The head of Medusa
The leaders of the country have seen the head of Medusa in a mirror and fear has transformed them into stone. This is the impact the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan has had…
The march of Islamisation
Islam and Pakistan are among the most frequently used words in our daily discourse. We sound deeply concerned about saving Pakistan and serving the cause of Islam. Small wonder then…
Incoherent mind
If personal whims and dogmatic worldview are given institutional support, the ultimate result will be the expansion of dogmatism in self, state and society. This is precisely the case with…
Fear of liberal politics
The offended Moeen Cheema takes exception to my criticism of the scholarship produced by him and his colleagues (22 Mar). Their scholarship objects to Pakistani liberalism as elite and narrow…
The crisis of an ideology
It’s really quite unfair. The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) is facing considerable criticism for following its mandate and legitimately attempting to align Pakistan into a Shariah compliant state. Never…
The CII ruling is wrong
The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) has issued a ruling to the effect that a restriction placed on the unfettered Islamic right of a husband to take a second (or…
Non-stop
The recent Islamabad attack highlights the fact that the TTP either has no control over most of its 30-plus factions (and certainly not on the 60 or so ones criminally…
FATA : post-2014
Consider. The Taliban have three specific demands to negotiate peace with the state of Pakistan: one, compensation for the material, and possibly all, losses they have suffered in their war…
Assumptions and presumptions
During the 1984 presidential referendum in the country, voters were asked whether they supported Gen Ziaul Haq’s efforts for the Islamisation of society. More than 98 percent of voters replied…
May the miracle survive
The composition of the negotiating teams by the government and the TTP and the TTP’s declared agenda require reflection. First, the composition: there is no woman member. As the exclusion…
