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Radicalism and Engineers

February 20th, 2012 | 38 Comments

By Abdul Majeed Abid Professionals form the backbone of a society. Professionals include Doctors, engineers, bankers, businessmen, lawyers, soldiers and law-enforcers. Pakistani society as a whole has been affected by the problem of increasing intolerance and religious extremism over the years. One of the many causes of this rise is the state of textbooks in Pakistan that promote hatred and bigotry(Consider for instance Meri Kitab, which is a required text textbook for grade one students in most public schools. Seven out of 16 chapters in Meri Kitab contained religious sermons. A report by United States Commission on International Religious Freedom found that textbooks were filled with disparaging remarks about the Hindus, while never mentioning that for centuries Muslims and … Read entire article »

Paul Robeson, Nehru and Jinnah

February 20th, 2012 | 16 Comments

By Yasser Latif Hamdani I first came across Paul Robeson at Rutgers University in the 100th year of his birth. His image was all pervasive for he was possibly the most well known Rutgers College graduate around the world.  The Paul Robeson centre on Busch Campus was dedicated to art, culture and African American fight for equality in America. Robeson was an extraordinary man; an all American Football Player, a concert singer, actor, communist, international citizen. What I later discovered was his intimate connection to the subcontinent through Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India.  The two men had a lot in common including Lady Edwina Mountbatten, that sultry seductress and the wife of the … Read entire article »

Philosophy of Change

February 19th, 2012 | 51 Comments

Philosophy of Change

  By Engr. Syed Ghulam Mustafa M.E Electronics System Engineering Munna Muslim Pakistani is one of my best friends, I have known him since my childhood. He has sacrificed his whole life in motivating the people for change. He believes that one should struggle for the betterment of society and his surroundings in his utmost capacity. He is really an honest person, and … Read entire article »

Pakistani Middleclass, Army and Democracy

February 18th, 2012 | 21 Comments

By Raza Habib Raja A few weeks ago I wrote a detailed piece on the reasons as to why democracy in Pakistan and its neighboring India has taken such divergent paths. In my opinion the reasons have to do with history of independence movement, early years after independence, image of the army in both the countries and also the attitude of middleclass in both the countries. In any society, particularly a modern democratic society, middleclass provides a critical as well as decisive mass. Moreover it’s an extremely important contributor to intelligentsia, media and services sector, particularly critical services such as bureaucracy and armed forces. In our side of the world, the middleclass particularly urban middleclass, eventually is … Read entire article »

Justice served

February 13th, 2012 | 55 Comments

Justice served

by Saad Hafiz The Supreme Court (SC) has decided to indict Prime Minister Gilani for contempt of court for his refusal to write a letter to the Swiss authorities asking them to restore corruption cases against President Zardari in that country.  The contempt proceedings against PM Gilani stem from an earlier SC ruling which threw out the controversial National Reconciliation Ordinance … Read entire article »

Are Liberals to blame for Pakistan’s Extremism?

February 11th, 2012 | 135 Comments

Kashif. N. Chaudary Imran Khan is Pakistan’s sports superstar. His philanthropy is also admirable. This, however, does not mean I should not exercise my right to criticize Khan’s politics. Sadly,Imran Khan’s followers do not take criticism all that well. Anyone who calls him Taliban Khan is quickly ascribed a set of views and labeled a “pseudo-liberal” and “fascist”. In a recent interview, Imran Khan said he believed in engaging the far right and justified being represented at rallies of extremist groups by stating that his was a political party that believed in engaging marginalized groups. Will Imran Khan also engage the ostracized Ahmadi Muslims, Hindus and Christians of Pakistan? Or is his engagement limited to those that … Read entire article »

Feedback at two am

February 9th, 2012 | 3 Comments

Feedback at two am

The Karachi Literature Festival By Faisal Kapadia   A freelance columnist, Faisal Kapadia lives in Karachi, writes on everything and social media and misses the time when we could tell the good guys from the bad by the color of their light sabers. He tweets with the same name and sometimes answers emails at faiskap666@gmail.com ________________________________________ Three years old, the Karachi literary festival at least by its … Read entire article »

