The fall of an entertainer on May 18, 2017Sometime a mistake, a slip of tongue or a carelessly hurled joke may bring a disaster that remains irreversible no matter how carefully worded apologies are offered to address the issue. This is what happened to Yassir Hussain, an actor and anchor, when he, hosting a TV awards show, cracked a joke using child molestation […]
Universities facing extremism! on May 10, 2017Two press reports, two different events, and two different subjects covered in the reports appeared to have had no obvious relationship with each other: one talked of the universities’ heads who discussed ways to end intolerance and radicalisation in higher education institutes and the other report covered a statement of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief wherein he […]
The flawed implementation of NAP on September 21, 2016Despite all the success stories of the Operation Zarb-e-Azb a sense of pessimism still prevails on this great drive of government against militancy in Pakistan. No doubt, the incidents of terrorism have taken a nosedive, and the number of victims of terrorism has also significantly declined, but the implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP) […]
Afghan Talibans chief in Pakistan on June 3, 2016The unmanned combat aerial vehicle, popularly known as drone), took off from its base and headed towards a direction it never navigated before. The target was the chief of a militant outfit that runs a parallel government in a number of provinces of Afghanistan with a sizeable force of militants that can suddenly appear from […]
The hate movie on May 14, 2016What makes Maalik a controversial movie — its ‘hate’ content or the lack of freedom of expression in the country? From day one, the movie suffered from a mixed opinion and once the ban was slapped on it a media debate ensued reflecting a divided approach on its contents and the government policy. The mindboggling […]
Polio, Taliban, and media on April 25, 2016Resistance to polio vaccination has been going through a constant phase of evolution in Pakistan, and with every passing day, it goes one notch up from its previous level involving people from conservative camps to enlightened ones as well. About six months ago, Maulvi Ibrahim Chishti of Muzaffargarh’s rural Khan Pur Bagga Sher area declared […]
1984 and 2002 on April 22, 20161984 was a despicable pogrom. From what I know, in the wake of Indira Gandhi’s assassination, a horrendous act by itself, Congress leaders organised Hindu mobs to extract retribution, in Delhi and elsewhere, from innocent Sikhs who had nothing to do with the assassination. A brute Hindu majority brutalised and killed thousands of innocent Sikhs […]
Self-deceptive indoctrination on April 22, 2016Indoctrination leads a nation to progress or self-destruction, depending on the way it is inculcated in the minds of the people and how they follow it. Japan learnt this lesson after the meltdown of its nuclear power plant because of the tsunami that hit its territories on March 11, 2011. The indoctrination campaign unleashed in […]
A peaceful resistance on April 20, 2016“The world can be conquered through education, not wars.” This is what Pir Ilahi Bux said many years ago and his grandson quoted these words on his 37th death anniversary. That coincidentally occurred the same day when the greatest aspirant for education and knowledge, Malala Yousufzai, fell prey to the bullets that were shot into […]
Unfortunate children on April 16, 2016The children of Pakistan and Palestine share two common problems: a sizeable poor population and a rivalry between the followers of two different religions. Poverty leaves their parents short of resources to take good care of them and militant organisations, knowing this weakness, take full advantage of it. Once these poor children are exposed to […]