The writer is founder of Pakistan-based Khudi, a platform to counter extremism Rehman Baba’s shrine. Jamia-e-Naeemi. Data Sahib’s shrine. Scores of Muslims killed in places of worship meant to be a sanctuary for believers. And so it seems that dark forces using the name of Islam have started attacking the very people they claim to be fighting for. While it is not my purpose to speculate on which group carried out what attack, it certainly is my purpose to state that there are some among us who are seeking to force their version of Islam upon all others, even going … Continue reading Why blow up a mosque?

The writer works for Individualland, a development organisation ammar.zafarullah@tribune.com.pk In the aftermath of the Airblue plane crash some zealot scribbled “kafir” (non-believer) on the coffin of Prem Chand, one of the six members of the youth parliament who died in the tragic accident. It reminds me of the hospitality we extended towards Dr Abdus Salam, the only Pakistani to have ever won a Nobel prize. The epitaph on his tomb rightly read “First Muslim Nobel Laureate” but, due to his adherence to the Ahmadi sect, the word “Muslim” provoked the religious sentiments of “pious believers” and was erased on the … Continue reading The acceptance of intolerance

Musharraf with then Turkish president Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Karzai after a summit that the Afghan president described as ‘terrible’. PHOTO: EP KARACHI: With news reports indicating Pervez Musharraf is planning a return to Pakistan and active politics later this year, the WikiLeaks reports referring to the former president come at an opportune time. They reveal some of the president’s biases, the problems he had with his allies and what the US thought of him. The role of Musharraf Most of the reports cover the period from 2006 to 2007 when the sheen was wearing off Musharraf’s presidency and he … Continue reading All the president’s men

Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron greets Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari at Chequers. Cameron invited Zardari to dinner at his official country residence. photo: REUTERS LONDON/MANCHESTER: President Asif Ali Zardari made an impassioned plea to the international community on Thursday to extend substantial assistance for the flood victims of his country. The appeal was made during a meeting with the British Home Secretary Theresa May who called on him. The president also expressed his gratitude to the British government for providing five million pounds in financial assistance. However, Zardari bluntly said that much more international assistance was required on an … Continue reading Zardari calls on world for financial assistance

IEW: Sell oil, infuse venom —Gulmina Bilal Ahmad The need here is to understand one simple point that not everyone in this world can be converted to your faith and people too would always like to choose what they want for themselves. Good or bad, that is not your headache Pakistan has been in a state of war for some time now; a war fought in the name of God between people who, ironically, believe in the same God. What is more ironical is when this internal conflict in Pakistan is given directions from abroad by someone who holds the … Continue reading Sell oil, infuse venom

VIEW: Death and taxes —Dr Mahjabeen Islam One’s mouth hangs open watching footage of houses swallowed by the turbulent waters as though they were made of cards. You rewind and play, thinking that it must be a simulation and forget to move because it is not A common Americanism attributed to Benjamin Franklin goes, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” In Pakistan, the only certainty these days is death. You’ll find it everywhere you turn: the crash in Margalla Hills, the worst floods in a generation, endless terrorism and resurgent targeted killings. … Continue reading Death and taxes

COMMENT: The London caper —Zafar Hilaly The sight of Mr Zardari, for example, clutching a rescued child to his chest while being pulled up into a helicopter, would have done more for his personal image than a whole year spent with Cameron at the latter’s retreat at Chequers If the most devastating flood in Pakistan’s history, the dislocation of nearly three million people and the destruction of nearly a fifth of the nation’s food production could not persuade Mr Zardari to stay at home and add his weight to the relief effort, why should the frequent and tedious allegation of … Continue reading The London caper

VIEW: Blame thyself —Daud Khattak The ISI over-implicated itself following the withdrawal of the Soviet troops and the overthrow of the pro-communist regime in Afghanistan while the US kept its hands off following the defeat of the then USSR Much has been written in the national and international media since the release of classified intelligence reports by WikiLeaks and a major portion of all the writings is focused on the future of the US’s war against terrorism in Afghanistan and the role of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). In this regard, the latest statement came from the UK Prime Minister David … Continue reading Blame thyself

Bilawal denies immediate plan to join politics dawn.com Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron (R) poses for a photograph with Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari (2ndR) and his children Asifa Bhutto Zardari (L) and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari (2ndL) as they arrive at at Chequers near Princes Risborough, on August 5, 2010. – Photo by AFP. ISI chief’s UK visit was not scheduled, says PM ISLAMABAD: Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Thursday spoke for the first time in many months, only to categorically deny the prevalent impression created by a section of the media that he was to launch his political career over … Continue reading Bilawal – I will not even be attending the (Birmingham) event

Speech by Bilawal fuels talk of political career dawn.com Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and his son Bilawal Zardari Bhutto. – AFP LONDON: The son of Benazir Bhutto and President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan is expected to make his first speech Saturday since leaving university in Britain, fuelling talk he is stepping up his political career. Bilawal Zardari Bhutto, 21, is heir apparent to a dynasty whose most famous figure was his mother, Pakistan’s former prime minister and the world’s first Muslim female premier, who was assassinated in 2007. His grandfather, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founded the Pakistan Peoples Party … Continue reading Bilawal Zardari – Next Ruler of Pakistan?