Laugh lines, frown lines, crow’s feet and wrinkles… are they medals of a life well lived? Or are they an unnecessary give away sign of your age, a sign the removal of which is just a shot-of-botox away?

As time is passing, we see an aesthetic awakening in Pakistan, may be a ripple effect of the change world over. Women in their middle ages today can easily pass for someone in their 30s, with their well-toned bodies thanks to gymming and yoga, and carefully thought-over ensembles that makes them look even svelter. But it is the taut, wrinkle-free faces that make them look even more beautiful. The answer lies not only in the age-defying range of cosmetic and skin care products, but steps that are a little more drastic. Steps that were once considered taboo are now gaining acceptance and momentum.

A recent morning show broke some more shackles and brought the issue out of the closet with dermatologists of repute treating patients with botox on live television, explaining the whole mechanism of how it works, and endorsing it. Certain celebrities are now willing to accept the fact openly that they have gone under the needle, if not under the knife, to fight off age.

Society, in general, is now more accepting of invasive methods of cosmetic beautification than it was a decade ago. One can either recognise that someone has got something done and look the other way because somewhere inside one may be considering getting it done oneself. Or one may get scandalised and talk about it in juicy gossip sessions, swearing by why such-and-such actress’ lips suddenly look fuller and her nose looks suddenly less droopier.

Should one do it or should one not? Men, when asked about it for this write-up, smugly said that laugh lines look good on men but not on women, and men generally don’t need it. Women, on the other hand, gave varied responses. Some of them accepted that they had gotten it done, but only when secrecy was swore upon. Others whom I strongly suspected had gotten it done said that they themselves had not gotten it done but what was the harm in it, and eagerly peered into my face to see the reaction. The naturalists or traditionalists, if one may call them that, felt that one should not interfere with nature and let age take its course and age gracefully.

The brave ones who openly accept the fact that they are dying to get it done had two obstacles or concerns in their way. For beginners, these treatments are a dent on one’s pocket. Also, what if it goes wrong? What if one has a permanently frozen look or an expressionless smile in which you laugh but your eyes don’t? Stories of treatments gone wrong are not a rarity. While the genuine and reliable dermatologists do a great job of it, they are too pricey. Desperation may lead one to the "botox quacks" who do a course here and there, and are ready to make you younger armed with their pins and needles.

Wrinkles or skin damages are formed because of exposure to the sun, the repeated use of facial muscles and the degradation of those skin substances that keep the skin taut like collagen and elastin proteins, among others. Precaution is often better than cure, but in these cases precaution can help partially, not completely. Hence, botox come into the picture.

Botox has the effect of a nerve impulse blocker. It prevents wrinkles from appearing by relaxing the underlying muscles so they don’t contract. Botox binds to the nerve endings and blocks impulses from the nerve to the tiny facial muscles that are related to expression lines. It works particularly well for dynamic wrinkles resulting from repeated use of facial muscles. It can eliminate deep furrows very effectively, and is a non-surgical procedure.

Skin fillers, fat transfer procedures, laser peel and resurfacing treatments, fractional laser treatment and others are among the many options available today. While these procedures are not hazardous, they may be harmful if not done under a proper doctor’s supervision. A pre-procedure check-up is a must, ruling out allergies or sensitivities of the patient.

But the potential hazards are not just physical. One fear is that re-defining your physical features and skin might become an addiction. Scrutinising one’s face, the tendency to keep finding faults with how one looks and never be satisfied with what one sees in the mirror is, in the opinion of many, one of the scourges of the times we live in. Keeping it within limits is not always easy once an addictive pattern sets in.

While I choose not to judge those who opt to go for these procedures and I confess that some of them look young and beautiful, I personally choose not to do it. My frown lines signal the moments of my life spent in introspection and careful thought. My crow’s feet and laugh lines tell tales of the humour I have enjoyed over the years. These are my scars of battle I proudly flaunt. So for now, I am good with what I have. Tomorrow? Who knows?

