From the Editor

Dear all,

We wish all our readers a belated Eid Mubarak! But, if we are not wrong, your examinations/semesters are about to commence, too. So, time to get out of the holidays mode and switch onto the study mode. Do work hard, guys, but never forget that Us is an integral part of your study programme, too! :.) This, of course, means that we don't want a lull in receiving your letters and contributions!

We have a light cover story this week. Anila Mahsud (no relation to Abdullah Mahsud (:p) interviewed a wonderful artist who left a deep imprint on the minds of the people who watched the very popular serial 'Alpha, Bravo, Charlie. Yes, we are talking about Shahnaz Khan. We were all captivated by her charm and beauty and of course her acting prowess. She played a major role in the success of the said serial. We were pleasantly surprised to read her answers; not only were they amusing, but intelligent too! Good job, Anila! Shahnaz is a beauty with lots of brains!

Saad Javed has a surprise in store for you! Read his 'Sin and the City' for pure, unalloyed enjoyment. People are caustic in sarcasm, but Saad is his usual gentle self, and sarcastic like anything at the same time! Hira Humayun comes up with some interesting stuff on your friendly pets, the cats and dogs!

Ending on a serious note, how many of Us spared a thought about all the people who became victims of the kaafir suicide bombers that kill in the name of our noble religion? Even in the Zamana-e-Jahiliyat, hostilities were suspended in the holy month of Ramazan. Guess that makes us jahiliar than those jahils! Please pray for the victims and the relatives they have left behind and of course for your own safety.

In the end we would like to say something to our readers; kindly don't send Us your letters once you've posted them on Orkut or any other social networking site/blog. We don't print such letters and they surely see the face of our trash bin. Hope you got it.

Till next week,

Allah Hafiz

Dear Editor

No ads, yippee!

Salam Ed,

No ads, no ads! *Clapping*. I skimmed through Us twice (front to back and vice-versa) to make sure my eyes weren't deceiving me. And now I can swear, upon my 1.0 numbered glasses, that I saw no ads in the last issue. So I want to appreciate the move of carrying no ads as I think ads make Us look ordinary, like any other mag.

Most importantly, I want to make a suggestion concerning the posters, which got published previously. I think Us should also publish the posters of known naat reciters (Pakistani and Arabic) or people who have achieved something other than Hollywood fame. Celebrities like Linkin Park or Hilary Duff are what we see in every paper and on every channel. I suggest that poster section should be used to encourage people who have achieved something substantial other than possessing hot figures or having tattooed bodies. I am sure you would at least consider this for a moment. Take care and stay clear of the red zone areas.

Isra Elahi, Islamabad

AoA Ed,

The September 19, 2008's issue of Us was much better than the previous one. The improved paper quality pleased my heart. 'Graffiti' was good as usual. The article by Luavut Zahid was also nice. The story, 'The Lonely Painter's' ending, saddened me. I found the cover story to be a bit childish. And by the way, seeing no ads in the mag made me as happy as a lark. I appreciate it.

Unsa Athar, Sheikhupura

Dear Ed,

The issue of September 19, 2008 was simply great. The cover story by Iqra Asad was awesome. Luavut's article was nice and the story, 'The Lonely Painter' had an interesting ending. Momal Mushtaq's sketch was really cute. I really loved the whole issue. The most surprising thing in the issue was the comeback of 'Comic Relief'. I was really happy to see it again in Us, and hey, it was good to see no ads as well. Great job! :)

Arsh Azim, Peshawar

Print my letters!

Hi Ed,

I am a new reader of Us. I started reading it because I thought it to be the right mag for me. But I think you don't want me to stay as a reader. That is why you don't print my letters. Or maybe I should use some other channel to send you letters. How can I see my letters in print?

Shahzad Arif, Sheikhupura

By mailing them to Us ;)

Pray for Pakistan

AoA Ed,

What a terrible time our country is passing through! Every other day one has to hear the tragic news of terrorist attacks. In fact, one hears such news so often that they don't seem like a big thing anymore.

Our beautiful capital has turned into a miserable, unfortunate place. What happened to the Marriott Hotel can never be done by Muslims even if they are the worst terrorists. Our government keeps on blaming it on the militants of Bajaur but common sense demands an unbiased analysis of the situation. Why would the militants of Bajaur attack the masses and not the government that is conducting the operation there? And what responsibility is the government showing by saying again and again that it will 'continue' its operation in Bajaur and will not negotiate with the militants?

Dear readers, I request you all to pray for the maghfirah of the departed souls as well as for the security and well-being of this country in this holy month of Ramazan.

Peace!

