Author Archive
What Is A Life Well Lived? – by A Z: Our notion of what signifies the success of a person’s life is deeply subjective and steeped in our aspirations and biases. However, what is not subjective is that the transformation of a person’s life is fundamentally a result of
Who is Using Chemical Weapons in Syria? by A Z: The reality is Syrian conflict is ‘bad guys’ against ‘bad guys’. There are no good guys in this battlefield. Assad’s regime is unscrupulously murderous to Stalinesque proportions, but it would make no sense for them to use chemical weapons.
What Perpetautes Low Income Mobility In Pakistan From Childhood? By A Z: Corruption? Nepotism? Lack of meritocracy? Low GDP growth? Yes, all of these and more. But in the final analysis two factors are more responsible for the widening gap between the rich and poor than anything else. These two factors
Are Ismailis being dragged into the mayhem? – by A Z: Editor’s note: This incident highlights, yet again, the intellectually dishonest approach of Pakistan’s intelligentsia when the falsely misrepresent Shia Genocide is a Shia-Sunni war and Saudi-Iran Proxy war. The Ismailis, a Shia sub-sect are a low profile community who have made
Syria’s War, Another Tragedy on Euphrates that nobody wants to end – by A Z: PROLOGUE It has been well over two years since the Syrian opposition, propelled by long-held and varying grievances, rose against Bashar al Assad. With Assad’s long autocratic reign under serious threat, the regime responded with force, arresting protesters and
What Ails Pakistan Cricket? by A Z: Almost every day I hear analyses from cricket pundits in Pakistan that the standard of the game in Pakistan is going down because of the lack of international cricket in the country. This is. Indeed, very far from the
Failed attempt of suicide bombing at Mosque in Islamabad exposes the security apparatus – by A Z: Here is the Video footage of a failed attempt of suicide bombing at Jamia Mosque Ali Ibn-e-Abi Talib , in Barakahu, Islamabad, while prayers were in progress. CCTV footage shows that the assailant was walking on a path that
Ban on female farts in Indonesia by council of ignorant Muslims – by A Z: As I, walloped by depressing thoughts, struggle to make sense of an Eid Day in a silly and sad season, a friend sends me the following to put a smile on my face. Well he actually does as I
The Moon (a true story) – by A Z: Being caught in the midst of two Eid days being celebrated in Canada this year, my mind goes back to an old episode a few years when I was in Europe. At the end of the Ramadan in 2007,
No Eid Mubarak For Me This Year – by A Z: I am again not celebrating an Eid that reeks of blood; if at all the smell is stronger than ever before. I can’t bring myself to pretend joy as Pakistan wails in desolation on the breath of hate and
Muslim society and women – by AZ: FOREWORD: As we address this subject, a thinking mind has to acknowledge that there is no archetypical Muslim woman. There are hundreds of millions of them scattered across the globe. They include a huge variety within their fold –like
‘Women in Hiding’, Directed by Taliban, Running Successfully in Dark Corners – by A Z: The above production has now hit the marketplace of Karak, a town in KPK, which is ruled by the PTI. Karak is the district headquarter of Karak District, whose population is almost entirely comprised of Khattak tribe. This
Heinous crimes in a misogynist society that validates and perpetuates rape – by A Z: A glimpse into the heinous crimes that are rife in our society but very few come to light. No wonder in a misogynist society that validates and perpetuates rape a major serious newspaper fails to make the distinction between
Allegations against Malala and our escapism – by A Z: Yesterday I wrote a piece named “Malala and our Hypocrisy” and brought a lot of thunder upon myself, mainly in the form of Facebook messages.. Also if you go to the Facebook pages ‘The Fans of Truth’ or
Malala and our hypocrisy – by A Z: We are ready to judge Malala even before she has done something wrong and not willing to judge Taliban even after they have killed tens of thousands. Why? To me, this ‘why’ is nonsensical. What else can one expect?
