The twin gifts of the sophisticates
The Urdu-speaking population which migrated from India at the time of Partition came in two categories: 1) the upper-crust or the elite class which settled in such places as Clifton,…
Reaping a bitter harvest
The carnage in Peshawar's Army Public School finally woke up the establishment to the need for combating Jihadist terrorism that has been bleeding Pakistan for decades, courtesy the conflicting aims…
The Charlie Hebdo challenge
In the wake of the Charlie Hebdo killings massive outpourings of Western outrage and resolve to root out terrorist violence have been on display. Whatever Western views of the cartoons…
The right response
The holocaust enacted at the Army Public School in Peshawar was arguably an act of ultimate bestiality that has grievously hurt the soul and body of the entire nation. This…
Words as weapons
Words can kill as surely as bullets. Ask those mourning the death of Luqman Ahmed Shahzad, an Ahmadi gunned down a few days ago, just how deadly words can be.…
The Malala-haters
Let it be said at the outset that Malala didn’t need the Nobel Peace Prize for validation. Rather it was the Nobel Committee, its reputation reeling from bestowing honours on…
Liberating faith, rigid followers
Of all the angry speeches, sound bites and opinion pieces that the Charlie Hebdo massacre generated, the best one came from an unexpected quarter – Pope Francis. In the face…
Beyond Charlie
Today’s edition of the scurrilous French weekly Charlie Hebdo, in the latest barrage in what one American commentator has wittily described as a confrontation between OMG and LOL, will almost…
Israel’s suicidal act
Last week, the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) charged Israel for its latest invasion of Gaza calling its aerial bombing of civilian areas "disproportionate and indiscriminate"; by July 22, the…
Israel: the devil’s workshop?
While Israel destroys Gaza, all you hear about are "humanitarian windows" (temporary cease-fires brokered by the UN and so-called "pacifist" states). All these "windows" closed earlier than promised - duration…
