Smokers’ Corner: Bloodied be thy name Nadeem F. Paracha dawn.com We, with our split morals and warped ideologies, are our own greatest enemy, writes Nadeem F. Paracha. — Illustration by Abro It was horrifying: the beating to death and then the upside down hanging of the two young brothers in Sialkot. Accused of theft, the teenagers were brutally beaten with sticks and kicks by at least four men — an event that was watched in silence by a couple of cops and dozens of onlookers. Good to see that some of those involved are under arrest, but what about all … Continue reading Pakistanis – The Worst Enemy of Pakistan?

Afghan Youth robbed! by Taimur Sikander The sight of the brooding Shapoor Zadran running in to bowl was enough to captivate me and kept me hooked for the good 15-20 remaining minutes of yesterday’s Dr. M.A. Shah Night Trophy Twenty20 game. Zadran, an opening bowler for Afghanistan’s international team, I thought had been inducted into one of the local club teams as an overseas player which made for an interesting concept. But upon close observation I noticed that the jerseys of the team in beige actually read ‘Afghan Youth.’ It was Korangi Al- Fatah and Dr. M.A. Shah Trophy’s first … Continue reading Afghan Cricket

By Irfan Husain As we have seen over the last 63 years since the inception of the state, religion has been used to divide and alienate one section of society from another. So whatever the chief justice might feel, a genuine debate on secularism is long overdue. – File Photo. Recently, a reader — clearly more concerned with Pakistan’s welfare than mine — suggested that I set up a political party with the avowed goal of establishing a secular dispensation in the country. I explained to him why this idea was quite unworkable: apart from my lack of political qualifications … Continue reading The secular ideal

By Jawad Muzaffar and Suhail Yusuf / Dawn.com A crowd of at least 500 people gathered at the Arts Council to protest against the killings of the two brothers. – Photos by Ahmed Shajee Aijazi Pakistan People not allowed to create own justice system: Malik KARACHI: The killings of Hafiz Mughees and Muneeb, the two brothers from Sialkot, have ignited severe demonstrations around the country against the mindset that led to the incident and the incompetence of the authorities in catching the culprits. Following protests around the country, volunteers from the Voice of the Civil Society (VOTCS) and The Arts … Continue reading Karachi unites to condemn the Sialkot tragedy

by Sahar Habib Ghazi From her home in Brooklyn, New York, Natasha Jahangir reached out to one of the world’s most famous actors, in a rather unusual way. She tweeted: “It’s so sad @TomCruise is ignoring his Pakistani fans. -Help raise awareness/donations for Pakistan. Please RT! #pkfloods.” By using Twitter’s @ or mention function, Jahangir ensured that her message would feature in a tab on Tom Cruise’s page. Three days later, the Mission Impossible star tweeted: “People of Pakistan, our thoughts R with U.” Cruise encouraged his 900,000 twitter fans to look up more information on “how to help by … Continue reading Tweeting for Pakistan

Foreign musicians campaign for Pakistan Proceeds from Bjork’s new single will go to Unicef’s flood relief efforts in Pakistan. PHOTO: EPA Icelandic singer Bjork is the latest to join a list of celebrities who have been campaigning for donations for Pakistan. Bjork’s “The Comet Song”, featured in the 3D children’s movie Moomins and the Comet Chase, will be released digitally on September 6. Bjork announced that the proceeds from the release will go to Unicef to provide relief to the flood victims in Pakistan. Mission Impossible star Tom Cruise has also urged his fans to generously donate for the victims … Continue reading Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie, Ashton Kutcher, Preity Zinta campaign for Pakistan

Meet Panjo, the 23st Bengal tiger who raids the fridge, sleeps on the sofa and is fed milk from the bottle Curling up on the sofa, nuzzling his owner’s hand and teasing the neighbourhood dogs, Panjo acts just like any other family cat – except he is a 23st Bengal tiger. Bengals may be fearless predators when in their natural environment, but Panjo is more at home playing with Goosey Fernandes and his adopted family at thier home near Pretoria, South Africa. Panjo was hand-reared from the age of just three weeks when he was left clinging to life after … Continue reading Panjo – the tiger

Inside Tokyo’s death house: Japan opens door to the chilling execution chamber where condemned men get one hour’s notice The sparsely furnished room with wood panelling and blue curtains could be an annex to any conference room. However the mundanity masks the dark secrets of one of the world’s largest economies. For this is where Japan executes those condemned to death by its courts. The last two criminals for whom these walls were their final sight of the world were the killers Kazuo Shinozawa, 59, and Hidenori Ogata, 33, who were hanged last month. And for the first time, the … Continue reading Japan – Hanging House

The Afghan war from behind enemy lines: Documentary-maker follows Taliban as they attack U.S. soldiers By James White A documentary made by a Norwegian journalist embedded with Taliban fighters has provided a rare glimpse of the other side of the Afghanistan conflict. The raw footage – captured by Paul Refsdal – shows the Afghan militants attacking U.S. convoys on a road below their mountainous hide-out and celebrating hits with a high-five. The men also show their softer side to the Norwegian journalist by singing, reciting verses from the Koran and even brushing their long hair as he quietly records their … Continue reading Afghan Taliban view