Shafqat Mahmood The demons residing within our society are frightening. What would account for a lawyer, senior enough to be a past president of the Lahore Bar Association (LBCA), casually and cruelly inflict injuries on a 12-year-old girl or stand by while she is tortured by family members? And, what kind of behaviour is it for a group of lawyers to raise a ruckus and generally threaten everybody, when the accused is produced in court? Have we reached a point where intimidation and coercion are the only weapons left in our collective arsenal? It suggests to me that at some … Continue reading The absence of morality

Dr Masooda Bano Europe and UK are faced with a difficult question, namely how to accommodate their Muslim populations. The British and European government has, in recent years, been investing increasing amount of resources in research on Muslim migrants. Though the concerns are common, that is, how can the Muslim be better assimilated and prevented from developing sympathise for radical Islamist groups, the level of tolerance towards the Muslims varies considerable across these countries. UK indeed is the most tolerant of its Muslim population, with the discourse of multi-culturalism being most dominant. In rest of Europe, the tolerance level is … Continue reading Muslims in Europe

Ahmad Rafay Alam It has been reported that Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has announced that Pakistan will press on with its plans to sell arable farmland to foreign countries. The news comes from Dubai, and it is assumed that this statement was made in connection with the Friends of Democratic Pakistan meeting being held there. Last September, it had been reported that several Arab countries were interested in investing in as much as 700,000 hectares of arable land in Pakistan. Some time ago, Qatar hit headlines when it negotiated a 40,000-hectare land deal with Kenya. Because of increasing populations, … Continue reading ‘Going ahead’ with farmland deals

  Ayaz AmirClash of institutions has a grand ring to it, suggestive of Cromwell’s Roundheads battling the monarchy; or the children of the French Revolution slaughtering the French nobility; or Lenin’s Bolsheviks storming the Winter Palace.  Would that this were the state of affairs in Pakistan. We could then expect something creative, a higher synthesis, to emerge from all this disorder. But we are not that lucky. This is less clash of institutions than elephants on parade: large egos on the march, the vanity of mediocrity on display — dressed up, as Pakistani mediocrity mostly is, in the colours of … Continue reading Folly, not clash of institutions

By Syed Saleem Shahzad ISLAMABAD – With an international conference starting in London on Thursday expected to lay down a framework for the Afghan government to begin taking charge of its own security, in line with a timetable set by United States President Barack Obama to start drawing down US troops in 2011, efforts for reconciliation with the Taliban are also being stepped up. However, sources directly involved in backchannel negotiations with the Taliban tell Asia Times Online they are skeptical of the Taliban being reconciled as the militants scent victory in Afghanistan and hence are not prepared to show … Continue reading Al-Qaeda’s shadow over Taliban talks