Smokers’ Corner
How gullible do the Americans think we are? Do they actually think that we Pakistanis would believe the lies they are spreading about Osama Bin Laden’s tragic murder and his…
Crop target missed
THE good news is that both farmers and officials are reporting a better cotton crop than that of last year despite a wide spread pest attack in some areas in…
The year gone by
As another frantic year comes to an end, I want to know who pushed the fast-forward button. Why is it that life seems to speed up as you get older?…
The mother of all ills
As election fever spreads, arguments are gaining momentum. The question is: will the elections change the fortunes of the people suffering from poverty, widening disparities, increasing unemployment, stagnating economy and…
No justice for farmers
Tamar is a small Adivasi tribal village in the deep jungles of Chhattisgarh. Two farmers from the village are fighting a losing battle against a young Congress member of parliament.…
All-weather terrorism
Almost 34,000. That’s the number of Pakistanis who have been killed in terrorist attacks between 2003 and 2011. The ISPR offers more numbers; 2,821: the number of Pakistan Army and…
High on grass
Z.A. Bhutto prescribed grass as the food that his people would merrily eat to mobilise resources for Pakistan’s bomb project, but he was not being original. Reports from North Korea…
Pneumonia
Hamburg: When an infant or young child experiences heavy coughing, rapid breathing and a fever over 38.5 degrees Celsius spread over several days parents should immediately take their child to…
Democracy
Since 9/11, I visited my mother four times here in the village of Polashpur in northeastern Bangladesh. She is 92 and lives in my ancestral home, surrounded by three fish…
Rebellions on the road to Damascus
The events rocking Rupert Murdoch’s media empire have been compared to the ‘Arab Spring’. That may be an exaggeration, but there is at least one respect in which the analogy…
