By Huma Yusuf dawn.com Pakistan is currently leading 56 other Islamic countries in an anti-defamation of religion campaign. But it is too ironic, indeed insulting, to see our government lobby for the rights of religions on the world stage when it cannot defend the rights or lives of its own people at home. – Photo by Reuters. As soon as I heard that gunmen had attacked two Ahmadi houses of worship in Lahore, I posted a despairing comment on my Facebook page, condemning the violence and wondering out loud why we, as a nation, had let it come to this. … Continue reading A murderous mindset

Culture of intolerance Dawn Editorial Officials visit the Garhi Shahu mosque which was stormed by militants on Friday, in Lahore, on Saturday, May 29, 2010. – Photo by AP. Front Page Ahmadis claim 95 killed in Lahore attack Ahmadis claim 95 killed in Lahore attack Friday’s gruesome attacks on Ahmadi worshippers in Lahore were a tragic reminder of the growing intolerance that is threatening to destroy our social fabric. Bigotry in this country has been decades in the making and is expressed in a variety of ways. Violence by individuals or groups against those who hold divergent views may be … Continue reading Culture of intolerance in Pakistans schools needs to be tackled

Militants fanning sectarianism, says Malik The Interior Minister said Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-i-Jhangvi and Sipah-e-Sahaba are allies of Taliban and al-Qaeda. — File Photo by APP LAHORE: Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on Sunday that terrorists from south Punjab had begun unveiling themselves. While talking to the media in Model town Lahore, Malik said Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-i-Jhangvi and Sipah-e-Sahaba were allies of Taliban and al-Qaeda. He said terrorists were trying to spread sectarianism in the country after their failure. Malik requested the media not to promote terrorists as heroes and said Ulema from all the sects should condemn terrorism and try not to … Continue reading Mullahs fanning sectarianism, says Malik

ANALYSIS: Survival of the fittest —Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur Societies that reward fraudsters, cheats and bullies are predestined to languish in dark ages, tormented by tyranny and lawlessness Recent research by Dr Swidbert Ott has shown that “swarming locusts look and act different from solitary locusts and they also have about 30 percent larger brains”. This they say is a survival mechanism, because “being inside these swarms is really a messy business — it is driven by hunger and the need to figure out where to find new food. It was found that these insects even turn to cannibalism — … Continue reading Survival of the fittest

VIEW: Of blasphemy, Facebook and terrorism —Imtiaz Alam The politics of fanning religious frenzy on the basis of sectarianism, blasphemy and fighting infidels is intrinsically linked to creating an environment for breeding nurseries of terrorism and promoting vigilantism. It creates a culture of intolerance that is inimical to all democratic values Times are horrifying in this land of the pure and a chaotic world around. A “satire” protesting censoring of an episode of ‘South Park’ by Comedy Central turned viral, forcing the irreverent cartoonist to take refuge behind opposing censorship in a most inappropriate manner. A section of the aggrieved … Continue reading Of blasphemy, Facebook and terrorism

VIEW: ‘Un’social networking —Andleeb Abbas The reckless interpretation of freedom by the West and the vengeful response of the Muslim world have created an endless battle of the aggrieved and the griever It is a faceless world. Technology has always been two-faced; it can be a threat or an opportunity depending on which side you want to see. The 21st century is an era that will go down in history as when technology blew away geographical and cultural differences and made the world a truly global village. Distances and time zones vanish with a click, friends are made with a … Continue reading ‘Un’social networking

ANALYSIS: The challenge of an uncertain future —Dr Hasan-Askari Rizvi Now, in 2009-2010, as the army avoids direct role in politics because it is engaged in counter-terrorism, the PPP’s adversaries are approaching the Supreme Court with the hope that it would knock out the PPP government or President Zardari The most certain feature of Pakistan’s democracy is an uncertainty of its future. The optimistic view describes the current difficulties as the issues of transition from a military-dominated political order to a participatory civilian political system, which will take time to settle down. The current problems are the transitional problems on … Continue reading The challenge of an uncertain future

Now that’s what you call a cat fight! Tiger brothers try to show each other who’s boss It was a real splash of the titans when this spectacular display of tiger play-fighting was caught on camera. After one 28-and-a-half-stone Siberian tiger launched himself at his brother, the pair became locked in a wild water fight. They rolled and tumbled – until a roar of disapproval from their watching mother led them to down paws. Take that: A Siberian tiger makes the most of it when his brother turns his back, leading to a spectacular 20-minute water fight at the Nikolaev … Continue reading What can we Humans learn from these Tigers?

Are all Pakistanis equal? By Imran Khan Picture from AFP Minorities in Pakistan begin to feel they are not accepted by all Pakistanis. Lahore, once again, has seen immense violence on its streets. I landed in this most iconic of Pakistani cities in the wee hours of Saturday morning. At first light, I visited the site of one of the mosques attacked a day earlier. Having covered countless blasts in the country, I was prepared to hear the heart-wrenching tales of those who survived, of those who buried their dead, of mothers in shock. Pakistanis are a by-and-large honest and open bunch, … Continue reading Should we Kill 10 Mullahs across the board for every Terrorist attack in Pakistan

by Nadeem F. Paracha Over and over again I have been using Dawn and Dawn.com to hit home the point about the vicious, soul destroying mindset the bulk of Pakistan’s urban middle-classes (especially in the Punjab) have fallen in to. I have tried to give numerous examples to highlight this devastating observation and here again is another one: On May 28 when terrorists associated with what is called the ‘Punjabi Taliban’ attacked various places of worship of the Ahmadiyya community in Lahore, the TV channels were out in force covering the gruesome event. However, that did not stop them from … Continue reading Frayed ends of sanity