One man’s Qadri is another man’s kafir on April 23, 2016The first and foremost thing that one must point out about the way the Qadri long march ended is that Pakistan’s constitutional and democratic system is now firmly rooted and cannot be shaken by protest marches and massing of crowds in the capital. For this, one must salute the government as well as the opposition. […]
Jinnahs nationality and oath on April 22, 2016Truth be told, the MQM chief Altaf Hussain’s much anticipated drone attack landed on the xenophobia and narrow-mindedness of Pakistanis. Every anti-MQM politician rushed in to defend the honour of the Quaid-e-Azam after feeling slighted that Altaf Hussain had claimed that Jinnah was a subject of the British crown and as Governor-General had taken the […]
Pakistan and medieval England on April 22, 2016The history of England under King Henry VIII’s reign from 1509 to 1547 had a fundamental and lasting impact on the history of the world. By all accounts, it was not an easy time for England, especially since King Henry upon his death left England in terrible financial straits, economic crises, horrendous corruption, religious extremism […]
New configurations on April 22, 2016Mian Iftikharuddin was a notable politician and philanthropist from Punjab. Originally in the Congress Party, Iftikharuddin was very close to Nehru and his family. However, in the mid-1940s, he was convinced by Jinnah to join the Muslim League, which he did to balance out the feudal and capitalist classes that dominated the League. He also […]
High context low trust culture on April 21, 2016Congratulations are in order for the Khatm-e-Nabuwat Lawyers Forum, which comprises two and a half rotund lawyers who spend their days eating and lolling in the Atif Centre behind the High Court while planning to rid Pakistan of the ‘Qadiani conspiracies’. — The Forum has struck another blow for the glory of Islam. They have […]
Pride of the Muslim ummah on April 21, 2016On a recent visit to Islamabad, President of Egypt Muhammad Morsi made a statement that should have startled our ideologues and guardians of Islam in Pakistan. Paying a tribute to Dr Abdus Salam, the Islamist president of Egypt declared that the great physicist was a source of pride for the entire Muslim ummah. Years ago, […]
Ideology of Pakistan on April 21, 2016The returning officer’s decision to reject Ayaz Amir’s nomination papers should be a wake up call, instead of blaming the poor returning officer who was taught by the state never to question the idea that Pakistan was created in the name of Islam. Now we blame the returning officer for rejecting what he has been […]
YouTube ban on April 21, 2016The big news this week in the business world is the decision by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the Google antitrust investigations. Holding that Google was not harming consumers in anyway, the FTC did not press ahead with a complaint against Google. This is a significant victory for Google but there is a […]
Mixing religion and law on April 20, 2016When the East India Company first came to India in 1601, it claimed — through the principle of extraterritoriality — to be governed by its own laws, rejecting lex loci or the local laws of the Mughal Empire and its feudatories. Accordingly, the earliest charters empowered the East India Company to draw up reasonable laws […]
What does President Obamas re-election mean for us? on April 20, 2016Pakistan was the only country amongst 21 countries surveyed that preferred Governor Mitt Romney over President Barack Hussein Obama in the US election. It may well be a commentary on the resentment Pakistanis feel towards drone attacks but it is also indicative of a naiveté that our so-called intelligentsia and opinion makers have about the […]