COMMENT: Of ambassadorial appointments —Zafar Hilaly The test of good diplomacy often lies in the ease and success with which an ambassador is able to transact a whole range of practical and everyday matters between states Following the reported resignation of Abdullah Hussain Haroon as the permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, the search for his successor must be under way. Mr Zardari will once again be able to indulge his whim and fancy. Very few leaders can afford to do that, but we Pakistanis are an indulgent lot. Besides, our patience to suffer fools is infinite. In the … Continue reading Of ambassadorial appointments

VIEW: Playing favourites —Gulmina Bilal Ahmad For terrorism to be tackled, we must stop playing favourites amongst terrorists. A bomb creates the same havoc in a Shia’s life as it does in an Ahmedi’s or an Ismaili’s life Is it a coincidence that both ‘Taliban’ and ‘terrorists’ start with a T? This is not surprising because they have become synonymous with each other. Whether we talk about the Punjabi, Pakhtun, tribal or the Swat Taliban, all are labelled as terrorists. While some analysts distinguish between the “good” and “bad” Taliban, it is generally believed that the Taliban are not kosher, … Continue reading Playing favourites

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi has distanced himself from his father’s image and seems intent on bringing modern democracy to Libya Nabila Ramdani guardian.co.uk, Thursday 10 June 2010 16.00 BST Article history Coming out of an infamous father’s shadow is difficult at the best of times, but especially so when your surname is Gaddafi and you’re frequently tipped as the next ruler of Libya. The crude caricature of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, the so-called “Brother Leader”, as tribal warrior turned unsmiling despot is certainly one which has dominated the entire life of his second son, Saif al-Islam. Despite recent reforms, which have seen … Continue reading Stepping out of Gaddafi’s shadow

COMMENT: A nation complicit —Zaair Hussain We cannot possibly claim, as a country, that we value freedom of speech above all else. If we did so, we would choke on the magnitude of our hypocrisy. When, in human history, has the oppression of a country’s own citizens paid dividends to either the oppressed or the oppressors? In recent times, we as Pakistanis have developed not an immunity, but a resistance to the mental strain of terrorism. This is a tragedy of the times, and a triumph of our spirit. Recently, however, we encountered a new horror, one that I hope … Continue reading A nation complicit

VIEW: Of pens and names —Dr Mahjabeen Islam The written word, in the hands of the majority, can achieve what partisan governments or extremist ideologies cannot, especially when it can be transported across the world in the blink of an eye I write because it gives me a high. If, in the process, some cobwebs in the reader’s mind and mine can be cleared, it is just an added bonus. “How can you be an addictionist, you do not drink or do drugs!” said an outraged colleague when he found out that I was practising as one. Amused, I reminded … Continue reading Of pens and names

VIEW: Pakistan’s defence budget and the Greek example —Jan Assakzai The country’s economic planners use the same method as the Greeks. The usual strategy Islamabad adopts is managing the deficit with borrowed money, contributing to the debt nightmare (both external and internal) and adding to the current financial crisis Given the hike in defence spending in the budget for 2010-2011 presented by the federal government, the present economic crisis and means for its solution are synonymous with the Greek crisis in many ways. Both countries have more or less similar geo-political settings that have been instrumental in shaping their security … Continue reading Pakistan’s defence budget and the Greek example

COMMENT: Fear of mirrors — II —Dr Mohammad Taqi Considering the admixture of an aggressive political Islam, analysts unable or unwilling to propose foreign policy alternatives to reliance on Riyadh and a series of governments relying on such analysts, the perpetual US confusion about the Islamic world and its dynamics, especially the militancy, is not surprising “And there are those who build a mosque from mischievous motives, to spread unbelief and disunite the faithful” — Holy Quran 9:107 With the above verse of Surah Taubah (Repentance) opens the May 2010 book A Mosque in Munich, by The Wall Street Journal’s … Continue reading Fear of mirrors

PENSIEVE: Of dust and lust —Farrukh Khan Pitafi The handlers of these terrorists make a wily bunch that often has nothing to do with either impoverishment or intolerance — they do it for their own selfish motives and lust. And since most of these terrorists have been so thoroughly indoctrinated and irreparably damaged, their life might be our death In His Dark Materials trilogy, Philip Pullman plays with our imaginations in an uncanny way. In one of his parallel worlds, dark matter is called dust. And quite contrary to our scientific understanding of the dark matter, the particles in his … Continue reading Of dust and lust

By Zia M KhanJune 08, 2010 Maulana Fazlur Rehman has proposed that the Ahl-i-Sunnat Waljamaat should be part of the alliance. ISLAMABAD: The Maulana Fazlur Rehman-led Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam wants a political outfit with known sectarian credentials to be part of a proposed realignment of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA). Just a week ahead of a crucial meeting in Lahore to revive the alliance, Maulana Fazlur Rehman proposed that the Ahl-i-Sunnat Waljamaat (ASW) — the political wing of the banned Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) — should be part of the alliance. This can spoil the JUI-F’s efforts to reunify the MMA. The ASW, … Continue reading JUI-F eyes sectarian outfit in MMA

Sharif’s statement on Ahmadis angers clerics June 07, 2010 Wafaqul Madaris al Arabia asks PML-N chief to retract his statement ISLAMABAD: Top leaders of an organisation representing Deobandi madrassas across the country have reprimanded PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif for calling members of the Ahmadiyya community as “brothers” of Muslims. “Sharif should be ashamed of calling them brothers of Muslims,” said a statement issued by the Wafaqul Madaris al Arabia (WMA). Sharif said in Lahore on Saturday that Ahmadis were as important citizens of Pakistan as people from other religions and called them an asset. He made the statement to express … Continue reading Sharif angers Mullahs – will he seek their forgiveness?