The Brave Heartson July 10, 2020I heard the dogs howling. I looked outside. Sprawled on the coach in the verandah was abig healthy cat. Jason a Pomeranian and Laila a Spaniel stood six feet from the cat barking. Suddenly, Sheela the 12 weeks German Shepherdpup appeared on the scene. The cat saw her and quietly left. Even the cats know […]
The Invisible Justiceon July 1, 2020Justice is the jugular vein of a society. It must exist with all its sinews and made visible with all its transparency. If justice delayed is justice denied, justice invisible is justice wasted, faded away into oblivion. Nebulous concepts like ‘justice at your doorsteps’, clutter the rhetoric. Across-the-board justice remains a dream unfulfilled. Unfortunately, the […]
The Incredible India?on June 15, 2020It was on an Indian national day that the boys and girls of Indian origin of a high school in the US had staged a show. The theme, ‘The Incredible India’ was true reflection of the Indian media, pretentious, boastful, frivolous and tedious. The amusement was writ large on the faces of the audience. The […]
The Judicial Salvoon December 29, 2019The short order of the ‘special court trying Musharraf had left many questions unanswered. The detailed order that followed had no ambiguity as to the intent and purpose of the court and the mindset of the chief judge. Legal shortcomings apart, the language of the said decision has attracted scathing criticism at home and abroad. […]
Status Quo Vs Changeon November 28, 2019Inertia is a ‘property of matter by which it continues in its existing state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line unless that state is changed by an external force’. Status quo has its inherent inertia. It requires effort, persistence, perseverance and patience to bring about a change in the status quo. The […]
Wisdom and follyon November 9, 2019Hazrat Ali (RA)said, “The richest person is he who has knowledge and wisdom, and the poorest is the ignorant who does not even know that people laugh at him”. Knowledge and wisdom are two different things. A knowledgeable person is not necessarily also wise. Wisdom is a blessing of God. It is a reward for […]
The March on Islamabadon October 24, 2019Before the Partition, students all over India would get together to spoil a religious party’s anti-Pakistan rallies, gleefully chanting the slogan, “Birla kithailihayehaye”, ‘Down with Birla’s money bag’. They thought it was Birla’s money behindtherallies. The Barelvi scholars supported Jinnah. The Deobandis, tooth and nail, opposed him. Maulana Shabbir Ahmed Usmani was an honorable exception […]
The speech and beyondon October 8, 2019An expectant nation waited for days before PM Imran Khan’s maiden speechat the UNGA on the 27th of this month. A young anchorperson said thattowards the end his eyes were filled with tears. So many others expressed the same emotion. The speech was hailed as “historic” by many a media house in Pakistan. From that […]
People and politicson July 20, 2019The founder of the nation died. His only sister, the ‘Mother of the Nation’ was not allowed press coverage for two long years. Nothing happened. Liaquat Ali Khan, the ‘leader of the nation’ was killed. Ayub Khan, the then C-in-C, cut his London tour short and rushed to join the nation in mourning. According to […]
Seeing signson June 18, 2019Most Pakistanis are Muslims by faith and spiritual by default. To the uninitiated superstition appears as spiritualism. The conceptual uniqueness of unity in Islam, however, is different. Many Pakistanis ascribe the creation of Pakistan to a higher spiritual purpose. Jinnah, settled in London, “was ordered by the Prophet (peace be upon him) to proceed to […]