Friend or foe? Dawn Editorial The questions here are endless. If there is an attack on American soil and it is traced back to Pakistan, would it not also indicate a failure of American security and intelligence circles? – Photo on file Editorial Peace in Swat Peace in Swat It’s enough to make one’s heart sink. “The US military is reviewing options for a unilateral strike in Pakistan in the event that a successful attack on American soil is traced to the country’s tribal areas, according to senior military officials,” says a report in The Washington Post. The writer is … Continue reading America Friend or Foe of Pakistan?

Pakistan court orders Facebook access restored dawn.com Protesters shout slogans during a protest in Karachi on May 21, 2010, against the published caricatures of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) on Facebook. –AFP Photo/Asif Hassan Sci-Tech Pakistanis create rival Muslim Facebook SPIN-OFF Pakistanis create rival Muslim Facebook LAHORE: Pakistan lifted a ban on Facebook on Monday after officials from the social networking site apologized for a page deemed offensive to Muslims and removed its contents, a top information technology official said. The move came almost two weeks after Pakistan imposed the ban amid anger over a page that encouraged users to post images … Continue reading Facebook back online in Pakistan

Seven more iPad alternatives We ran through the seven mainstream iPad alternatives a few weeks ago. They include the usual suspects: the ModBook, Notion Ink Adam, HP Slate and Dell Streak along with a few others. But there are more portables either currently available or coming out real soon that could also have made that list. Consider the following seven computers alternatives to the standard iPad alternatives. Spring Design Alex Ebook Reader While the Alex is really an ereader first, it’s still capable of a lot more with Android running on a 3.5-inch color LCD under the 6-inch e-ink display. Since … Continue reading iPad alternatives

VIEW: The Second Amendment —Yasser Latif Hamdani The Second Amendment laid the foundations of intolerance and religious tyranny in Pakistan, which has manifested itself in other ways. Since then our state has been in a downward spiral The violence against the Ahmediyya community underscores the bigotry that has become the hallmark of our beloved homeland. A community — already sacrificed at the altar of political expediency — has now been made to pay the ultimate price. Amongst the dead, which included retired army officers and other contributors to Pakistani society, was reportedly the youngest brother of Chaudhry Zafarullah Khan. For … Continue reading The Second Amendment

COMMENT: We are in it together —Dr Syed Mansoor Hussain The Ahmedis have never done anything to harm Pakistan, and yet those that opposed the creation of Pakistan are at the forefront of accusing them of being anti-Pakistan After the Friday massacre in Lahore, I kept asking myself, how and why we have come to this point. I grew up in the Lahore of the late 50s and 60s. My family was not very religious but neither were they very liberal. I went through a typical upper middle class education for that time, English medium schools, followed by a couple … Continue reading We are in it together

The Pakistani Taliban’s Suicide Bomber Trainer: A Profile of Qari Hussain Mehsud By Brian Wolfe Pakistani law enforcement officials present a child suicide bomber to the media (Photo by Douglas 606, available at Flickr) The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) released three videos immediately after the failed May 1 attack in Times Square, one of which was an audiotape claiming responsibility for the attack. A deputy TTP commander, Qari Hussain Mehsud, recorded the audiotape, bringing to the forefront an individual known as Ustad-e-Fidayeen—literally, the teacher of freedom fighters, but, as used among militant groups in Pakistan, the teacher of suicide bombers. Hussain’s … Continue reading Suicide Bomber Trainer

Allah is al-Jabbar – (The Compeller) Sheikh Salman al-Oadah We find this name of Allah in the verse: “Allah says: “He is Allah, besides whom there is no God, the King, the Holy One, Peace, the Giver of Security, the Guardian, the Compeller.” [Sūrah al-Hashr: 23] The name also appears quite frequently in the Prophet’s Sunnah. When the name al-Jabbar describes Allah, it is an attribute of praise and glory. By contrast, when the word is used to describe human beings, it is to rebuke and censure them for their pride and self-aggrandizement. For instance: “They said: ‘O Moses! In … Continue reading al-Jabbar

Smokers’ Corner: Black fell the day By Nadeem F. Paracha dawn.com Thanks to the maliciously tempered history taught to us of Islam and Pakistan in our schools and colleges, I have noticed that very few young Pakistanis have any ability left in them to question (in an informed manner) what is dished to them by the courts, the state, the clerics and the televangelists as ‘Islam’ and ‘nationalism.’ Extremism is nobody’s friend. It only deals in might gained from coercion. It does not rest after it has defeated its ideological opponents because then it goes on to destroy even those … Continue reading Educated Idiots in Pakistan

Punjabi Taliban; a growing threat Pakistani Ahmadi community members gather at their worship place after a suicide attack in Lahore. — AFP DERA GHAZI KHAN: The Pakistan Taliban is not the sole militant group threatening Pakistan and the region. Punjabi groups are deepening their ties with the Taliban, representing a growing threat for a country already hit hard by militant violence. This was highlighted by the twin attacks in Lahore on Friday which killed between 80 and 95 members of the Ahmadi community. Initial investigations suggested a possible link to the Taliban operating from Waziristan. Security officials in the region … Continue reading Punjabi Taliban