by Asif Haroon Raja Liberals and seculars calling themselves modern and progressive were in high spirits during Gen Musharraf’s rule because the Islamic militants and those sporting beards dubbed by them as bigoted, obscurantist and uncouth were continuously bashed from 2002 onwards. Several Jihadist groups were banned and extremists were hounded and Madrassahs raided. Many christened as terrorists were han ...

By Asif Haroon Raja Unlike late Hakimullah Mehsud who disfavored talks, his deputy Waliur Rahman favored dialogue and had convinced sizeable number of TTP Shura members to make an offer of dialogue to the government.  His group suggested Maulana Fazlur Rahman, Munawar Hassan, Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan to act as guarantors to preclude possibility of backtracking from the agreement. The offer was not taken ...

  By Sajjad Shaukat Although war against terrorism is quite different, as it is against an invisible and ruthless enemy which does not respect any rule, yet we can remember Shakespeare’s poetic expression which described war as ‘sons of hell’ is even applicable today in Pakistan where terrorists’ violent acts of destruction, fire and devastation have engulfed the entire span of living and social order, espe ...

  By Sohail Parwaz Judicial Murders in Bangladesh: Is This the Beginning of another Independence Movement? – I Adolf Hitler once said and I quote that, “Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it.” The trouble starts when the believers are forced to pledge their brains and expected to ‘further’ believe it and that’s what is currently being done with poor Bangladesh ...

By Asif Haroon Raja Al-Qaeda as a terrorist organization was hardly known in Pakistan till the US declared openly that 9/11 attacks on World Trade Centre were undertaken by Al-Qaeda. The group known as Al-Qaeda was organized by Osama bin Laden (OBL) who was simply an ordinary Jihadi volunteer from Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) with traces of Yemeni background having passion for participating in Islamic Jiha ...

By: Sohail Parwaz The narcissistic jealousy for others is not only a desire to ‘eat it neat and that too all alone’, but according to the ‘Dictionary of Heights’ it could be termed as the ‘height of selfishness’. Unfortunately our next door neighbor India is comfortably meeting this height, who is adding fuel to the Balochistan’s fire since many years. Agreed that the issue has some other compelling factors ...

By Zaheerul Hassan Allama Iqbal Ideology of Pakistan has been truly translated when Quaid-e-Azam demanded a separate country for the Indian Muslims. At that time, the Qauid also assured the world that minorities and all sects will live freely according to their religious obligations, norms and services. However, the foundation of the country was kept on Islam but his ideology about Pakistan was free from Ta ...

 By Sajjad Shaukat As a result of the elections 2013, the government led by a nationalist leader Chief Minister Balochistan Dr Abdul Malik Baloch has been established. Being progressive and moderate man, he ensured that socio-economic justice would meet with success, while playing a key role in empowering Baloch leaders to manage the affairs of their province and also to participate in Pakistan’s decision-m ...