منٹو کے جنم دن پہ فلم ڈائریکٹر نندتا داس کا خط منٹو کے نام- نندتا داس: ڈئیر منٹو صاحب، جنم دن مبارک ! شوٹنگ کے پاگل پن ، چیلنج کی کثرت کے درمیان ،تم مجھے پرسکون رہنے کی طاقت دیتے ہو۔اور پختہ عزم کے ساتھ چیزیں جیسے وہ ہیں اور ان کے بارے میں ویسا

Will CJ Iftikhar Chaudhry take notice of desecration of Ahmadi mosque in Lahore?: Extremist Sunni clerics (mullahs) in Lahore’s Sultanpura area who complained that an Ahmadi mosque looked too much like a non-Ahmadi mosque are unsatisfied with changes made to the building’s facade and are demanding that the building’s dome be demolished. The administration

Equality of citizens: Common sense that’s not so common! – by Dur-e-Aden: A bomb explodes in a market, some 80 people die and 100s get injured. Can anyone tell me the identity of those who lost their lives? Do bombs differentiate when they explode that I am only going to hurt

Ahmadis are….. – by Dur-e-Aden: Oh calm the heck down!!!! I am not using the M word, you know, the same word that can be used by killers, murderers, liars, cheaters, and by every type of “ghairatmand”  but Ahmadis (because all the “Real Muslims” agreed

Salmaan Taseer, the last man who stood against the injustice of the State – by Naeem Shamim: Source: Al Ufaq I could hardly believe my senses as the news was unfolding itself in the most atrocious manner possible but sadly, it was. It started with a red ticker reporting an incident of loud gunfire in Islamabad.

How gay is being ‘gay’ in city? – by Andaleeb Rizvi: As Karachi continues to resonate with sparring political parties, sanctimonious religious outfits and bloodcurdling acts of terrorism in the post-Zia Pakistan, there is only one place where those who are ‘different’ could really be their own selves and get

Parliamentary Theocracy – By Yasser Latif Hamdani: Source Daily Times The 18th Amendment reintroduces the requirement for the prime minister of the country to be a Muslim. Pakistan’s slide down the slippery pole of religiosity is quite clear Frederick Douglass — the great 18th century American

Balochistan: Pakistan’s broken mirror – by Madiha Tahir: Source: The National – via Raza Rumi Baloch children hold up nationalist posters. Photographs by Asim Hafeez for The National Islamabad’s brutal attempts to crush ethnic Baloch nationalism have met with fierce, escalating resistance – and have laid bare the

Views on the constitutional review — by Peter Jacob: The review process has to foresee and incorporate a framework for social, legal and economic reforms. The part that seems to be missing as yet is, in fact, of immense importance for common Pakistanis. It concerns human rights Ever

Justice Khawaja Sharif speaks once again, this time against Hindus – by Abdul Nishapuri: Chief Justice of Lahore High Court, Justice Khawaja Sharif, has spoken once again, with the hate speech and prejudice which are his usual characteristics. Justice Sharif is notorious for his unflinching support for PML-N and Taliban and for his hostility

A Pakistan you never knew! Being gay in the Islamic Republic – by Shaheryar Ali and Nuwas Manto: First published at Sherryx’s Weblog “Invisibility” and “Silence” are the hallmark of  fascist societies. A national stereotype is built and than implemented through ideological and coercive apparatuses  of the state. Gender is an important battle ground in these “nation-building”

Adolescent girls’ plight in Pakistan — by Mehr Qureshi: There is no specific provision on incest in the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and police, prosecutors and judges often have dismissive and condemning attitudes towards the victims Today is International Women’s Day. This day is a global celebration of

Sky is the limit for Pakistan’s women fighter pilots: In a country where extended family is important and most middle-class women rely on servants for household work and child-minding, Ambreen and Nadia may be saved some of the problems faced by women in the West. —AFP Photo ISLAMABAD:

The real ‘National’ languages – by NAD Pukhtunyar: The Pukhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, while observing the following: 1 Pakistan is a state comprising five different ethnicities/nations; 2 The national, economic and cultural rights of all the nationalities are invoilable; 3 All institutions of the state such as

Back towards tolerance in Pakistani society – by Charles Ferndale and Kamila Hayat: Here are two articles highlighting the importance of re-discovering and re-inculcating the seeds of tolerance in Pakistani society and the region in general. The path to freedom Monday, February 22, 2010 Charles Ferndale Kamila Hyat, in a typically lucid,

Shame on political parties, especially our own PPP: Women’s disenfranchisement Election observers have reported that thousands of women from Lakki Marwat were denied their right to vote during Wednesday’s by-election for PF-75, which was also marked by procedural irregularities and illegal campaigning. Having visited the majority of

The Rise of Religious Fundamentalism in Pakistan – by Hamza Alvi: Thanks: Hamza Alavi Internet Archive Religious fundamentalism has become a powerful and dangerous force in Pakistan, due mainly to the opportunism of successive political leadership that has pandered to it. Militant sectarian religious groups and parties, led by half-educated

A war that remains unreported: The Saudi Arabian war against the Houthis of Yemen: Here is an extensive archive on a war that remains either unreported or misreported in Pakistani and Western media. Ironically, it is a war in which four different players, namely Saudi Arabia, Ali Abdullah Saleh, Al Qaeda and the

At Afghan women’s cost – by Sahar Saba: The US attempts to broker a deal with the Taliban have neither surprised nor upset Afghan women. The Afghan woman is not like naive liberals across the world who are deeply frustrated over this US betrayal. The liberals had

What is it to be a ‘true’ Pakistani? — by Zaair Hussain: The new Pakistani In a country where a Senator has stood before the House and declared, with a gall that must surely have blotted out the sun, that the respectable tradition of burying women alive should not be unduly

Situation of Minorities in Pakistan – by Junaid Qaiser: After the tragic events of 9/11, Pakistani establishment finally had to set aside its traditional ideological hangovers, and instead raised a different slogan, “Pakistan First”. It was a matter of coercion or choice one can’t say with a degree

The Christian Cross: A Fading Symbol in Pakistan – by Zeresh John: A fading symbol By Zeresh John Monday, 04 Jan, 2010 The cross is the most widely recognised religious symbol of Christianity. Down the years, the emblem has faded from the public eye, rarely seen in the humdrum of everyday

Oppression of women and other ordinary citizens by Taliban and army in Swat – by Hamid Mir: Swat – valley of horror and terror Tuesday, January 13, 2009 by Hamid Mir The home of Hameedullah Khan in Shakardra village of Swat was destroyed by dynamite last week. He knows who the people who did this to