By Irfan Husain The only civilians who have been killed are the family members of the militants in whose houses other terrorists have gathered, Dr. Farhat Taj writes in her article. –File Photo Many of us in the punditry profession are guilty of making generalisations about what is happening in the tribal areas without having visited them in recent times. Thus, when we hear about the anger and outrage supposedly sweeping though the people of Fata over the frequent drone attacks, we tend to accept this as the gospel truth. This myth was recently exploded by Farhat Taj in her … Continue reading Howling at the moon – drones target murderous mullahs

By Ayesha Siddiqa Indian Army chief General Deepak Kapoor inspects the guard of honour during the Army Day parade in New Delhi. –Reuters Photo/B Mathur The statement by Indian army chief Gen Deepak Kapoor regarding his army’s capacity to fight a two-front war upset a lot of people in Pakistan. Both Pakistan’s army chief and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee rebutted such superfluous claims. Pakistan’s military high command did not mince its words in dissuading its Indian counterparts from giving any thought to ‘military adventurism’, and highlighted the severe implications of this and of the Pakistan … Continue reading India’s challenge – should Pakistan just laugh off Kapoor’s statement?

Shahzad Chaudhry The National Security Council (NSC) is not a dirty word — take the plunge; it will give you a collaborative platform to seek inputs from all stakeholders on internal and external security issues, and eliminate that most glaring hole in our national discourse No, I do not intend to talk only about cricket in this column, though the defeat at Sidney is perhaps the worst in living memory. It is not that the team lost — they have now been losing for eons, metaphorically. It is the manner of defeat that unfortunately exhibits practically every aspect of our … Continue reading Of chokers and jokers

David Starr Jordan Today is your day and mine, the only day we have, the day in which we play our part. What our part may signify in the great whole, we may not understand, but we are here to play it, and now is our time. This we know, it is a part of action, not of whining. It is a part of love, not cynicism. It is for us to express love in terms of human helpfulness. This we know, for we have learned from sad experience that any other course of life leads toward decay and waste. … Continue reading The bubbles of sáki

Reem Wasay Symbolism has taken precedence over reason and a vehement streak of bellicosity towards anything and everything related to religious identification has become a common denominator for most Muslim people throughout the world There are times when the adage, “a picture can tell a thousand words”, stands for so much more than a mere point to ponder. Just the other day I was enjoying as close to serene a drive as one can get along Lahore’s canal when a very common, very accepted image complimented my ocular domain. The car in front of me boasted a bumper sticker of … Continue reading Seeing is believing – Symbolism has taken precedence over reason

Yemen has become the focus of media attention in the wake of the foiled attempt to blow up a US airliner by Umar Farooq Abdul Muttalab on Dec 25. The US mainstream media is busy portraying Yemen as a ‘’failed state,” and hence a legitimate target for US aggression. Yemen is the poorest of all Arab countries, with 40 percent living below the poverty line, and the writ of government is hardly in existence there. Ninety of the 200 detainees now held at Guantanamo, we are told, hail from Yemen. Footage of picturesque Ribat Baashen, Osama bin Laden’s ancestral village, … Continue reading Next target: Yemen

By Talat Masood The recent bold initiative of two leading media groups to launch a comprehensive drive at bringing peace between the two nuclear armed antagonists of South Asia should be welcomed as a positive development. It will be a Herculean undertaking considering the complex nature of India- Pakistan relations, but is undoubtedly worth the cause. It is fundamentally question of changing mindsets and making the cold-war weary people of both countries realise that confrontation has gone on far too long and done enormous damage to the people. In bringing about this transformation the vigorous media of India and Pakistan … Continue reading Energising the peace process

Welcome to the The Most Complete and Most Useless Collection of Pick-Up Lines. Great effort was made to deliver the largest collection of pick-up lines anywhere to you, the reader, without a lot of hassle. So, I’ve placed close to 1300 lines into nine categories for your browsing pleasure. I want this site to be the complete home of the best, worst, lamest, funny, lame, effective, ineffective, and uesless pick-up lines anywhere. These lines are great for dating relationships, burgeoning romantic relationships, or just trying to be a player. These can be seen as lines on how to get girls … Continue reading The Most Complete and Most Useless Collection of Pick-Up Lines

You are at a bar or a club. You see a woman you’d like to know better. What do you do? Well, try being bold, open and happy for starters. Women like guys who show a smile and even more than this, women like a guy who can laugh at himself and who can crack good jokes. What else? Read on to find out some more ways to improve your chances. Steps 1 Assess the situation. Only nine percent of women say that they found love in a bar. Is this great gal that you’re checking out part of that … Continue reading How to Pick Up a Woman respectfully