Riba in The Contemporary Context – by A.Z.: PREAMBLE The concept of “usury” termed as ‘Riba” by the Quran has a long historical life, throughout most of which it has been understood to refer to the practice of charging financial interest above the legal or socially
A Coup, Dear Friends, is a Coup! By A Z: That Morsi was incompetent is beyond question. The political charge sheet against him is long, compelling, and detailed. The fact is, Morsi couldn’t unite the country and people were really hacked off. Morsi was given the opportunity to be
Is Egypt Looking for its Next Pharaoh? – by A Z: While I may support liberal ideas and politics and be dead against all forms of theocracy, I have no choice but to call a spade a spade; it just is what is. July 3, 2013 was no different from
Addressing a Question About Human Evolution – By A.Z: A friend sent me the below picture seeking my views. While the question is quite unscientific and I avoid ‘nontechnical’ discussions in most matters, particularly science, I find it apt to comment on this to address the doubts it
West’s Apathy to Jihadists’ Oppression of the Christians – by A Z: Yesterday’s killing of Custos of the Holy Land: Fr Franҫois Mourad by Islamist insurgents in al-Ghassaniyah is just the latest incident of Christians’ persecution at the hands of Obama-backed rebels in Syria. During the past 18 months well over
Is Nawaz Sharif up to combating the organised terrorism? – by A Z: As I listen to the two videos in Urdu appended below, they stand out more for the frustration and helplessness in the voice of both the speakers than their depiction of the dreadful state of affairs. The first video
Is the Obama-led West being any better than Assad? – by A Z: We all know that Assad is a despot who has subjugated all dissent and has killed his opponents, much like his father. That is an established fact for most sane minds. The question here is is the West any
Putin is on the right side of history – by A.Z.: “You will not deny that one does not really need to support the people who not only kill their enemies, but open up their bodies, eat their intestines in front of the public and cameras. Are these the people
Pakistan Continues to Perpetuate Inequalities in Education – by A Z: Pakistan’s education has been woefully underfunded by the state for decades and the new budget does little to change that. Higher Education is very important but how building a pyramid top down makes sense? This is what our new
Deciphering Turkey’s Upheaval – by A Z: I and my family were in Turkey less than a month ago and stayed very close to Taksim Square for over a week. We had a great time with no inkling whatsoever of what was to follow just
Syria’s War, Another Tragedy on Euphrates: Who is Looking for What? by A Z: It has been over two years since the Syrian opposition, propelled by long-held and varying grievances, rose against Bashar al Assad. With Assad’s long autocratic reign under serious threat, the regime responded with force, arresting protesters and torturing some
Madrassa’s Descent into a Place for Indoctrination and Child Abuse – by A Z: A few days ago a case reported from a Dharavi madrassa in India, in which a 9-year-old student was sexually assaulted, has prompted a section of the community leaders to call for monitoring of madrassas. Earlier this year in
Pakistan Council of Islamic Ideology: Don’t let DNA con justice in a rape case – by A Z: The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), that great avant-garde enabler of Islamic Ideology in the Land of Pure, has decreed today that the DNA evidence does not comprise a substantial proof for conviction in rape cases. The Council opined
Qatar, Stoking up the Fires in Syrian Inferno – by A Z: In Syria Bashar al-Assad obstinately clings on to power as the number of dead continues to rise and the atrocities by the rebels and the government multiply. In the midst of all this it is startling to note how
Imran Khan and PTI: Great Show but there are some Lessons to Learn – by A Z: Imran Khan is an immensely popular personality in Pakistan – perhaps the most popular. He is widely trusted by the people and his persistent political struggle against the odds has earned him a great deal of respect by most
I am going to ‘Khan’, oh yes! – by A Z: When I wrote “To ‘Khan’ or not to ‘Khan’?” –which has garnered an incredible number of hits and likes both on the website and the Facebook page- a few days ago, I concluded by saying that I need to
Nawaz League in League with the LeJ: party ticket awarded to a convited murderer and terrorist – by A Z: Reading today’s press, I came across a piece from the renowned journalist Amir Mir that makes for extremely difficult reading. This piece resonates emphatically with my previous accounts and analyses of how these elections are conducing to facilitate admittance
To ‘Khan’ or not to ‘Khan’?: The Election Dilemma – by A Z: Imran Khan is an institution of cricket. Not just because of his extraordinary prowess as a player but also because of his excellence as a leader of men on the field. After retiring from cricket, he did some tremendous
Al-Qaeda, TTP, and LeJ: A Medieval Orchestra of ‘Danse Macabre’ – by A Z: I write this as a memoriam to those who have lost their lives to the reprehensible acts of terrorism. I write this in compassion with the numerous families who have lost dear ones and bread winners as a result
Grotesque Insensitivity: A face of Neo-Nazism in Pakistan? – by A Z: I am shocked by a lack of sensitivity in the election campaign to manifestations of terrorism, instigation of religious hatred, and apparent displays of Neo-Nazism. The extremists have exploded twelve bombs during the last twenty four hours to thwart
What happens when women find a man too handsome? – by A Z: Having no such personal experience, I had no clue up to a few days ago but now I know that, at least, he is deported from Saudi Arabia. So if you thought that there’s no flip side to being
The Last Bastions of Secularism in Pakistan under attack – by A Z: It is a shame that while the only two secular parties of any significance –ANP and MQM- are being slaughtered by the fanatics, parties like PMLN and PTI smugly continue to hold large election rallies without a murmur. Many
Children Terrorists and Islamist Radicals – by A Z: “Children are not a zoo of entertainingly exotic creatures, but an array of mirrors in which the human predicament leaps out at us.” ― John Updike Does this Video surprise you? If it does then you probably live on
A Pakistani journalist exemplifies linguistic masculinity at its most virile – by A Z: A friend sent me following exchange on twitter with two journalists Mohammad Shehzad and Marvi Sirmed as its protagonists and one Ada Khakwani (whoever she may be) as a support cast. On the first sight it could be taken
Does Boston Bombing Embody a Lesson for the Muslim Parents in the West? – By A Z: At this year’s Boston Marathon Islamist terrorists chose to have a blast at the expense of innocent and unsuspecting participants. It may be pertinent to explain that the Boston Marathon is no ordinary event. It is the oldest annual