Charles Ferndale When I read Dr Khalid Saifullah’s analysis of the war on terror (February 8) I could find so little fault with it that I felt compelled to manufacture some. But, try as I may, I failed. So, instead, I fell back on looking for omissions in his arguments. Dr Saifullah omitted to mention a few other threats to the continuance of the war on terror that might result from misguided values. One is the publication of articles such as his. The world of international politics is nowadays an unpredictable place and, slim as the chances may be, there … Continue reading Without the war on terror

Munir Attaullah Start with the scientific concept of ‘work’. Fortunately, it is not far removed from its everyday usage, but we need to be a touch more rigorous. So think of ‘work’ as the orderly and collective motion of atoms against an opposing force To write a short column on a scientific subject in non-technical language is no easy task. Einstein’s guideline, ‘keep it simple but don’t simplify’, sets a high standard. Regardless, from time to time, I enjoy this challenge. So, today I will discuss what is known as the Second Law of Thermodynamics, one of a handful of … Continue reading The Second Law of Thermodynamics

Jean-Jacques Rousseau I assume that men have reached a point at which the obstacles that endanger their preservation in the state of nature overcome by their resistance the forces which each individual can exert with a view to maintaining himself in that state. Then this primitive condition can no longer subsist, and the human race would perish unless it changed its mode of existence. Now, as men cannot create any new forces, but only combine and direct those that exist, they have no other means of self-preservation than to form by aggregation a sum of forces which may overcome the … Continue reading The social pact

Dr Manzur Ejaz After the Afghan war ended, the US left in haste, leaving behind the mess of several hundered thousand jihadis. The Pakistani establishment, intoxicated by the routing of the Soviets, undertook ventures to conquer Afghanistan and Kashmir, and destabilise India. The mullah-military nexus was further strengthened The rise of the right wing conservative religious forces in Pakistan was due to a combination of factors. A changing economy, military adventures and backward state institutions played a main role in giving rise to jihadism, etc. It was not dictator Zia or other military rulers who were the only players in … Continue reading The rise of extremism

The following video has been making rounds on internet: social networking websites, blogs and twitter. I also received it through a couple of forwarded emails. The video asks you to Stand up for the Champions. No. Not any football league, not the T20 champions. This time it seeks applause for Mujahideen, Taliban, Al-Qaeda, Usama Bin Laden and others. The video shows clips and images of Usama and others glorifying them as Muslim heroes fighting America or maghrib. Reality Check: Champions and Music Taliban banned Music in Pakistan for being haraam in Islam. ( Details ) Afghan Mujahideen only allowed religious … Continue reading Stand up for the Mujahideen

The parable that follows was originally composed by the greatest of all Sufi poets, Jalal ad-Din Rumi (d. 1273) and recounted by Idris Shah, the Grand Shaykh of Sadarna. A Persian, a Turk, and Arab and a Greek were traveling to a distant land when they began arguing over how to spend the single coin they posessed among themselves. All four craved food, but the Persian wanted to spend the coin on angur; the Turk, on uzum; the Arab, on inab; and the Greek, on stafil. The argument became heated as each man insisted on having what he desired. A … Continue reading Sufi as a linguist: Rumi