The Islami Jamiat-i-Talaba (IJT) has once again harassed and beaten up innocent students at the Punjab University (PU). The IJT activists (read goons) continued with their traditional terror spree when they assaulted five students and injured them critically. The reason cited for this incident was ideological differences between the IJT and the Insaaf Students Federation (ISF). The ISF had launched a membership drive at the PU’s Hailey College of Commerce, which the IJT could not tolerate. This is nothing new. The IJT is notorious for spreading terror in various colleges and universities, especially the PU. In a rather strange decision, … Continue reading IJT’s shenanigans – Time to resist the campus Taliban!

Zafar Hilaly Ours is a sad predicament but we should not lose heart. We have a great cause to fight for. Besides, the moment of greatest humiliation often is the moment when the spirit is the proudest. Steadying the home front must take precedence over tackling foes abroad Two years before his death Wendell Lewis Willkie (1892-1944), a well known US lawyer and businessman, remarked: “There exists in the world today a gigantic reservoir of goodwill towards us, the American people.” Scarcely a decade and a half later, William Lederer wrote his seminal tract on how Asians viewed Americans and … Continue reading The Afghan conundrum

Zeeshan Suhail The facility at Goddard was constructed in 1990 and now houses 8,000 employees. NASA’s annual budget ranges from $ 3.4 — $ 4.0 billion — an amount quite close to Pakistan’s annual defence budget! This stark reality made me ponder how misplaced our priorities are Today has been one of those days when I cannot help but think how fortunate I am to live in a city like Washington, DC. Not only does the city afford a myriad of opportunities to participate in activities that have an impact on the global state of affairs, it affords a chance … Continue reading NASA up, up and away

Nassim Nicholas Taleb Before the discovery of Australia, people in the old world were convinced that all swans were white, an unassailable belief as it seemed completely confirmed by empirical evidence. The sighting of the first black swan might have been an interesting surprise for a few ornithologists (and others extremely concerned with the colouring of birds), but that is not where the significance of the story lies. It illustrates a severe limitation to our learning from observations or experience and the fragility of our knowledge. One single observation can invalidate a general statement derived from millennia of confirmatory sightings … Continue reading Truth in the most unexpected places

J Sri Raman Dalits continue to be the victims of double oppression and diabolical atrocities that include a generous share of gender crimes. Worse, intermediate castes empowered by constitution-based measures have celebrated their liberation with repeated bouts of savagery against their lesser brethren The high point of January 26, India’s Republic Day, for six decades has been the colourful parade in New Delhi. Contingents of soldiers, students and others march down the Rajpath (originally the King’s Way) running from the Rashtrapati Bhavan or the President’s Mansion (once the Viceroy’s House) to the famous India Gate and beyond. The president takes … Continue reading Untouchables not remembered on Indian Republic Day

Nazish Brohi What has been lost in this narrative is that the Fakir of Ipi first took up arms against the Raj not to fight against their presence but because the colonial administration decided to forcibly return a girl to her family after she had run away and married a man of her choice In the debate on militancy in the tribal areas, most of the happily-ever-after formulas resort to arguments of cultural relativism, pulsing with a heart of darkness vibe, centring on the Pashtuns being fierce warriors never subdued by colonisers, possessively autarkist, and part of the area that … Continue reading The inheritance of loss? Faqir of Ipi etc etc….