Here comes everybody By Hajrah Mumtaz dawn The video, uploaded by an anonymous source and of indeterminate veracity, created a furore that eventually resulted in the public recognition of and anger against the brutality of the Taliban. — File photo The rise in recent years of internet media, and the subsequent ease with which the average citizen can publish news and views, has become quite controversial in journalistic circles. One side argues that this is not ‘true’ journalism: that the barrage of information means that the significant is drowned by the pedestrian, that there is no way of independently substantiating … Continue reading YOU ARE THE MEDIA NOW!

Smokers’ Corner: To Sir, with love Nadeem F. Paracha Some Sirs are always trying to defend hatred and historical concoctions in the name of patriotism: NFP. — Dawn I was buying a pack of cigarettes at Karachi’s Boat Basin area when someone patted me on the back. I turned around, and it was a teenager with longish hair, a T-shirt and faded denims: “My name is Ayman, and I hate you.” “That’s nice to know, Ayman,” I smiled, offering him a cigarette. He took the cigarette, and I lit it for him. “Why are you always trying to put down … Continue reading I hate America…. but want to go there to study!

View from US: An affair to remember Anjum Niaz Charlie Wilson became a friend of Zia’s because Joanne so told him to: Anjum Niaz. — Dawn This is a triangular story of platonic, sensual and long distance love between a woman and two men as different as day and night. One man being a boozer, a womaniser, the other a paragon of piety (so he led us to believe). And in the middle was a woman — attractive and steamy. At first, there was a visible tilt in the direction of the Army House in Rawalpindi, which the woman frequented. … Continue reading General Zias affairs with Joanne Herring and Good time Charlie

By Huma Yusuf   A Policeman in plain cloth showcase a handcuffed and blindfolded suspected militant to the media in Karachi.—Reuters There has been a definite shift in Pakistan’s counterterrorism policy. And once again Pakistanis are the last to know. The disclaimers issuing from Islamabad since the arrest of Afghan Taliban commander Mullah Baradar have reached new highs of dissimulation. Rather than continue to stoke the suspicions of the polity, the Pakistan government should make its policy towards the Taliban — both Pakistani and Afghan — transparent. Baradar’s arrest, followed by the capture of other Al Qaeda-linked militants, indicates that … Continue reading Officialdom’s doublespeak in Pakistan

By Anwar Syed If the National Assembly is still to be regarded as stable, one may wonder what good stability is. — File Photo Dawn The government of Pakistan has reportedly told American officials that their assistance should be focused on stabilising democracy and economic development in this country. The idea of the stabilisation of democracy is not self-explanatory and we have to figure out what it means and how the US can help in this regard. An institution may be considered stable if it is not subject to abrupt and frequent changes. Continuity is reassuring to those who do … Continue reading Balancing democracy with Mullahs and Corrupt Politicians on either side

By Izzuddin Pal For India, the solution to the conflict will allow it to play a meaningful role in the region. — Photo by AFP dawn During the twenties the western powers had an opportunity to decide about the future of conquered territories, and during the forties they had to cope with decolonisation of their subject nations. In both cases they followed what some historians of imperialism call the policy of strengthening post-colonial links. The goal of this policy was to link the conquered territories or the post-colonial regimes with the emerging international political economy in order to protect their … Continue reading Despite South Asians Egos – Is India-Pakistan entente possible?

Uzi Mahnaimi thetimes Mossad spy agency chief Meir Dagan IN early January two black Audi A6 limousines drove up to the main gate of a building on a small hill in the northern suburbs of Tel Aviv: the headquarters of Mossad, the Israeli secret intelligence agency, known as the “midrasha”. Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, stepped out of his car and was greeted by Meir Dagan, the 64-year-old head of the agency. Dagan, who has walked with a stick since he was injured in action as a young man, led Netanyahu and a general to a briefing room. According … Continue reading Meir Dagan: the mastermind behind Mossad’s secret war

The wannabe British jihadist who said no to Al-Qaeda Kasim wanted martyrdom but being urged to attack Britain was a step too far Al-Qaeda recruits undergo training on the Afghan border Peter Taylor thetimes.co.uk It took months to get to the man I must call “Kasim”. I’d heard about a wannabe British jihadist who had been injured in a US drone attack in Waziristan, Pakistan, but he was not easy to find, and, once found, he was clearly uneasy. With good reason. There are probably many people far scarier than me who would like to meet him. We met in … Continue reading Kasim wanted martyrdom but being urged to attack Britain was a step too far

Bill Clinton Early on the morning of August 19, 1946, I was born under a clear sky after a violent summer storm to a widowed mother in the Julia Chester Hospital in Hope, a town of about 6,000 in southwest Arkansas, 33 miles east of the Texas border at Texarkana. My mother named me William Jefferson Blythe III after my father, William Jefferson Blythe Jr. According to his sisters, my father always tried to take care of them, and he grew up to be a handsome, hardworking, fun-loving man. He met my mother at Tri-State Hospital in Shreveport, Louisiana, in … Continue reading Father figure