Bombs and fundamentalism may be no joke, but stand-up comedians in Pakistan are defying death threats to poke fun at Taliban militants with an irreverent humour popular with an increasingly frustrated middle class.
With national newspapers and television screens daily carrying stories and images of suicide bombings and assassinations, the country's young funny men are attempting to turn the nation's collective sadness into satire.
Saad Haroon and Sami Shah, both 33, have cultivated thousands of fans online, abroad and at home in Karachi, the southern financial hub consumed by violence that has claimed more than 1,000 lives this year.
"You hear all over the news there's terrorism in Pakistan," Haroon says in his stand-up act, Terrorists. "I don't believe it for a second, because I watch American movies and I know where terrorists meet. Terrorists always meet in a place called 'the bathroom' ... Have you ever seen a Pakistani public bathroom? No self-respecting terrorist would ever go inside!"
Educated in Hong Kong and the US, Haroon, the son of a textile industrialist, quit the family business after the September 11 attacks 10 years ago to found an improvisational comedy troupe.
"I thought 'this is the lowest point; we need comedy'," he says.
But the attacks and the subsequent US-led invasion of Afghanistan triggered a wave of violence in nuclear-armed Pakistan, underlining the Islamist threat that still emanates from its tribal back-country. One of the worst attacks was the bombing of Benazir Bhutto's motorcade in Karachi in October 2007, which killed about 140 people two months before the former prime minister was assassinated in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.
Shah was working as a television news producer at the time, but the experience of seeing the destruction strangely switched him on to comedy.
"I was just very angry after that," he said. "I was livid ... and the very next week I did the stand-up show. Ridiculous after 140 died, but it was the only way I knew how to process my anger."
The US university-educated Shah, whose main job is as the creative director for an advertising agency in Karachi, admits, however, that the never-ending violence is engendering a widespread resignation that is hard to poke fun at. "I do think it's not healthy for a country to give up this way," he says. "I can't find funny in desperation."
Other taboos remain on the stand-up circuit, says Haroon, such as the military and the largest political party in Karachi, the MQM, which has been accused of having violent elements associated with the city's brutal street killings.
Tradition, too, can be joked about only lightly, as Haroon showed with his most popular production - a music video cover of Roy Orbison's Pretty Woman, entitled Burqa Woman.
"For me it was just an interesting way to talk about it," says Haroon, who admits the song caused offence within his own family. "And that's OK, because at least we're talking about it."
In a country where many writers struggle to make ends meet, Haroon took a risk in turning to comedy, but has cultivated enough of a following at home, in Dubai and in the US to do it full-time.
It's even more of a risk, with both comedians receiving death threats, but both brush them off as mostly online rants by the bored.
"If they're taking the time to write, you don't have to do anything," says Shah. "It's the ones who don't write that you have to worry about."
Causing offence lends itself to obvious criticism, but in a country where conspiracy theories run in the blood, some argue that comedians such as Haroon and Shah reinforce the bloody status quo.
"Such comedies, in my opinion, are a disguised campaign to block change, which cannot grow in a climate of confusion and wilful escape from fundamentals of the state," wrote BA Malik of Islamabad in the daily Dawn newspaper last month. "Laughter in a house of fire is insanity. Any arguments to the contrary?"
Haroon has. He defends the comedian's role as a bulwark against the relentless tide of violence weighing on the national psyche: "When it gets really depressing, if there are more people who go home at the end of the day laughing and being happy and sleep better, that is literally the end goal for me."
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Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
Company%20profile
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German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
UAE squad
Ali Kashief, Salem Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdelrahman, Mohammed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Mohmmed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammad Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Eisa, Mohammed Shakir, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Adel Al Hosani, Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah), Waleed Abbas, Ismail Al Hammadi, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli Dubai) Habib Fardan, Tariq Ahmed, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Mahrami (Baniyas)
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Fifa%20World%20Cup%20Qatar%202022%20
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Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
- Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
- Rational thinking: Breathe and avoid emotional decision-making; let logic and planning guide your actions.
- Strategic patience: Understand why you’re investing and allow time for your strategies to unfold.
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
The specs: 2018 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross
Price, base / as tested: Dh101,140 / Dh113,800
Engine: Turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder
Power: 148hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 250Nm @ 2,000rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed CVT
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.0L / 100km
The Disaster Artist
Director: James Franco
Starring: James Franco, Dave Franco, Seth Rogan
Four stars
The stats
Ship name: MSC Bellissima
Ship class: Meraviglia Class
Delivery date: February 27, 2019
Gross tonnage: 171,598 GT
Passenger capacity: 5,686
Crew members: 1,536
Number of cabins: 2,217
Length: 315.3 metres
Maximum speed: 22.7 knots (42kph)
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
India Test squad
Virat Kohli (c), Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Shubman Gill
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
If you go
The flights
Return flights from Dubai to Santiago, via Sao Paolo cost from Dh5,295 with Emirates.
The trip
A five-day trip (not including two days of flight travel) was split between Santiago and in Puerto Varas, with more time spent in the later where excursions were organised by TurisTour.
When to go
The summer months, from December to February are best though there is beauty in each season
In Full Flight: A Story of Africa and Atonement
John Heminway, Knopff
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 2 (Van Dijk 18', 24')
Brighton 1 (Dunk 79')
Red card: Alisson (Liverpool)
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Monster Hunter: World
Capcom
PlayStation 4, Xbox One