Durdana Najam

What is it that makes Pakistan popular? Corruption! Who are the most corrupt people? The politicians! That is what implicitly made the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) conduct a sting operation against the candidates aspiring to become the legislators of this country. The questions put to the candidates by the returning officers have now been […]

In one of the regular support group meetings chaired by Dr Saad Bashir every Wednesday at the Sukh Chan Club, Lahore, the topic that led to confusion was why the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) refused to accept DNA as primary evidence in rape cases. Taking note of the past, we remember how radio, fans, […]

Untouched, the industrialists and agriculturists have little to lose from the new budget unleashed on Wednesday by the new government. With the GST increased from 16 to 17 percent, cost of living has increased manifold for those who have already been finding it hard to eke out a decent living. Missing, of course, are substantial […]

They both have chosen the same man. Samiul Haq, nicknamed ‘The father of the Taliban’, famous within his social circle as ‘Maulana sandwich’. Now that we have learned to accept our Maulana’s religious disorder with equanimity, the reputation can be conveniently kicked aside for the greater cause, so to say. Samiul Haq is considered to […]

Elections 2013 pulled people out from their homes to the polling stations. Whether it was an Imran Khan phenomenon or something else that did this miracle, we do not know. The reluctant and disinterested voter could somehow see Pakistan emerging from its crisis, given the chance. It was a tussle between hope and experience. The […]

What is it that Brazil, Ghana, Uganda, Bangladesh, China, India and Turkey could do and we could not? Why could they build a nation and we could not? Why could they surpass the colonial barriers, both perceptual and real, and we are still stuck with them? How could they find leaders committed and dare to […]

Maulana Tahir Ashrafi, a secular and liberal scholar of Islam, using his influence as chairman All Pakistan Ulema Council (APUC), has issued a Fatwa (edict) through a consensus among 27 different religious organisations in Pakistan on the ‘right’ to vote. He has been hailed internationally for this effort. In the 40-page booklet philosophising the importance […]

So far ‘conflicts’ are not seen as an opportunity in Pakistan, they are beneficial to test the nerves, tenacity and ability of the conflicting parties to agree to disagree. After all, human beings are all about competing interests and aspirations. So, what was the big deal about those who could not choose a caretaker prime […]

It is not the first time that I have come out feeling odd from a seminary. It has been so ever since I started visiting different madrassas to understand Islam. The atmosphere always reeked tangibly, besides a stink of hypocrisy of filth and disorder. The devotion with which I find seminaries imparting book knowledge to […]

Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani enjoys the ‘immunity’ to say anything. He can argue, doubt and criticise the judiciary on its wisdom. He can defend his president even if the latter is on the wrong path. He can praise the constitution for providing immunity to the president, even if the nation has to lower its […]