Babar Ayaz Most Pakistani immigrants I talked to were honest and forthright. They all admitted that they had entered Greece illegally and are struggling hard. The story of young Waqas Ahmed, who hails from a small village of Gujrat, is typical. He had paid Rs 700,000 to the agent in Gujrat to get to Unaan Socrates used to talk to young men in the narrow lanes of ancient Athens. He did not preach but raised questions, which led the interlocutors to think about the virtues of Sparta and the shortcomings of their rulers. He had to give his life to … Continue reading Illegal immigrants in Greece

Randi Hutter Epstein Eve, the first woman to become pregnant, suffered from excruciating pain during the delivery because she cheated on her diet. God told her to not eat an apple, but she was tempted by the serpent’s claim that the forbidden fruit would endow her and Adam with worldly knowledge. In God’s fury, he transformed the serpent into a belly-crawling creature. Then he turned to Eve and said, “I greatly multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children.” The thought pattern was set. Women deserved pain. In 1591, Eufame Maclayne was burned at the stake … Continue reading Eve’s doing

Syed Mohammad Ali For Pakistan, the benefits of alternative energy would be twofold: it would not only help solve our chronic power crisis but also help reduce the alarming levels of pollution found within the country The high import bills paid for depleting fossil fuels around the world, as well as the pollution being caused by their use, has compelled acknowledgement of the need to adopt renewable energy resources. Developing countries like our own are simultaneously experiencing a severe energy crunch as well as deteriorating environmental conditions, being exacerbated by polluting human production processes. Moreover, experts are pointing out how … Continue reading Time to get serious about alternative energy

Ishtiaq Ahmed India finds China a bigger threat than Pakistan and insists that it needs to arm itself to thwart perceived Chinese aggression, but Pakistan perceives a militarily stronger India a greater threat to its security than before The Realism School of International Relations is premised on the assumption that states do not trust each other. They seek power and domination over others because they fear that if they are weak and vulnerable, other states will attack them. Consequently, the art of survival is to be always vigilant and on the lookout for striking first. War can, however, be kept … Continue reading The realism fallacy

Muhammad Aftab Afzal The recent blasts in Karachi should have been an eye-opener for those who consider the ongoing Taliban movement as jihad, and also a wake up call for the clerics to do away with their swollen pride and prejudice for the cause of humanity and safety of the nation Terrorism has reared its ugly head as the biggest challenge faced by Pakistan in recent years and a major area of concern for the current democratic government, especially since the issue is suffused with religious inferences. The strings of terrorism are wound around religious seminaries, not all but some, … Continue reading Divided we stand, united we fall

Dr Maleeha Lodhi The writer is a former envoy to the US and the UK, and a former editor of The News India’s offer to restart foreign secretary-level talks with Pakistan holds out the prospect of an end to the protracted diplomatic standoff between the two countries. But the immediate challenge is to find a way to reconcile clashing visions of how the dialogue should be pursued. The shift in Delhi’s yearlong no-talks posture has set the stage for renewed bilateral engagement. Whether this will be a step towards a return to the structured peace process that Pakistan advocates is … Continue reading Limits of coercive diplomacy

Mariam Chaudhry The subcontinent is once again abuzz in anticipation of a fresh round of talks between India and Pakistan. No pronouncements have been made yet on what areas these talks will actually traverse but the respite is nearly as overdue as the late on-setting rains. So, tentative as maybe the first drops, the overcast looks promising for now. The current freeze experienced a thaw earlier with the production of a joint statement at Sharm el-Sheikh re-committing to the ‘dialogue process’. The melt was short-lived when subsequent uproar in India caused Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to quickly retrace his steps … Continue reading Let us hope again

Jyoti Malhotra It doesn’t really matter whether or not the impending talks with Pakistan at the foreign secretaries’ level will be part of a “composite dialogue” or simply a dinner conversation in Hyderabad House – that is, if the conversation is held in Delhi. Or whether the Americans gently persuaded the Indian and Pakistani establishments to climb down from their soaring, antagonistic rhetoric of the past year or so, and break bread with each other. Few will care whether the impending dialogue will yield a dramatic breakthrough or give way to a modestly-sized initiative with modest ambitions. Even diehard diplomatists … Continue reading Mumbai’s message: let the talks go on

Rahimullah Yusufzai Chief of the Army Staff Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has offered to train the Afghan army and police. In diplomatic circles, particularly Western, the move was described as bold and daring. However, doubts were raised about its practicability in view of the past bitterness in bilateral relations. Gen Kayani made his offer at the recent annual Nato military commanders’ conference in Brussels and then made it public in rare briefing sessions arranged separately for foreign and Pakistani journalists at his Rawalpindi offices. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who participated in the recent London Conference on Afghanistan, also made mention … Continue reading Behind Kayani’s training offer to Afghans