Immorality, impotence and other afflictions of the mind By Salman Rashid A JUI MNA has recently taken over as the Minister for Tourism. And if anyone sees any irony in that, they had better get their heads inspected by an expert leather worker. At the very outset he in tandem with his parliamentary secretary (who else but a mufti) has pledged to ban alcohol and immoral activities from all Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) motels. In view of this avalanche of immorality that covers these places of evil, I declare all PTDC establishments should henceforth be known by their correct … Continue reading The rise of Mullah Atta ur Rehman!

Asad Munir Two important Taliban leaders were detained in Pakistan in the past one month. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and Mullah Abdul Salam, the first in Karachi and the other in Faisalabad. The arrests coincided with the launching of a major offensive by the Nato forces in Marjah, in Afghanistan’s Helmand province, a stronghold of the Taliban. Since details about how and when these detentions took place are seldom revealed by official circles, one has to rely on media reports, which are not always accurate and generally based on speculation. However, these arrests may help in changing the perceptions of … Continue reading A shift in policy on borderless Mullahs?

By S.M. Shahid dawn Pakistan has suffered greater losses than the Americans who tell the country to do more. — File photo “What was the thing that annoyed you the most when you were in school, if you ever attended one that is?” Babboo was on the offensive from the word go.“The most annoying thing for me was the majboori of having to sit in the classroom with boys like you,” I retorted. “You mean brighter boys than yourself?” “Brats, not bright!” I said. “But brighter brats!” “Shut up, yar!” “For me, personally, the most annoying thing was when the … Continue reading Do more!??? for who???

Dawn Editorial Members of Islamic parties have traditionally objected to legislation supporting women’s rights. —File Photo THE Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Bill has, after much dillydallying, been adopted by the Senate, making it just a step away from becoming law. It now has to be signed by the president. It was passed by the National Assembly in January. While this is a positive step, the flood of women-related legislation — a major achievement of women parliamentarians — in the two houses of parliament can leave one in a state of puzzlement. No doubt there has been … Continue reading Protecting women – an Islamic duty to protect all from the Mullahs!

By Nadeem F. Paracha The active emergence of a revamped PML-N supplemented by an alarmist new electronic media can be detected as a more vocal arrival of the New Right in Pakistan. — Photo by AP It was called the ‘New Left.’ Emerging in Britain in the 1950s, the New Left was the left’s disparaging response to the authoritarian tendencies of Marxism mainly symbolised by so-called ‘Stalinism’. The New Left revisited Marxist doctrines and attempted to bring them more in line with concepts like liberal democracy. The New Left criticised both western capitalism and Soviet communism and attempted to put forward … Continue reading The rightward march towards Mullahs?

Ban the ban on Basant By Irfan Husain When we ban the shared enjoyment of traditional festivals like Basant, we are only strengthening the extremists who have come to shape our national agenda. —File Photo ONE would have thought that with all the political turmoil and full-blown Islamist insurgency Pakistan is passing through, our courts and state officials would have more to occupy them than to ban Basant. But yet again, this centuries-old kite-flying festival has become the focus of controversy. In 2005, the Supreme Court in its wisdom decided to ban the spring celebrations, but until last year, people … Continue reading Bas Karo! Ban the ban on Basant!

Britain’s ‘most unfortunate names’ disclosed in new survey By Andrew Hough Experts said some parents might not realise the implications of their new child’s name. Photo: REUTERS Stan Still, Anna Sasin, Hazel Nutt, Barb Dwyer and Justin Case are among some of the country’s unluckiest people who have been given the unfortunate names by their parents, it found. In what may sound like a bad joke to some, others to make the “Most Unfortunate Names in Britain” list include Mary Christmas, Paige Turner, Chris Cross and Barry Cade. Some of the more curious American names, uncovered by a parenting group … Continue reading Britain’s most embarrassing and bizarre names have been disclosed in a new survey.

Spooks bullied by appeal court The judgment on Binyam Mohamed’s mistreatment gives our security services a kicking – and lets the politicians off scot-free Crispin Black guardian.co.uk MI5 director-general Jonathan Evans. Photograph: PA I have in the past been a strong critic of the intelligence services. They are not as good as they think they are and are prone to all kinds of special pleading over their failures. MI5 director general Jonathan Evans’s persistent unwillingness to accept that his agency could have thwarted the 7/7 bombers if they had been more on the ball shows the petulance of a losing … Continue reading Why attack MI5? Why not the politicians?