Manifesto for the new government? on April 9, 2014For 5,000 years, there was no constitutional provision to grant equal human rights to all men and women, irrespective of gender, caste and religion. Political power rested with men born of high castes and rigid social discrimination was prescribed, forbidding education for women and low-caste dalits (untouchables). In fact, all religions promised exclusive nirvana or […]
The wages of provocation on April 3, 2011On the second day of protests against the provocative act by American Pastor Terry Jones of deliberately burning the Quran on March 20 in the US, 10 people were killed and 83 injured in Kandahar, Afghanistan. A NATO military base in Kabul was hit by a suicide attack, reportedly led by burqa-clad bombers. These events […]
Revisiting the ZAB case on April 2, 2011Sir: The PPP-led government has taken an initiative to reopen the murder case of Zulifiqar Ali Bhutto (ZAB). The president of Pakistan has approved a reference to reopen the ‘Judicial murder case’ of ZAB, who was brutally assassinated through a nexus of anti-democratic forces. It goes without saying ZAB was a great leader. He gave […]
Raymond Davis passport on April 2, 2011Sir: The Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah has said that the Punjab government still has Mr Raymond Davis’ passport. Congratulations and a humble request to the honourable law minister to enlighten us about the utility of this passport apart from getting it dumped in the Lahore Museum! DR IRFAN ZAFAR Islamabad
An independent Khorasan state on April 2, 2011Sir: I am writing in reference to Musa Khan Jalalzai’s article, ‘The question of an independent Khorasan state’ (Daily Times, March 31, 2011. Robert Blackwell is not the first strategist to propose the partition of Afghanistan; a similar exit strategy was also proposed by the Soviets in 1987, which was rejected because the resistance movement […]
A new twist on April 2, 2011Sir: In a significant development, Swami Aseemanand, who is under the scanner for his role in Ajmer, Mecca Masjid, Malegaon and the Samjhota Express blasts, has retracted his previous confessional statement, saying that he was mentally and physically pressurised by the investigating agencies to ‘confess’ that he was the man behind these blasts. However, a […]
Ordeal of Lady Health Workers on April 2, 2011Sir: Whenever a democratic dispensation is in place, people feel their concerns will be listened to and their demands will somehow be met. It was primarily because of this assumption that hundreds of Lady Health Workers (LHW) came out to protest in order to press for their just demands for the payment of salaries, which […]
You did us proud captain I on April 2, 2011Sir: Like most Pakistanis, I too was disappointed at Pakistan’s defeat in the ICC Cricket World Cup. However, a couple of months ago there were very few who believed that this team would even make it to the semi-finals. If we draw a comparison of this team with the Pakistani squads of previous world cups, […]
You did us proud captain II on April 2, 2011Sir: Heartiest congratulations to our green team for playing an outstanding game despite the narrow defeat by India in the semi-final. We are proud of our boys; they put up a great fight throughout their World Cup campaign. We should stand by them and not put them down when they lose. Pakistan played the game […]
You did us proud captain III on April 2, 2011Sir: The world cup season is over for us. Our team said a tough and unwilling goodbye to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. The examination of Pakistani cricket is over and now it is time for our examination as a nation. Now is the time when we have to show our love and respect […]