VIEW: North Waziristan, the Punjabi Taliban and the Durand Line —Naeem Tahir Baitullah Mehsud and Maulvi Fazlullah supported the violent Punjabi Taliban who had a sectarian agenda and turned a blind eye towards criminals, smugglers and the drug mafia and took their share of the booty The recent attack on the Ahmedis, Faisal Shahzad’s terror attempt in New York, Fazlullah’s presence in Nuristan and a new warning by the Taliban of attacks on army personnel, minorities, Shias and the MQM, have stressed the urgency of an army operation against the Taliban and al Qaeda in North Waziristan. The US is … Continue reading North Waziristan, the Punjabi Taliban and the Durand Line

VIEW: Economic outlook —Mohammad Jamil Serious efforts were never made to alleviate poverty in Pakistan, as the ruling elite considered the people mere statistical numbers Pakistan’s economic outlook will remain dismal unless our ruling elite weans itself away from profligacy, learns to live within its means and says “no” to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). They have to understand that it is not a debt trap but a death trap, as the figure for our foreign loans is likely to go up from $ 55 to $ 100 billion by 2015 when debt servicing — loan instalments and interest on … Continue reading Economic outlook

COMMENT: Free enterprise religion —Nasir Abbas Mirza We want sects and we want brands. We want to outdo others by doing or undoing what other sects are doing. The sectarian system is a class system. We have to devise ways to stamp our identities. Once that is done, we proudly wear the proof of our distinctive identity on our foreheads. That is extreme branding In two countries of the world — the US and Pakistan — religion is a model-free enterprise. Rival mosques and madrassas compete for the allegiance and charity of the God-fearing people of our Islamic Republic. In … Continue reading The sexy Mullah brand!

Side-effect Flotilla thenews.com.pk Harris Khalique Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the act of the deadly attack by his marines on the aid flotilla of six ships heading towards the 1.5 million Palestinians crowded into the Gaza strip. He shamelessly said, “Once again Israel faces hypocrisy and a biased rush to judgment.” Unmoved by the deaths of innocent civilians at the hands of his atrocious forces, he was defiant in his speech and pleaded that easing the blockade of Gaza would lead to Iranian missiles falling in the hands of rogue Hamas leaders who rule the Palestinian strip. According to … Continue reading Palestinian or Ahmaddiya – time for Israel and Pakistan to act with maturity

The blasphemy around us Islamabad diary thenews.com.pk Ayaz Amir If Islam stands for anything, it is for a just society, free from want and oppression. There is, thus, in Islam no blasphemy greater than a child dying of hunger, a child begging for bread, a woman drowning herself and her children, as has frequently happened in the Islamic Republic, because the burden of life was too much for her, a man throwing himself before an onrushing train because of poverty. We are moved by these things, but only up to a point. The holy fathers, the registered doctors of the … Continue reading The blasphemy around us

Trapped in conflicts and state failure Reality check thenews.com.pk Shafqat Mahmood Our collective prejudices and hypocrisies were on display after the Lahore attack on Ahmedi places of worship. Those multitudes protesting internet blasphemies earlier were silent. Those railing from the pulpit against international conspiracies had no voice. The cherished tolerant image of Islam had been tarnished but it did not register. The government response was also schizophrenic. Terrorism was condemned yet no important official of the Punjab government bothered to visit the injured. And, no compensation was announced for the dead. The coffers of the state were closed to the … Continue reading The prejudices and hypocrisies of Pakistans media

VIEW: Rationality wanted —Gulmina Bilal Ahmad Rationality has become a rare commodity whereas emotional statements, decisions and reactions have become the norm. This could be the only reason behind the provincial categorisation of the Taliban Exactly 12 years to the day we exhibited our nuclear capabilities, we were reminded of our inadequacies in other key areas. Friday, May 28, this year confronted us yet again with the challenge of terrorism based on the intolerance and extremist mindsets amongst sections of the common people. Ahmedis were attacked while at prayer, thus creating another tragic memory of the havoc created in our … Continue reading Emotional fingering

VIEW: Are we an unjust people? —Dr Mahjabeen Islam Our heroes are not Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and Jinnah. We are a nation adrift. We idolise looters and plunderers, we follow the morally corrupt, and we are roused to frenzy by the hypocritical voices of hate, garbed in beards and turbans, hijabs and niqabs It is like the pot, read Pakistanis, calling the kettle, read Israelis, black. Over 100 Ahmedis were massacred while praying and the protest from the Pakistani nation was individual, muted, minimal, and quickly forgotten. Just a few days later, Israel kills 20 activists in the Freedom Flotilla … Continue reading The heroes of Pakistanis

Blackened by Nadeem F. Paracha dawn.com Kudos to television journalist, Talat Hussain, for surviving the audacious Israeli attack on the Freedom Flotilla, and returning home to tell the tale. Now, if only our brave media personalities could exhibit exactly the same kind of commitment and guts in condemning all the gore and tragedies that take place in the name of faith in our own country … That would be asking for a bit too much, wouldn’t it? After all, they know that if they were to do so, not only would they suffer labels of being ‘liberal extremists,’ or ‘western/Indian/Zionist … Continue reading Queer Pakistani Media!