On Dec 21, 2010, a case of two young girls being assaulted and gang-raped was reported. Two girls were returning from a party in DHA, when a white car rammed into their car. They were then taken to an apartment. Both the girls were tortured. Whereas only the younger one, said to be twenty plus and a model, was raped. According to newspaper reports, the girls were acquainted with the alleged rapists during the party and perhaps got into a quarrel with them there. The culprits have been blackmailing the girls on cell phone, ever since the FIR was registered, according to reports.

This is not the first time such a case has been reported. However, two very unfortunate unethical developments followed this offence. Firstly, the name, address and personal details of the rape victim were published in two English dailies. She eventually had to disappear for safety and withdraw the FIR.

According to newspaper reports, advisor to Sindh chief minister, Sharmila Farooqui, accompanied the electronic media to the hospital where the victim was being treated. The victim, who was also being blackmailed on phone and under emotional strain, refused to talk to Farooqui, the reports say. But Farooqui, reportedly, went on camera, giving all the details of the victim, calling her "hyper" and "rude".

"Basically the stigma and discrimination that follow these incidents make the situation much worse," says human rights activist Zia Awan, who works mainly in Karachi. Asked about the legal provisions for assault victims that protect their identities and personal details, Awan tells TNS, "There have been cases when the victims sued newspapers, especially tabloids, for blackmailing. Few cases were won but the victims have to undergo a discriminatory and crude system to win these cases."

There are many social dimensions to this case. The fact that the victim belongs to a social stratum which is liberal and doesn’t follow many social norms played negatively for her, especially in the media.

"There have been rumours and cell phone messages about a car that hits cars driven by women, abducts and rape them," says Sara Zaman Director of an NGO called War Against Rape in Karachi. However, she adds that in posh localities like DHA people seldom report cases. "This serves as an incentive for culprits. There is definitely some truth behind these tales because similar cases have been reported many times."

With the advent of electronic media, the victims of sexual violence face an additional threat. Most of the victims don’t get FIRs registered because they fear their identity will be released. And this case was an example. Moreover, channels have been showing photographs of victims, some of them deceased, naming their relatives, village and house address and details of the case. This is not only insensitive but also unethical. Some shows re-construct the whole event to give the viewers a true flavour of the incident. These stories are sensational and sell well but are of a little help in the social reality we exist in. They leave little room for the victim or her family to return to the society.

Rapists are normally caught for robbery or murder, but not for rape because either the victims back out or else there is no substantial evidence.

"I must quote here the case of a five-year-old girl in Khizri," says Zia Awan. "The offender was sentenced within three months of the incident. This is an incredible success story because the parents fully co-operated with us and were involved in the case since the very start while the medical evidence was also fresh."

The electronic media needs to quit its jumpstart policy when covering rape stories, the politicians should refrain from being opinion mavericks and police should avoid passing a judgement before time. Otherwise, the victims will continue to suffer and criminals will continue to harass women.

The new boss at the organisation I used to work for came up with the slogan "Make It Happen", following the tradition of new bosses proclaiming their vision in the form of catchy phrases. Like all other slogans before and after, this too was put to use in ways least imagined by the boss.

Once I was in an elevator and as the bell chimed for doors to close, a colleague came running, gesticulating at us to hold the doors for him. As he came closer and saw the doors closing on him, he shouted: "Come on man, make it happen". The person closest to the elevator’s control panel smiled calmly, with his arms firmly folded at his chest: "I’d rather let it happen". And the doors closed.

It was a practical joke between two colleagues, who might even be friends. But the phrase, "let it happen" minted in the process, is a serious pronouncement. It is a purely philosophical response of the underdog to the authority’s demands of making things happen. It doesn’t argue, refuse, or threaten. It takes a passive stance and in so doing challenges things to happen.

We Pakistanis know all about it. In fact we live by this philosophy, though we’ve never worded it so. We neither wish nor strive to make anything happen. And it works for us. Or at least the reverse never works for us. Take for instance power outages.

This phenomenon has been with us for decades. We let it happen and we learned to live with it, even love it. But when a bunch of federal and provincial heads of government got together last year to formulate plans against loadshedding, we knew things were going from worse to obscene. And sure enough, we lost a working day and a school day a week (thankfully, this has been reversed), an hour from our summer time, earnings from forced closure of businesses… and we gained a few extra hours of loadshedding and several increases in electricity tariff!

