It’s India’s poor who need British aid, not its military and business elites In tickling the vanity of Delhi’s super-rich, David Cameron shuns the most principled area of the two countries’ relationship Pankaj Mishra guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 28 July 2010 20.00 BST Article history This week David Cameron flew to India in a chartered plane, accompanied by six ministers, innumerable corporate chiefs, and even a few Olympic medallists. Cameron has vowed to forge a “new special relationship” with the world’s second-fastest growing economy, which the Labour government, infatuated with the old special relationship, neglected to build. A foundation for this alliance … Continue reading British aid to India?

By Rafia Zakaria dawn.com This photograph taken on July 26, 2010 in Kaufbeuren, southern Germany, shows computer screens displaying an Afghan War Diary on the Wikileaks website. – Photo by AFP. There are decisive battles in every conflict, milestone moments that change the course of a war and are duly recorded in the annals of history. Few expected that such a milestone moment in the Afghanistan conflict would have occurred in quite this way. On Sunday, July 26, Wikileaks.org, a website run by anti-war activist Julian Assange, published over 90,000 documents relating to the war in Afghanistan over the past … Continue reading Wikileaks: a wake-up call ?

By Irfan Husain dawn.com Team leader and Tech. Sgt. Jeff Hedglin, left, a Pararescueman, or “PJ,” of the 58th Rescue Squadron deployed to Afghanistan from Nellis Air Force Base, Las Vegas, helps corpsmen, and US and Afghan soldiers load an Afghan with a gunshot wound aboard a Pavehawk CASEVAC helicopter en route to a nearby military hospital in Kandahar province, Tuesday July 27, 2010. – Photo by AP. The vast trove of leaked intelligence reports recently posted by Wikileaks over the Internet has elicited a furious denial from the ISI about its alleged role in Afghanistan that emerges from many … Continue reading The high cost of defeat

Dawn Editorial WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange speaks during a press conference in London Monday July 26, 2010. Assange said Monday he believes there is evidence of war crimes in the thousands of pages of leaked US military documents relating to the war in Afghanistan. The remarks came after WikiLeaks, a whistle-blowing group, posted some 91,000 classified US military records over the past six years about the war online, including unreported incidents of Afghan civilian killings and covert operations against Taliban figures. – Photo by AP. Pakistan Cameron warns Pakistan over insurgent funding Cameron warns Pakistan over insurgent funding Truth is … Continue reading Secret papers

England ready to face Pakistan’s ‘overrated’ pace attack Dawn.com Collingwood – returning to Tests after missing England’s early season 2-0 home series win over Bangladesh with a shoulder injury – suggested Pakistan were flattered by overcast conditions at Headingley. —AFP Photo Media Gallery Upbeat England train for first Test Upbeat England train for first Test NOTTINGHAM: Paul Collingwood is adamant there is no reason why he or his fellow England batsmen should feel daunted by the challenge of facing Pakistan’s bowlers here at Trent Bridge. Pakistan go into the first of four-Test series starting Thursday on the back of a … Continue reading England and Pakistan Cricket

Church will burn Qur’an on 9/11 Here’s one Florida church’s idea of how to commemorate this year’s 9/11 anniversary: On September 11, members of the Dove World Outreach Center – a Gainesville, Florida church – plan to burn copies of the Koran to commemorate the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The protest is just the latest in a series of provocative actions from the self-described “New Testament Church,” which seems as interested in getting attention as it is in sharing the Word with the world. Unfortunately, their plan seems to have worked — and local investigators have begun probing … Continue reading Should we burn American Flags on 9/11?

COMMENT:Literacy, livelihood and liberty—Ahmad Ali Khalid The challenges of governance and poverty are inextricably linked with education and literacy, not with military power. This misreading of social priorities by the political elite in Pakistan has stunted the political and social maturation of the Pakistani state “Education is a social process; education is growth; education is not a preparation for life but is life itself” — these were true words spoken by John Dewey, an American philosopher who was a great educationalist and social reformer. Literacy, the ability to read and write as a means towards an education, is a great … Continue reading Literacy, livelihood and liberty

COMMENT:Behave or else!—Mujahid Eshai Nations have to sit down and take count of what they have and how best they can utilise these resources. On the contrary, we have always waited for manna to drop from the heavens The other day I met a non-resident American-Pakistani who asked why does the Pakistani electronic media show graphic images and why does it sensationalise non-issues. Frankly, I answered that the majority of anchorpersons, newscasters, editors, etc, belonged to the vernacular press and thus their approach remains to seek sensational headlines in order to sell the paper, while forgetting that they now work … Continue reading Behave or else!

WASHINGTON DIARYWaris Shah’s battle against mullah shahi—Dr Manzur Ejaz In his first encounter with Heer, Ranjha teaches the arrogant and pampered daughter of the feudal chief that ‘human love’ is not based on good looks but on being humble and serving the needy If I were the US ambassador I would have certainly made it to Waris Shah’s 212th anniversary because he is the most adored Punjabi poet and was the most articulate ideologue against ‘mullah shahi’. He used the epic story of Heer Ranjha to critique the entire system of the feudal era in which mullah shahi played a … Continue reading Waris Shah vs Mullah Shahi