Jinnah and the Ahmadi Muslims

February 8th, 2012 | 117 Comments

Jinnah and the Ahmadi Muslims

This is a brief comment on Saroop Ijaz’s otherwise brilliant article in Express Tribune. Good news is that Saroop Ijaz has woken up to the Ahmadi issue. Bad news is that what he finds irksome is not as much the mistreatment or discrimination but that those who choose to speak against this discrimination choose to do so in Jinnah’s name. Tragic … Read entire article »

At Home Nowhere

February 6th, 2012 | 89 Comments

By Hamza Usman An inevitable question Pakistanis always ask me is, “what are you?” Often, I’ve wondered the same question. Besides ‘Pakistani,’ I don’t know what else to say.  I’m not Balochi or Sindhi. I can’t speak Punjabi. In my house, besides English, Urdu is the only other language spoken. When people ask me what language my parents speak, that’s what I tell them. Unlike many of my acquaintances, I don’t come from a town or village in interior Pakistan. Like millions in Pakistan, my family migrated from India. My grandparents’ families originate from Delhi, Lucknow and Aligarh, the bastions of Urdu-speaking peoples in India. In Pakistan, I am merely a ‘Muhajir;” an Urdu speaking migrant … Read entire article »

Real estate projects in different cities of Pakistan

February 4th, 2012 | 5 Comments

A guest post by William King During the last few years, all the economic parameters have shown a gradual drop in Pakistan realty market. However, 2012 brings good news that Pakistan property prices will be moderated, making it an attractive investment opportunity for realtors and investors. New projects like The Centaurus (Islamabad) and many other notable projects across the country hold much promise for the industry. Timely completion of the projects also helps them grab the attention of investors. Therefore, most of the developers may focus on execution and delivering the committed projects in 2012 rather than launching new projects to avoid reaching insurmountable inventory limit. … Read entire article »

Outside in

February 4th, 2012 | 2 Comments

Outside in

The stuff that owns us   By Shahbaz Ali Khan Shahbaz, a former Industry relations and PR professional, has spent the past 8 years experimenting with the frontiers of professional competence by insisting on not specializing in anything but thinking, communicating and writing Before he begins his day, my friend looks at himself in the mirror. He wants to ensure he is ready, in … Read entire article »

Boundaries Of Blood

February 3rd, 2012 | 87 Comments

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/p00lzhqz … Read entire article »

New media fires old media

February 2nd, 2012 | 9 Comments

New media fires old media

By Alee Paul I never want to criticize anything.  We the people beautifully give a comprehensive solution to the problems, and even the way we identify problem that jolts me. Ask anybody over a cup of tea what is this nation’s biggest problem, everybody will close argument by wrapping it in one word, Education, poverty, bureaucracy and the list goes on. The continuous … Read entire article »

Maya Khan should not be fired

February 1st, 2012 | 50 Comments

Terminating Maya Khan is not the solution. In fact, it only problematizes the issue of media bullying by making an individual sound solely responsible for something perpetrated by the channel itself. By Farwa Zahra: A few weeks ago, there was a whole FHM controversy surrounding Veena Malik posing nude (read topless) for an Indian magazine. Despite the fact that it was her “personal” matter, there were arguments about morality, nationality, honour and the list goes on. Then came Maya Khan and Malik was nowhere. Television channels and newspapers started off with another round of morality debate but this time on the grounds of Khan invading people’s “private” lives by raiding public parks for couple on dates. Both the … Read entire article »

India, Pakistan and Democracy

February 1st, 2012 | 50 Comments

Raza Habib Raja Professor Philip Oldenburg is a professor of political science in Columbia University and author of the book titled India, Pakistan, and democracy: solving the puzzle of divergent paths. As an academic, Subcontinent has been his prime area of political research. A few months ago, he was invited to Cornell University where I was privileged to hear his views on a very interesting topic which was why India and Pakistan despite being apparently similar in history and culture have taken divergent paths as far as democracy and role of military are concerned. First of all Professor Philip made an interesting statement that India’s successful evolution as a democracy is not a “normal” phenomenon but rather … Read entire article »

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