Foreign media-ocrity by Guest “It’s such an exciting time to be in Pakistan.” This is a line one hears time and again from every new arrival of foreigners that lands at Islamabad airport. From the US Secretary of State, to the new foreign service employees at an international embassy, to the newest international media correspondent, Pakistan seems to be the new land of opportunity.  Except that this opportunity doesn’t really work for us too much, considering we were declared the most dangerous country in the world last year and now, because of natural disasters, are at our absolute lowest point. … Continue reading Media-ocrity

BOOK REVIEW: Bringing a legend to life —by Dr Amjad Parvez Momi Gaind — Translations of Maupassant’s short stories By Dr Kauser Mahmood Takhleeqaat; Pp 160; Rs 150 French history is rich with art and culture. One of its famous short story writers is Henri-René-Albert-Guy de Maupassant. Dr Kauser Mahmood, a dental surgeon by profession and a poet-cum-translator by passion, has translated eight short stories by Maupassant from French to Urdu in the form of a book titled Momi Gainde. Before we enter this work we must find out, for the benefit of our younger generation, who Maupassant was. Maupassant … Continue reading Momi Gaind — Translations of Maupassant’s short stories

PURPLE PATCH: The history craze —Margaret MacMillan History, and not necessarily the sort that professional historians are doing, is widely popular these days, even in North America, where we have tended to look toward the future rather than the past. It can be partly explained by market forces. People are better educated and, particularly in the mature economies, have more leisure time and are retiring from work earlier. Not everyone wants to retire to a compound in the sun and ride adult tricycles for amusement. History can be helpful in making sense of the world we live in. It can … Continue reading The history craze

PENSIEVE: How not to run a democracy —Farrukh Khan Pitafi There is no point in alienating those who still think that democracy is our best chance. We need grace, vision and dedication from our leadership at this moment. The future of democracy in my humble view and the scope of progress has never been more jeopardised in the country A big portion of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is under water. It is a tragedy of sorts. The national infrastructure is gone, the national spirit crushed and of course the country in hot economic waters. And frankly why should it … Continue reading How not to run a democracy

COMMENT: The partition narrative —Ismail Khan Many might argue that the survivors or victims of the Bangladesh tragedy were those who hardly shared the same location as West Pakistan and, therefore, the lessons were not internalised. The same could also be said about the Taliban, who were initially thought of as a far-flung problem It is 63 years since Pakistan emerged as an independent state on the map of the world. Variably referred to as the birth of Pakistan, partition of India or independence of India and Pakistan, the event is important not only for global and national power politics, … Continue reading The partition narrative

COMMENT: The river beyond —Dr Mohammad Taqi Political leaders must take charge of shaping the narrative of this disaster and the recovery from it. They must articulate clearly and consistently that the gods are not in the business of unleashing havoc on innocent people and whole societies are not punished for the misdeeds of a few It may sound like a cliché but the late Munir Niazi’s words ring truer today than ever before: “Ik aur darya ka samna tha Munir mujh ko, Mein aik darya kay paar utra to mein ne dekha.” The translation of the above verse cannot … Continue reading The river beyond

COMMENT: Letters concerning toleration — III —Ahmad Ali Khalid An intolerant society is often an impoverished society, not an affluent one. The path to this dangerous vice is often made alluring through harsh and unforgiving socio-economic conditions On the concept of citizenship as a basis of tolerance that cuts across sectarian and religious divisions, it should be said that our nation’s founder, Mr Jinnah, made it patently clear that, “You may belong to any religion or caste or creed — that has nothing to do with the business of the state.” Citizenship must trump the exclusivist interpretations of religious membership. … Continue reading Concerning toleration

COMMENT: Between man and nature —Usman Shami Many term the calamity as God’s way of expressing displeasure with the inhabitants of this land, but maybe in it is hidden an opportunity for this nation to unite. Our leaders should put aside their political ego and resort to more logical positions on the water issues in the country During the course of history, mankind’s development in various disciplines of life has been astonishing. The human race has grown from milestone to milestone with an ever-increasing pace of development. Advancements in available tools and technologies have assured development of more reliable infrastructure … Continue reading Is Allah swt angry at Pakistan for worshipping Mullahs?

WASHINGTON DIARY: Reinventing Pakistan —Dr Manzur Ejaz From terrorism to floods, Pakistan is suffering because of a lack of collective consciousness and indifference to the basic rules of self-preservation. The ruling elite must learn to establish good governance if Pakistan is to survive When my family purchased an acre of land in Virginia, we thought we could build any size of home we liked. What we soon discovered was that the county’s residential codes did not allow tampering with certain water drainage areas and thus we had limited options about where to build. Besides the drainage area, we were not … Continue reading Reinventing Pakistan

COMMENT: A mysterious affair — I —Munir Attaullah Even if I were in Lahore, I could not realistically expect the Khadim-e-Aala to attend to my modest needs: is he not busy practicing that delicate new skill — how to wade through flood waters in the presence of TV cameras — that has taken the country by storm? (Author’s advisory: This is not your regular, solemn, op-ed stuff. I am fed up with a surfeit of bad news and gloomy columns. So, some light-hearted nonsense this week (and next), no matter how out of place, may not be entirely unwelcome. Readers … Continue reading A mysterious affair