Our governments never really understand the aspirations of the nation, do they? We want them to leave loadshedding alone and let us get on with life as we’ve always known it, never mind the scenes of chest-beating (own) and beatings (others’) that are streamed endlessly on television. These people beating others or getting beaten are simply the props for television’s own propaganda on the long and unbroken Pakistani tradition of loadshedding which kills television, not people.

If anything, power outages make us free.

No more decisions to make, and therefore no responsibility. It determines when we sleep, how long we sleep, or whether we sleep at all. It decides for us what tv programmes to avoid. It lets us not charge our mobile phone batteries when expecting or suffering an obnoxious call. And, of course, no guilty feelings for not getting things done.

Truth is, we won’t know what to do with our time and how to pay our electricity bills if there was no break in power supply all night. This friend in Rawalpindi (that’d be the pimple-faced step sister of Islamabad) believes loadshedding saves him money, twice over. One, because his air conditioner works only two hours a night, and two, he doesn’t even need to invest in a timer.

Frequent power outages affect business? Go looking for generators, UPSes, emergency lights, candles, and such like, and you’ll see a live demonstration of the term ‘brisk business’. Without loadshedding it’d be neither business nor brisk.

Frequent blackouts have, if anything, fuelled innovation and lifted the nation’s entrepreneurial spirit with the net result of bringing down unemployment and raising average household income. The unemployed and the underemployed have found more rewarding opportunities in assembling and repairing power-generating units than any other commercial activity, with the exception of trading in stolen mobile phones.

And why consider only traders. The rest of us benefit just as much, though in different ways.

You are engrossed in the world of irritating anchors and their ubiquitous guests commenting on politics, illiterate sporting celebrities, politics, Mira’s ability to make her husbands appear and disappear with commands in drag queen’s English, and more politics… And suddenly the tv dies with a loud hiccup. Then absolute silence. And a smug, comforting, mystical darkness. You give in to the enchantment, throw your head back, close your eyes, and drink in the serenity offered to you absolutely free of cost or effort.

If not for loadshedding, you’d still be watching tv and feeling miserable.

The brutal killing of Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer by his security guard — an elite force commando of Punjab police — has put a question mark on the reliability of security personnel assigned VVIP security duties. In theory, a mandatory screening is always done to declare a person fit for this duty. It is also ensured he is not a potential hazard himself.

However, the process of this screening has never been questioned as vehemently as is being done now. Preliminary findings of the investigations into the governor’s murder have exposed several lacunae in the process which, security experts say, need to be removed to avoid similar incidents.

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for personnel’s screening include reference inquiries, criminal records checks, character analysis and examination of one’s beliefs, religious indoctrination and the existing state of mind.

But, unfortunately, the process is not followed properly, says a senior official in the VVIP security branch of Punjab. The official, who does not want to be named, tells TNS that the existing screening process is not trustworthy as it’s done in a matter-of-fact style.

The practice, he says, is that the special branch of police is assigned the task to check the credentials of a person and his past criminal record. "What happens is that only the people in the said person’s neighbourhood are contacted and inquired about his character and activities. The staff of the concerned police station is also approached to find about the person’s criminal record, if any."

The official says findings like a person being regular in saying prayers and pious are thought enough to clear a person for this duty. The words typically used for a person deemed fit are "Paaband-e-Saum-o-Salat" and "Shareef-un-Nafs," he adds. The official laments that very little effort is made to learn about the sectarian beliefs and leanings of that person.

The official’s assertions appear true keeping in view the mistrust that has developed among senior police officials and VVIPs overnight. One example of this is the reversion of 2,000 personnel assigned VVIP security duties in Sindh to their head offices and the proposals to involve intelligence agencies in the screening process.

While serving police officials are shying away from identifying these loopholes on record, the former ones have no qualms in doing so. Former Inspector General of Police Punjab, Khawaja Khalid Farooq, says intelligence agencies of the country should be involved in the screening of personnel being considered for VVIP duty. Only a clearance by the special branch of police is not enough, especially for those personnel who are supposed to give first cover to the VVIPs.