Aaishah Abu Bakr, Sargodha

Generation destructed!

Dear Ed,

This is with reference to the letter printed in 'Trust Us' in the issue of September 19, 2008. I was shocked to read that a sixth-grader was desperate to date girls. That guy must be eleven-year-old and look at his way of thinking! Come on, people! Look what our younger generation is thinking. It's parents' duty to keep regular checks on their children. They should monitor their children's activities.

The rest of the issue was good. I really liked the cover story, 'My First Fast'.  The 'Graffiti' section was also good. Keep up the good work and try to print better cover stories in the future.

Hamza Masud, Mirpur

Praising Us

Dear Ed,

I have been reading Us for the last five months and have fallen in love with it totally. The issue of September 19, 2008 was superb and very thought-provoking. The story, 'The Lonely Painter' touched my heart and I felt very sad for the painter. The rest was good, too. Hats off to Us!

Aainee, Lahore

Dear Editor,

I used to be a regular reader of your mag, but somehow I stopped reading it and missed many issues. I got to read the September 19, 2008's issue after a long time and I couldn't stop myself from writing to you and expressing my views after reading it. I went through all my favourite pages. 'Graffiti' was entertaining like ever. 'Juan, the smuggler', 'Silly questions' and 'Interesting facts' were really good. The best of all was the story, 'The Lonely Painter'. Though I hadn't read its first part, I really liked the story. It was interesting and gripping. Hats-off to Zunaira! I could instantly relate to M. Awais Aftab's article, 'The Right Person', as I love reading things from which I can learn something regarding social relationship. The cover story, 'My First Fast' was great and the change on the last page was very artistic. I must say that Us has improved a lot with the passage of time. Keep it up!

Bilal Ahmad, Karachi

Bye, bye Us…

Hi Ed,

I buy English newspaper only on Fridays. Yes, just because of Us. And most of the cover stories in 2008 were boring enough to dissuade me from doing so. I am a poor guy, after all.

It pains me to see how Kanza Tariq has been giving us reasons to be disgruntled and disappointed with Us. Why do you not get it? She does what she does best: write exceptionally mediocre articles on Independence Day, Defence day, Eid day, New Year, the Islamic New year and what not. What she writes is boring and very, very predictable. If you actually have hired her as a regular kill-joy please fire her.

Fed up and parting ways...

Majid Naqvi, Sahiwal

All we can say is that we will surely miss your criticism      

Concerns of a young citizen

Dear Ed,

AoA,

I am student of grade 8. My message is for the young citizens of Pakistan. Our country is going through a bad time. We all have pinned our hopes on Asif Zardari who has recently been elected as the President of Pakistan. We expect him to make strategies that are in favour of Pakistan.

Also, I think we have forgotten our national hero Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan. I think he should be released soon. He has shown his talent in strengthening the defence of Pakistan.

Sameed Ahmed

Encourage new writers

Salam Ed,

I know you are not going to print my letter as I am not among those lucky people whose letters

are printed by Us. But still, I am writing to you because I love Us. Well, you people are doing a good job except for the fact that you dishearten your readers by not printing their contributions. I know that all the contribution are not up to the mark, but I request you to at least encourage them by mentioning there names!

Tayyeba Ahmad, Lahore

Where are the regulars?

Hello Editor,

It's been such a long time since I wrote to you. But Kanza Tariq's article on those little kids who have nothing to look forward to made me write to you. It's a very rare phenomenon in our young generation to feel the pain and agony of the poor ones. Ed, why have you stopped publishing poetry and greetings of regular contributors? Why are you giving chance to the people who have sprung up from nowhere? No seriously, I sent so many poems. Helloooo...where are they? Anyway, like always hats off for you and your team.

Abbas Khattak

Infamous writes…

Hey Ed,

I'm not going to shower you with praise or anything, because I'm sorry to say that the mag has seemed to have lost that spark that it used to have before. It used to be pretty interesting before but now I just skim through it instead of reading it. Last week's issue was a bit better than the few before it. The cover story by Javeria Shakil, and 'Eid day on a different canvas' by Kanza Tariq were sweet :) And I know Hafsah probably did a lot of hard work on her article but reading what a couple of celebs have to say about Eid wasn't exactly my idea of entertainment (no offence meant for Hafsah whose previous articles I definitely liked). And can you guys please print a poster of Linkin Park? I know you printed one a few weeks ago but could you print one with the whole group or at least Mike and Chester? And plus I wanted to ask you guys if we can send photographs for the 'Art Page'? Publish my letter, please. *laughs evilly* Or else! :D

Infam0ux-sh0ts, Lahore