The lurking ghosts of Indian POWs on August 21, 2015Alistair Sloan likes to be known as an investigative journalist whose forte is turning out to be selective advocacy rather than a wholesome pursuit of the truth. His professed passion, one believes, is human rights, a going commodity that is commercially saleable these days but more often an ill-defined preoccupation based on imbibed prejudices. He […]
Pakistans bazaaris II on July 17, 2015In order to better understand these vultures let us see how the bazaaris are viewed historically. Nikki Keddie, in his book Roots of Revolution (on Iran), writes: “ Ulema (mullahs) and bazaaris often belonged to the same families (light weight social backgrounds); much ulema income came from levies paid mainly by bazaaris. The guilds often […]
Pakistans bazaaris I on July 16, 2015Islam’s unique egalitarianism, remarkable habit of critical — nearly Aristotelian — deductive thinking to solve contemporary problems and massive thirst for knowledge were the master propellants that carried its followers on the ever-ascending trajectory of a dominant world power for close to 700 years. The ascent was so splendid that it took another 500 years […]
The unwelcome returnees on June 11, 2015This may initiate some soul searching about one of the little known effects of the 1971 war but for the bone deaf and genetically dumb, those who have steadfastly refused to learn from their mistakes, are unwilling to identify the country’s archenemy and too eager to hug those who wish to see this country succumb […]
The bullfrog on May 23, 2015Tadpoles are interesting aquatic contraptions, born in their larval innocence with a long oar like tail and a body like a fish. They have a small pouting mouth and an awkwardly large head, and like to swim around in schools just as fish do. Like Ooriyas they have a shiny dark complexion mixed with pale […]
All generalities are wrong on May 5, 2015There is no intention here to indulge in circular talk or place anyone in a state of ‘now you see, now you don’t’. As a matter of fact, generalities are not permanent as they tend to become in popular lore but have a temporary relevance and then fade away into the eternal haze of time. That […]
What makes you think so, Mr Minister? on April 23, 2015The media recently carried the details of the visiting special adviser to the Saudi ministry of religious affairs, Mr Abdul Aziz Bin Abdullah Alamar’s instructive but amazingly brash interview on what Saudi Arabia expects out of Pakistan in the ongoing Yemen conflict. He beats the UAE’s impetuous Deputy Minister Dr Gargash by a wide margin […]
Those whom the Gods want to destroy on April 13, 2015God is of great things and lives in superlatives. He is credited with the creation of not only the world but also the universe, all life on earth and whatever is geo-physically placed in their environs. The universe is simply massive and is still expanding with thousands of galaxies whirling in endless space in the […]
Poverty on February 24, 2015Prosperity is by the grace of God; poverty arrives from elsewhere. The two are incompatible through a different rhesus factor. In our calculus, moral poverty versus material poverty takes a higher place, as mind and sentiments are, invariably, the ultimate engines of perceptions and responses. One has to understand that in Pakistan, poverty is a […]
Nightmare at Dubai International on February 5, 2015December last year was quite staid in Pakistan. The cold lacked bite and was hardly noticeable. Indeed, climate is changing in our part of the world rather irreversibly: winter rains normally due in November have just begun to pour in fits and starts. Our wheat crop is largely dependent on these rains for the seed […]