His point is that intelligence agencies are better equipped and trained to collect information about a person secretively, and without giving anybody a chance to doctor or hide required information. This would double-check the information provided by the special branch.

Another official in Punjab police shares with TNS that the worst working conditions in VVIP security branch affect the performance of those deployed there. He says transfer to this branch is considered a punishment in the department and policemen try all means to avoid it. In this situation, he says, the first priority of the police high-ups is to complete the strength to match the ever-increasing demand for VVIP security personnel. "The supply-demand gap would increase if more and more people are rejected on the basis of screening," he adds.

He says the staff on VVIP duty is prone to diseases like blood pressure, nausea, indigestion, urinal dysfunction and so on. "Last year, a policeman collapsed at Shami Chowk, Lahore, when he had to hold back his urine for long."

The official, who dispatches staff to where it’s needed, tells TNS, "Sometimes they are informed that the highest executive of the province will leave his residence at 8 in the morning. In that case, the staff reaches police lines at 4am from where they are taken aboard buses and dropped at different points before 6am. It has happened on many occasions that the said VVIP leaves around 2pm and until then the staff is not allowed to leave the place even to answer the call of nature. Hunger and thirst are other issues that irritate them. There’s a need to improve the conditions so that these people stay alert."

He doubts the colleagues of the assassins aided him by not shooting him. "Had anyone done that he would have been charged with saving the conspirators as happened in the case of late Liaquat Ali Khan." Secondly, he says, guards are supposed to wait for orders from the officer in command.

Former head of Military Intelligence (MI), Punjab, Brigadier (retd) Muhammad Yousaf, tells TNS, "Man-made systems are never 100 percent foolproof. If US President Ronald Reagan could be hurt in the presence of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), anything is possible. What we can do is to select the best available people for the duty and also make sure that similar environment is not created in future. It is quite natural for a person of the assassin’s religious leaning to attack the governor."

Yousaf suggests periodic assessment, psychological analysis and regular surveillance of personnel protecting VVIPs. He says their movement should be tracked to keep record of people who they meet and places they visit. "One-time screening is of no use in practical terms."

On the incident’s similarity to Indira Gandhi’s murder, he says, "Deployment of Sikh guards to protect her after a bloody attack on Golden Temple was a great blunder. There has been no repeat of the act as there have been no more episodes like Golden Temple."

At last the agreement for laying the much-awaited gas pipeline from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan and Pakistan reaching India called TAPI has been reached. The project, whose acronym TAPI indicates the route of the pipeline, agreement was signed by leaders of all the concerned countries recently in Turkmenistan capital Ashgabat. It has taken almost 15 years to agree upon initiating the project after it was first proposed in 1995.

The gas pipeline, if completed, will go a long way in fulfilling the ever-increasing industrial and domestic energy needs in the energy-deficient Pakistan and India besides Afghanistan. But more than mere providing energy to the recipient countries, TAPI gas pipeline is a project of colossal economic, political and strategic value.

The gas project will supply 3.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day from Turkmenistan gas fields to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. The share of the three countries would be Afghanistan 500 million cubic feet (MMCFD), Pakistan 1325 and the rest for India. In this way India would be the major recipient of gas. However, Afghanistan and Pakistan would not only get the required gas but also transit fees for the length of pipeline using their respective territories.

TAPI project has far-reaching economic implications for the regional countries. It will enable the cash-strapped economy of Turkmenistan to raise huge revenues by selling gas to India and Pakistan. Obviously Turkmenistan has colossal gas reserves which are far beyond its domestic and industrial needs particularly at a time when there is no worthwhile developmental and industrial activities going on in the area.

The need of Pakistan for gas and electricity is perhaps dire than any other country in the region as it is already facing severe energy shortfalls. Pakistan’s economy is worst-hit by continued substantial power crisis due to which a large number of industrial units have been shut down while numerous are working varyingly below their capacity.

