to do it. Once I learnt (it), that was it. So it’s just a combination of both,” he said. R-Truth, said his fa...

I met the celebrated music composer Yanni in Doha in March 2013 where he spoke about how he picks themes from all parts of the world.   Salman Siddiqui with Yanni By Salman Siddiqui World renowned musician Yanni touched the hearts of thousands of people in Qatar with his mesmerising performance for two consecutive days at the Qatar National Convention Centre. This is the first time the Greek-origin composer has performed in Doha, who is currently on a world tour titled ‘World Without Borders.’  At least 15 other musicians from all over the world are part of his troupe. Today is expected to be his last night in the city, during which he is scheduled to attend a charity event. During his performance on Friday, Yanni was given a resounding reception by the audience. He performed for at least two hours on each day, during which he played material from a number of his albums, including “Keys to Imagination” and “In My Time.” Some fans came all the way from Saudi Arabia to...