VIEW: The liabilities of our state —Yasser Latif Hamdani The state is not only negligent of its duty in protecting the faith of the Ahmedis, it is directly criminally liable under its own Blasphemy Law every time it prints a passport or an identity card application A first information report, commonly known as an FIR, has been lodged in Lahore against Facebook under section 295 C of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). Legally, this raises some very poignant questions about the criminal liability of a corporation, i.e. a business with legal identity. The issue has been the subject of much … Continue reading The liabilities of our state

Nadeem F. Paracha dawn.com Many Arab as well as some western academics (who were paid large sums of money and perks) were continuously invited to the rich, conservative kingdoms and asked to scribble books claiming that the Muslim holy book was punctuated with scientific truths hundreds of years before the West discovered them in their labs. — Illustration by Abro I am itching to get my hands on a recently published book, God Created the Universe by Fatehulla Khan. After reading the review of the book, I can safely assume it is yet another document in the long line of … Continue reading Science ends here

By Ardeshir Cowasjee Whatever progress we have made in Pakistan’s 63 years of life has been on the negative side, writes Ardeshir Cowasjee. — Photo by Reuters dawn.com We must read to remember. The early days of Pakistan were far from halcyon, though those of us who lived through them look back with some nostalgia. Whatever progress we have made in this country’s 63 years of life has been, as it turns out, on the negative side. Where have we progressed in leaps and bounds? Well, in the scale of wholesale corruption, political and administrative ineptitude, and bigotry and intolerance … Continue reading In our beginning is our end

COMMENT: Islam, secularism and Pakistan —Shahid Ilyas Had Islam not been central to the creation of Pakistan, we would not have had the Objectives Resolution as a guiding principle of our constitutions Without recognising that a problem is widespread and deep-rooted, efforts towards resolving it are likely to have only partial success. Although the myth of ‘a silent majority’ of moderates in Pakistan gained currency during the period of General Musharraf, the same has existed for decades. Indeed, it was not entirely a myth until the early 1970s when Zulfikar Ali Bhutto gave in to Islamic fundamentalists’ demand for Islamisation. … Continue reading A Secular Pakistan the only solution left?

COMMENT: Respect —Dr Syed Mansoor Hussain Popular respect for the army as an institution plummeted with the 1971 debacle in East Pakistan and was further undermined when General Ziaul Haq took over and eventually hanged Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Of all things that afflict Pakistan, the most serious one in my opinion is a total breakdown of what we might call ‘mutual respect’. No one, individually or as a part of an institution has any real respect for anybody else, with minor exceptions like some respect within the family hierarchy, though the age of the internet has put even that under … Continue reading Respect – keeping the Paki out of Pakistan?

By Anwar Iqbal dawn.com Gen Petraeus is the first senior US official to have publicly rejected the LSE report as incorrect. –Photo by AFP Front Page Afghanistan hands over 14 missing personnel Afghanistan hands over 14 missing personnel WASHINGTON: A four-star US general, while refusing to endorse a London School of Economics report which blames Pakistan for maintaining links with the Afghan Taliban, says that “you have to have contact with bad guys to get intelligence on bad guys”. When at a congressional hearing on Thursday a lawmaker quoted from the report to support his claim that Pakistan had links … Continue reading Ties with bad guys help get bad guys: Gen Petraeus

VIEW: Who is David Headley? —Naeem Tahir In 2006, Daood Gilani changed his name to David Coleman Headley, borrowing the family’s American name. The change was made to help Headley escape detection and travel easily between the US, India and Pakistan with his American identity Indian investigators have now been allowed by authorities in the US to interrogate David Coleman Headley. This permission has been given after noticeable reluctance from the US. The investigation under reference relates to the Mumbai terror attacks of 2008. Headley earned the grim distinction of being the American jihadist with the highest body count. He … Continue reading David Headley?

US anti-China rhetoric at danger level By Benjamin A Shobert WASHINGTON – The US-China Congressional Committee (USCC) this month held its most recent hearing on US-China relations, specifically on “China’s Past and Future Role in the World Trade Organization” (WTO). As Commissioner Patrick Mulloy stated at the opening, “The purpose of today’s hearing is not to second guess what Congress did 10 years ago. Its purpose is to look at the arguments made in favor of China’s WTO entry by proponents and to consider the results.” Considering the political environment in Washington, where recent days have been marked by the … Continue reading US anti-China rhetoric increasing

US, Philippines rethink anti-terror tactics By Fabio Scarpello ZAMBOANGA CITY – A decade after United States troops landed to support the Armed Forces of the Philippines‘ (AFP) fight against the small, but tenacious, terrorist-cum-criminal Abu Sayyaf group in the south of the country, limited achievements have prompted a rethink to the AFP’s approach. Washington worried that the island of Mindanao, and particularly the adjacent and remote Sulu Archipelago where the Abu Sayyaf maintains jungle bases, could become a safe haven for jihadi cadre who fled Afghanistan after the 2002 US-led invasion. The US declared Southeast Asia as the ”second front” … Continue reading Abu Sayyaf group – US, Philippines rethink ?

By Chris Zambelis Brazil’s decision, along with fellow non-permanent United Nations Security Council member Turkey, to vote against the latest United States-led efforts to impose harsher sanctions against Iran on June 9 aimed at stymieing the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program, reflects a sea-change in global geopolitics characterized by a decline in US power and the return of multi-polarity. Brazil’s refusal to support UN Security Council Resolution 1929 came on the heels of a successful joint Brazilian-Turkish attempt to win Iranian agreement on May 17 to enter into a uranium exchange pact designed to allay concerns about Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and … Continue reading Iran’s new revolutionary politics