COMMENT: Letters concerning toleration — III —Ahmad Ali Khalid An intolerant society is often an impoverished society, not an affluent one. The path to this dangerous vice is often made alluring through harsh and unforgiving socio-economic conditions On the concept of citizenship as a basis of tolerance that cuts across sectarian and religious divisions, it should be said that our nation’s founder, Mr Jinnah, made it patently clear that, “You may belong to any religion or caste or creed — that has nothing to do with the business of the state.” Citizenship must trump the exclusivist interpretations of religious membership. … Continue reading Concerning toleration

COMMENT: Between man and nature —Usman Shami Many term the calamity as God’s way of expressing displeasure with the inhabitants of this land, but maybe in it is hidden an opportunity for this nation to unite. Our leaders should put aside their political ego and resort to more logical positions on the water issues in the country During the course of history, mankind’s development in various disciplines of life has been astonishing. The human race has grown from milestone to milestone with an ever-increasing pace of development. Advancements in available tools and technologies have assured development of more reliable infrastructure … Continue reading Is Allah swt angry at Pakistan for worshipping Mullahs?

WASHINGTON DIARY: Reinventing Pakistan —Dr Manzur Ejaz From terrorism to floods, Pakistan is suffering because of a lack of collective consciousness and indifference to the basic rules of self-preservation. The ruling elite must learn to establish good governance if Pakistan is to survive When my family purchased an acre of land in Virginia, we thought we could build any size of home we liked. What we soon discovered was that the county’s residential codes did not allow tampering with certain water drainage areas and thus we had limited options about where to build. Besides the drainage area, we were not … Continue reading Reinventing Pakistan

COMMENT: A mysterious affair — I —Munir Attaullah Even if I were in Lahore, I could not realistically expect the Khadim-e-Aala to attend to my modest needs: is he not busy practicing that delicate new skill — how to wade through flood waters in the presence of TV cameras — that has taken the country by storm? (Author’s advisory: This is not your regular, solemn, op-ed stuff. I am fed up with a surfeit of bad news and gloomy columns. So, some light-hearted nonsense this week (and next), no matter how out of place, may not be entirely unwelcome. Readers … Continue reading A mysterious affair

< VIEW: Fool me twice, shame on me ——Ali K Chishti So rotten is our system that until recently a top jihadi got acquitted under the pretext that al Qaeda was not considered a terrorist organisation legally in Pakistan Who are we fooling but ourselves? There is irrefutable evidence of Pakistan’s doublespeak and playing the double game; hardly anyone in the world will be fooled by it any more. Yet we persist. Let us take into account a rather glaring example. Pakistan has banned three jihadi organisations: Millat-e-Islamia (the former Sipah-e-Sahaba), Islami Tehrik-e-Pakistan (formerly Tehrik-e-Jaffria) and Khuddamul Islam (Jaish-e-Jaffria) and … Continue reading Fool me twice, shame on me

Angelina Jolie urges aid for flood-hit Pakistan dawn.com US actress Angelina Jolie arrives for the British Gala premiere of the film ‘Salt’, at a central London cinema. -AP Photo LONDON: Angelina Jolie says it’s vital that people help Pakistan’s flood victims and not surrender to compassion fatigue. The floods have displaced 20 million people, but donations are below those for catastrophes like the Haitian earthquake or the Asian tsunami. Jolie said she understood that ”it is getting hard for people, they see Haiti, they see these other events … and they get exhausted by the time another big one rolls … Continue reading Angelina Jolie ‘help Pakistanis now!’

dawn.com Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations office in Geneva, Ambassador Zamir Akram. — Photo by AFP GENEVA: Pakistan’s UN envoy in Geneva said on Tuesday that reconstruction in northern areas alone could cost 2.5 billion dollars, after floods stretching to the south ravaged an area “the size of England”. Zamir Akram, Pakistan’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, said the country had received more immediate multilateral relief aid through the UN and direct bilateral aid totalling about 301 million dollars. UN agencies have warned that funding for their 460 million dollar multilateral appeal for emergency relief … Continue reading Flood-hit Pakistan signals massive reconstruction needs

Mandaeans in struggle for existence By Stephen Starr DAMASCUS – Last May, a group of armed men shot and blasted their way through a jewelry market in the Bayaa district of southwest Baghdad. Their target was the gold, jewels and cash located in the dozen or so stores located along the street. By the time this new breed of Iraqi terrorism had ended, 15 civilians were dead. Among the dead were Sabaen Mandaeans, followers of a little-known sect now on the verge of extinction. One man who worked in one of the stores was a cousin of Nasir Shathur, a … Continue reading Mandaeans need our help

Bangladesh braces for divisive war-crimes trial By Sebastian Strangio DHAKA – A special tribunal in Bangladesh has indicted four members of the country’s main Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, on suspicion of committing mass atrocities during the country’s 1971 Liberation War. Those arrested, including party president Motiur Rahman Nizami and his deputy Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid, have been remanded in custody indefinitely and are likely to face charges of genocide, murder, rape and arson. Travel bans have been imposed on a few dozen more suspects. The indictments, issued late last month, were the opening act of Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal, established in … Continue reading Bangladesh braces for war-crimes trial

Eat, Pray, Love fever sweeps Bali By Muhammad Cohen UBUD – Bali has survived earthquakes, volcanoes, invading armies, and terrorist bombings. But can Indonesia’s Island of the Gods withstand a major Hollywood motion picture starring Oscar winner Julia Roberts? The movie adaptation of Eat, Pray, Love, a best-selling travel and personal growth memoir following author Elizabeth Gilbert on a year-long journey from New York through Italy, India and Indonesia, opened last week. It’s fitting that each country begins with “I”: Eat, Pray, Love suggests that no matter how self-absorbed you are, there’s always more about your favorite subject you’ll find … Continue reading Eat, Pray, Love fever sweeps Bali