Many wives of civil servants, security personnel, elected provincial officials and journalists began arming themselves in June 2009, when insurrectionists attacked the homes of notable residents or members of the police force Sporting a long blue dress and white headscarf, Umm Omar barely blinks as she whips out a pistol in her garden. For her, the gun is a necessary evil to protect her young family. “I hate the sound of gunfire, but it is the terrorists who have forced me to learn to handle a gun to protect my children and my home,” the 27-year-old mother of three says … Continue reading Women take up arms in Iraq’s wild west

Cross-court with Aisam by Aisam Qureshi dawn.com Apologies for the delay in writing this blog. It’s just that I was really busy being married… married to tennis, that is. It has been a very long and interesting summer and I will try and squeeze in as much as I can…from winning my first match in Paris to reaching the Wimbledon quarterfinals. This year I was finally able to break the deadlock of losing in first round at the French Open. I think the two months that I spent playing various tournaments on clay eventually paid off at Roland Garros. Rohan … Continue reading Indo-Pak Express?

Everyday intolerance By Rafia Zakaria dawn.com Hakimullah Mehsud, a major leader for Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, is seen here with a weapon. – Photo on file Judging from news accounts, the Pakistani military has been making significant inroads against the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in the tribal agencies and Swat valley. In a report published by the Critical Threats Project, army personnel described the victory of the security forces as “long-lasting, sustainable peace”. Operations in South Waziristan are also reported to have been largely successful in identifying and eliminating militant strongholds. Data culled from news reports shows that Pakistan’s military has made tremendous … Continue reading Everyday Mullahism

The new slave dynasty By Jawed Naqvi An idol of Hindu god Ganesha is left uncared at a Commonwealth Games practice stadium. New Delhi Commonwealth Games have been plagued by delays in the construction of infrastructure and venues. The venues which should have been finished months ago for test events are just starting to come on line now, cutting it fine with competition set to start on Oct. 3. The Muslim majority surrounding the homes have been forcibly evicted out of their homes to beautify the area surrounding the stadium. – AP Photo When Mohammad Ghauri died in 1206, the … Continue reading Uneducated Muslim women will make their children slaves!

Mind-boggling hard-heartedness By Kamran Shafi A general view shows destroyed buildings after a flash flood in Medain, a town of Swat valley on August 2, 2010. – Photo by AFP. Or is it just plain stupidity? The front pages of at least two national newspapers of Monday, Aug 2 tell the story. In one, the prime minister, attired in his usual flamboyant and over-the-top style is shown sitting on a dais, on an ornate chair, alongside Punjab senior minister Raja Riaz and some others. In the other, Mr Gilani is seen addressing a public meeting in connection with a coming … Continue reading Mian Iftikhar Hussain is a leader not Zardari

Swat school seeks to turn boys from Taliban Boys who were kidnapped by Taliban militants to be used as suicide attackers, informants and fighters, attend the rehabilitation school Sabaoon.—AP Home Pakistan farmers see livelihoods wiped out by floods SWEPT AWAY Pakistan farmers see livelihoods wiped out by floods SWAT: The painting is disturbing: raindrops shaped like bullets and branches intended to look like blood-soaked necks. The artist was a boy recruited by the Taliban to help kill Pakistani soldiers. He and more than 120 other boys, some as young as 12, now go to an army-run school designed to guide … Continue reading Swat school deprogramming brainwashed kids

Picture of a terrorised city by annie dawn.com Karachi, our beautiful, dangerous and certainly sprawling metropolis of some 18 million people, is no stranger to the phenomenon of violence, especially when it is of a political character. The current wave of targeted killings and assassinations has been plaguing the city for nearly two years in which some 1,500 people have lost their lives. However, yesterday’s assassination of MPA Syed Raza Haider of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) seems to be the breaking point of all the lawlessness that Karachi has patiently, if not resiliently, endured. The MQM has called for … Continue reading Picture of Karachi

The Afghan girl is back by Guest dawn.com While Sharbat Gul’s eyes powerfully transfixed the world from the cover of National Geographic in 1985, Aisha’s ordeal depicted on the cover of Time this week fixates our attention on where her nose would be. The metaphoric pain in the eyes has given way to the figurative – in this case, the disfigurative. The visceral cringe at Aisha’s mutilated face is surpassed by the painful cerebral spasm at the congruent headline: “What Happens If We Leave Afghanistan.” The connective logic is that gruesome violence against women would occur were the US to … Continue reading The Beauty of the Pashtun and the Beast Mullah

Robert Spencer, David Horowitz Cash in on Hate Posted on 02 August 2010 by Garibaldi loonwatch.com This is still my favorite picture of Robert Spencer. Professional anti-Muslim bigot Robert Spencer is cashing in a huge paycheck. He makes $132,537 from blogging on JihadWatch, courtesy of the David Horowitz “Freedom Center.” That doesn’t include all the money he makes from advertisements, speaking engagements and book deals. So, yes Islamophobes, it isn’t all altruistic defense in the name of Western Civilization that inspires your heroes to crusade against Muslims, it turns out the spoils of the Islamophobic cottage industry are quite lucrative. … Continue reading Cash in on Hating Muslims!

UFO files: Winston Churchill ‘feared panic’ over Second World War RAF incident Winston Churchill was accused of ordering a cover-up of a Second World War encounter between a UFO and a RAF bomber because he feared public “panic” and loss of faith in religion, newly released secret files disclose today. By Andrew Hough, and Peter Hutchinson Published: 12:01AM BST 05 Aug 2010 telegraph.co.uk Winston Churchill and Gen. Dwight Eisenhower in Northern France. Photo: CORBIS Sketch of UFO that ‘looks like a space station’ released by the MoD Photo: PA * Are you the scientist who wrote to the Ministry of … Continue reading UFO files: Winston Churchill