Balochistan (Balochi: بلوچستان) or BaluchistanLand of the Baloch. Is an arid, mountainous region in the Iranian plateau in Southwest Asia; it includes part of southeastern Iran, western Pakistan, and southwestern Afghanistan. The area is named after the numerous Baloch tribes. All natives are considered Balochi even if they do not speak the Balochi language; Pashto, Persian, and Brahui languages are also spoken in the region. The southern part of Balochistan is known as Makran.
Balochistan's landscape is composed of barren, rugged mountains and fertile, but dry, land. Most of the land is barren, particularly in the Iranian and Afghan side of the region, and it is generally sparsely populated. In the south Makran lies the desert through which Alexander the Great passed with great difficulty.
Agriculture in the region is based on the cultivation of kharif crops. Cultivation is often located in alluvial fans, along river-courses, and in fertile areas which are maintained through artificial irrigation systems such as qanats (holes sunk in the ground to trap water) and gabarbands (low stone and earth mounds which create raised beds which, in turn, become saturated by rainfall and water run-off from the surrounding hills). In the southern Makran and oasis region (south of the Chagai Hills) the date palm is grown and cultivated. Orange orchards are also typical in southern Balochistan, particularly Jhalawan and Sarawan.
Hassan Nisar (Punjabi: حسن نثار) is a syndicated columnist and an analyst with his own talk show Choraha on Geo TV, Pakistan. His presentations are in Urdu. His commentaries in print media and television focusing on contemporary Pakistan, and the political history of Islam, have earned him both praise from liberal peers and scorn from Nationalist and religious elements in Pakistan.
Although Nisar is a veteran journalist, who has been involved with print media for more than a decade, he became a household name due to the rise of private TV channels in Pakistan followed by YouTube, where many of his TV appearances including Meray Mutabiq (Urdu: میرے مطابق) are regularly uploaded. He has also hosted a talk show, "Choraha" on Geo News.
He is criticized by fellow journalists for being biased against PML(N).[citation needed]
Tarek Fatah (Urdu: طارق فتح) (born November 20, 1949), is a Canadian political activist, writer, and broadcaster. He is the author of Chasing a Mirage: The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State published by John Wiley & Sons. In the book Fatah challenges the notion that the establishment of an Islamic state is a necessary prerequisite to entering the state of Islam. He suggests that the idea of an Islamic state is merely a mirage that Muslims have been made to chase for over a millennium. Chasing a Mirage was shortlisted for the $35,000 Donner Prize for 2008–09.
Fatah's second book, titled The Jew Is Not My Enemy: Unveiling the Myths that Fuel Muslim Anti-Semitism, was published by McClelland & Stewart in October 2010. The book won the 2010 Annual Helen and Stan Vine Canadian Book Award in Politics and History.
In May 2009, Fatah joined CFRB 1010. Later that fall, he joined John Moore's morning show as a contributor. Currently, he hosts "The Tarek Fatah Show" on CFRB NewsTalk 1010' on Sundays.
Hamid Mir (Urdu: حامد مير, born July 23, 1966) is a Pakistani journalist and editor. He is also a news anchor, terrorism expert, and security analyst who regularly participates in international conferences. He is also known for his columns in Urdu, Hindi, Bengali, and English newspapers and hosts a popular political talk show on Geo TV with the name of Capital Talk. He was banned from TV by the military regime of General Pervez Musharraf in 2007. He was again banned by the Zardari-led Pakistan Peoples Party's (PPP) government in June 2008.
Mir was born in Lahore, Punjab. He educated there and completed his Matric examination from University Laboratory School New Campus and Government Central Model School. He received his intermediate degree from Government Science College and his Bachelor of Arts (B.A) degree from Government College. He earned his Master of Arts (M.A) in mass communications from the University of Punjab in 1989. He played cricket but left the sport after the sudden death of his father.
Born in November 1948, Najam Sethi (Urdu: نجم سیٹھی) is an award winning Pakistani journalist, editor, and media personality, is the editor-in-chief of The Friday Times, a Lahore based political weekly, and previously the editor of Daily Times and Daily Aajkal newspapers. Currently, he does a current-affairs program on Geo TV, Pakistan's most popular private news channel. He also owns Vanguard, a publishing house and a chain of bookstores.
He has been awarded the 2009 Golden Pen of Freedom, the annual press freedom prize of the World Association of Newspapers. He and his publications have been in conflict with Pakistani governments on many occasions. He was part of the "London Group" of Pakistani leftists that supported an uprising in Balochistan in the 1970s.[citation needed]
In May 1999, he was imprisoned for one month without trial. However, he was released after an international outcry.[citation needed]
He served in President Farooq Leghari's interim cabinet as Adviser on Political Affairs and Accountability after the fall of Benazir Bhutto's second government. On November 25, 2009, in an email sent to Daily Times online edition subscribers, Sethi announced his resignation from The Daily Times. In addition to himself, Khaled Ahmed (Contributing Editor), Ejaz Haider (Op-Ed Editor) and other senior staff also resigned.[citation needed]