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Of neo-colonialism GLOBALI-ZATION is a surface phenomenon. It is about the removal of barriers to the movement of capital, while maintaining those to the movement of labour power. This enhanced mobility of capital...		Taliban vs Khmer Rouge WITH the formation of the new interim administration of Afghanistan, one can say that the five-year (mis)rule of Afghanistan by the Taliban has now truly come to an end. If the Taliban have not been...
The fallen youth of Pakistan HUNDREDS of poor and middle-class families across Pakistan must have heaved a sigh of relief as the Taliban were uprooted in Afghanistan, for a number of youngsters, lured by the clergy,...		Acclaimed author of ‘Jinnah’ comes visiting HE was invited to visit Pakistan year after year for a long time. He is well known here as the acclaimed author of the landmark biography Jinnah of Pakistan, as well...
Every day was a new day ONE evening, Afzal Lala and I went to the airport, for the heck of it. I liked to be among people and there was a special excitement about an airport, aeroplanes...		Dealing with curious kids KIDS today are very curious, their ‘whys’ and ‘hows’ never seem to stop. Although this is a good sign, sometimes they leave us speechless and wondering what to tell them. They...
From Lyari to Australia MRS Jane Garnand, granddaughter of Dost Muhammad Brohi, came to Karachi in 1993. Her basic mission and aim for visiting Karachi was to trace the family roots of her grandfather, Dost...		The tragedy of Ambassador Zaeef ISLAMABAD can be quite boring and unexciting if you are not fond of the outdoors. Today is like yesterday, and tomorrow will be like today. Winter in Islamabad has never been...
The making of the Great Wall THE Great Wall, one of the landmarks of Earth, if viewed from the moon, runs 6,700 kilometres from East to West and across five provinces. Like a gigantic dragon, it winds...		Is there life without objective? IT was a cold winter’s evening in Lahore and the weather was so chilly that I had to check repeatedly if the gas heater was still on. I was hurriedly packing...
Reflections and the mirror IF we go by definitions, literature is a mirror that reflects society and the human drama called life. Sometimes, it is a crooked mirror and reflects funny and distorted images, such...		Vultures in our midst ‘THE truth, they say, is stranger than fiction.’ The statement may sound like a cliche to you, but a recent happening in my neighbourhood made me believe in its verity all...
An ode to Morpheus ANOTHER night and Morpheus has yet again to deliver my share of sleep and so I lie on my pillow, gazing at the ceiling fan, while the rest of the world...		The largess of love IN these days of terrorism and wars, it is only behoving to soothe one’s nerves by the largess of love. “Love thy neighbour as thyself” is not just a Biblical quotation. It is the axiom embodied in all religions and the underlying dictum....
Genghis Khan: the great ‘terrorist’ of the world THE greatest empire the world has ever seen created by terrorism was built by Genghis Khan who extended his empire from the Pacific to mid-Europe, including most of the known world...		Afghanistan: myths, realities and paradoxes THE greatest geographic paradox undertaken by Sir Motimer Durrand, the British-Indian government’s foreign secretary, contributed in creating a gulf between the Muhammadzai dynasty of Afghanistan and her eastern neighbour in a...
America: war of independence or revolution? IN the early history writings of America, historians and politicians termed their struggle against Britain as a war of independence....		Literature, music and peace IT was the last evening of the first year of the 21st Century. I was sitting in Ali Auditorium here in Lahore, listening to Zia Mohyuddin, who was ably trying to...
Wild birds at the roadside THE wetlands of Pakistan are rich in wildlife, hosting a large number of migratory waterfowls that arrive from Siberia and Russia. Every year, during winter, millions of water birds leave their...		Hunger should work as an incentive I HAD planned to write a column this week to sum up the series between Australia and South Africa. After all, it was the clash everyone was looking forward to. But so one-sided was it that I fail to add...
A good selection, but ... THE outfit recently selected for the pre-World Cup contest in Kuala Lumpur, I must say, is a professional and competitive unit, and shows once again the flexible approach of the Pakistan...		Turning deserts into green landscape THESE days, when words such as water shortage, deforestation, desertification, air, water and land pollution echo almost everywhere in the world, the United Arab Emirates stands out among...
It will never be the same again ACCORDING to the American Heritage Dictionary, the word “terror” has been defined as “intense, overpowering fear”. And “terrorism” is described as “the act of terror, violence and intimidation to achieve an...		The year of suicide HAROON Khan’s The year of suicide in your issue of Jan 6, 2002, was superb. He even referred to the suicides that occurred during the time of ancient European and Roman...
MOSAIC: As easy as abc! A NEW CD-Rom called the New Novelist is making waves these days in most parts of the world. “Releasing the creative genius in us all,” goes the subtitle. “Choose a name...		Newsmaker AFTER what could be middle-age in sheep years, Dolly the Sheep, the first mammal to be cloned, has again become the object of media fancy and the darling of flashing press cameras after being...