In Pakistan, the demand for natural gas has increased by almost 10 percent from 2000 to 2008 reaching around 3200 million cubic feet per day. In 2008, gas demand in Pakistan exceeded with the difference of 203 MMCFD. Although due to many factors like last year super-floods and lack of investment besides energy crisis and above all the security situation, the industrial and agri-sector growth of Pakistan currently is insignificant. However, to maintain even the current fullest capacity of the manufacturing sector Pakistan needs uninterrupted supply of gas and electricity. TAPI would supply 1325 MMCFD gas to Pakistan.

India’s economy is also going to gain substantially from TAPI gas pipeline as it is an energy-deficient country. The sustaining of 9-10 percent growth, which Indian economy has made in recent years, would be unimaginable without energy from projects like TAPI. This India knows quite well and therefore it has been doing all to materialise this project.

Afghanistan is also going to benefit substantially from the TAPI gas pipeline as its vast energy reservoirs remain dormant and will remain so for years to come and the huge reconstruction and rehabilitation process in the war-devoured country will increasingly require energy sources. Moreover, Afghanistan is also going to earn millions of dollars in transit fees from the project which would be critical for the country’s ruined economy.

Vice Chancellor of University of Peshawar, Dr. Azmat Hayat, who is a well-known Pakistani expert on Central Asia and Afghanistan, told TNS: "TAPI is a good initiative for boosting the regional economy of South Asia in particular because it will fulfill the growing energy requirements of both India and Pakistan. Both the countries are going to get cheap gas as a result. Pakistan is going to get 700 million dollars as royalty as result of the pipeline passing through Pakistan to India which is good for our economy. It will generate more employment in Pakistan and new cities might develop because of the pipeline passing from various remote and uninhabited points in the country."

Director Area Study Centre (Russian, China, Central Asia and Afghanistan) at University of Peshawar, Dr Sarfaraz Khan, told TNS: "It is a very old idea but we have no option but to opt for it because the energy requirements of both India and Pakistan are going to increase many folds in the future."

Liberal internationalists argue that growing economic integration of the states naturally leads to peaceful conflict resolution among the concerned states. Against this backdrop, many political disputes between Pakistan and India and Afghanistan and Pakistan will have more prospects of resolution if TAPI sees the light of the day as there will be more economic and energy dependence on one another.

Thus the economic, political and developmental advantages of TAPI are numerous. However, the completion of the project is not going to be a cakewalk. There are some very big obstacles in the way of implementing the project. These obstacles are of financial, security and political nature.

The foremost obstacle which the contracting countries would face is the relatively colossal amount of $7.6 billion funds availability for the completion of the project. It may be mentioned that the project is to be financed through a private consortium to build and run it. However, the project is yet to secure financing for construction. Moreover, so far there has been no sale and purchase agreement between Turkmenistan and the recipient countries of the gas.

The security of 1680 kilometres long gas pipeline is a big question mark. But Afghanistan has vowed that it will provide what it takes for the security of the pipeline.

TAPI gas pipeline is going to face opposition from both Russia and Iran because both the states consider the project to rival their economic interests. Russia and Iran are respectively the largest producers of natural gas in the world and the TAPI project would squeeze the South Asia market for their own gas supply projects. Moreover, both the countries do not like to see western countries come and invest in the project.

Keeping in view the incidents of using non-state terrorist and saboteur groups for attacking gas and oil pipelines by the states in Central and South Asia, opposition from states like Russia and Iran would not augur well for the future of TAPI.

Dr Hayat, when asked, said: "The practicality of the project to materialise depends on the willingness of Iran, USA and Russia in particular because there is internal instability and turmoil in Afghanistan from where the gas has to come to Pakistan and India. But I am optimistic that eventually we will see a successful completion and operations of the pipeline."

According to Dr Sarfaraz, "It is a step in the right direction and one of the achievement of the present government to have made India sit and get the long-standing agreement signed. Political will on part of all the four countries and the regional powers and USA is necessary to see it getting completed."

There may be big impediments in the way of TAPI, but these are negotiable one way or the other provided there is a political will on part of the contracting states.