dawn.com “Religious intolerance is getting worse in Pakistan because the political leadership lacks the will to fight this.” – AFP photo Front Page Obama scraps Bush’s war on terror doctrine Obama scraps Bush’s war on terror doctrine ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has been fighting militants for years, but tough measures are needed to overturn a system breeding religious intolerance after the long failure of authorities to confront mullahs and hardline groups. Analysts say the notion of religious mistrust is deeply entrenched in the predominatly Muslim country – even in the school system – and it is now up to leaders to mobilise … Continue reading Pakistan’s mosques, media and intolerance

Dawn Editorial S Paramilitary soldiers carry weapons as they stand guard on a street after a firefight between rival gangs in Karachi’s Lyari area. At least six people were killed and several others injured during the incident between two rival gangs in the area, Pakistan’s Dawn Newspaper reported. – Reuters Photo Local Two rival groups in Lyari accept talks offer Two rival groups in Lyari accept talks offer Lyari’s tragedy repeats itself much too often. One of the most neglected of Karachi’s 18 towns, for the past many years a familiar, disturbing plot has played itself out on its narrow … Continue reading Lyari’s turmoil

By Irfan Husain dawn.com A Pakistani police officer bars a cyclist from entering a street near the Garhi Shahu mosque belongs to minority sect, which was targeted by gunmen last Friday killing nearly 100 worshippers and left many injured, in Lahore, Pakistan on Friday, June 4, 2010. Authorities beefed up security around the mosque to avert any terrorist attempt. – AP Photo A day after the slaughter of nearly 100 Ahmadis in Lahore last week, Britain’s Channel 4 aired a programme on Iraq in its ‘Unreported World’ series. The narrator described the plight of the Christians and other minorities in the … Continue reading Hate and horror in Lahore

dawn.com All the clips put out by Israel have been rigorously edited, have no timestamp and show only scenes which vindicate the Israeli account without explaining what happened before, or after. National Zardari calls Turkish president, condemns Israeli action Zardari calls Turkish president, condemns Israeli action JERUSALEM: Israel may have lost the initial PR battle over its deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid ship, but it is fighting back with a barrage of video clips in a bid to prove activists initiated the violence. Days after the botched attack which killed nine Turks, the fight over what exactly happened on … Continue reading Flotilla raid footage goes viral as Israel floods YouTube

VIEW: North Waziristan, the Punjabi Taliban and the Durand Line —Naeem Tahir Baitullah Mehsud and Maulvi Fazlullah supported the violent Punjabi Taliban who had a sectarian agenda and turned a blind eye towards criminals, smugglers and the drug mafia and took their share of the booty The recent attack on the Ahmedis, Faisal Shahzad’s terror attempt in New York, Fazlullah’s presence in Nuristan and a new warning by the Taliban of attacks on army personnel, minorities, Shias and the MQM, have stressed the urgency of an army operation against the Taliban and al Qaeda in North Waziristan. The US is … Continue reading North Waziristan, the Punjabi Taliban and the Durand Line

VIEW: Economic outlook —Mohammad Jamil Serious efforts were never made to alleviate poverty in Pakistan, as the ruling elite considered the people mere statistical numbers Pakistan’s economic outlook will remain dismal unless our ruling elite weans itself away from profligacy, learns to live within its means and says “no” to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). They have to understand that it is not a debt trap but a death trap, as the figure for our foreign loans is likely to go up from $ 55 to $ 100 billion by 2015 when debt servicing — loan instalments and interest on … Continue reading Economic outlook

COMMENT: Free enterprise religion —Nasir Abbas Mirza We want sects and we want brands. We want to outdo others by doing or undoing what other sects are doing. The sectarian system is a class system. We have to devise ways to stamp our identities. Once that is done, we proudly wear the proof of our distinctive identity on our foreheads. That is extreme branding In two countries of the world — the US and Pakistan — religion is a model-free enterprise. Rival mosques and madrassas compete for the allegiance and charity of the God-fearing people of our Islamic Republic. In … Continue reading The sexy Mullah brand!

Side-effect Flotilla thenews.com.pk Harris Khalique Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the act of the deadly attack by his marines on the aid flotilla of six ships heading towards the 1.5 million Palestinians crowded into the Gaza strip. He shamelessly said, “Once again Israel faces hypocrisy and a biased rush to judgment.” Unmoved by the deaths of innocent civilians at the hands of his atrocious forces, he was defiant in his speech and pleaded that easing the blockade of Gaza would lead to Iranian missiles falling in the hands of rogue Hamas leaders who rule the Palestinian strip. According to … Continue reading Palestinian or Ahmaddiya – time for Israel and Pakistan to act with maturity

The blasphemy around us Islamabad diary thenews.com.pk Ayaz Amir If Islam stands for anything, it is for a just society, free from want and oppression. There is, thus, in Islam no blasphemy greater than a child dying of hunger, a child begging for bread, a woman drowning herself and her children, as has frequently happened in the Islamic Republic, because the burden of life was too much for her, a man throwing himself before an onrushing train because of poverty. We are moved by these things, but only up to a point. The holy fathers, the registered doctors of the … Continue reading The blasphemy around us