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Privatizing the planet THE National Security Strategy document of the United States, also called the Bush Doctrine, has alarmed many a statesman the world over for its extremely aggressive approach towards other countries whom it thinks were posing or were...		Writing Urdu in Roman THE use of English script to write Urdu or Hindi is known as Roman Urdu, and is an old practice. During their occupation of the subcontinent, the British used to insert the local words, in English script, in their English text and expressions...
Weather or whether WITH due respect to meteorologists, I dare say that the weather always has ‘whether’ as an appendage. We keep wondering, depending on the season, whether a cold front would be descending...		As the big bank changed hands A MAJOR bank, with a long history, has been privatised after a strenuous exertion. It is the third largest bank in the country — after the National Bank and Habib Bank, which too is earmarked for privatization. The United Bank Chief...
From Mulosan to Multan THE famous Persian couplet depicting Multan abounded by four deserting elements — namely heat, beggars, dust and burial grounds — is no more valid. The Multan of today has transformed into...		The exotic Margalla Hills PAKISTAN’S physical and cultural diversity makes it a multifarious land that holds great charm. One such charming place is the nation’s capital Islamabad’s Margalla Hills, which is easily accessible for the...
Cause celebre or girl interrupted? THE West’s poster-girl Taslima Nasrin frowns at being called a ‘female Rushdie’. While he chickened out and ‘apologized’ for having hurt Muslim sentiment, the Bangladeshi feminist, ‘bravely’ withstood the religious frenzy,...		Lost in a wilderness IN my childhood days, my mother used to tell me quite pontifically that savings are like Aladdin’s lamp and can help us miraculously during difficult times and strenuous circumstances. Later on,...
Preserving the houbara A REGULAR winter visitor to Pakistan, the houbara bustard is a shy, unassuming bird that has received a great deal of media coverage in the past few years. The houbara gained...		For book lovers only WHENEVER I see a new bookstore, I am thrilled. Going to a bookstore seems always adventurous. Setting up my own library is my dream. I feel sad on seeing a bookstore replaced by a garment or shoe shop. We have a declining number of bookstores. Most people are reluctant to take up reading....
The power of deindividuation ONE of my friends living in Canada told me that some of the guys in his fraternity decided to streak the front of the house of their university’s registrar. The idea...		Pakistan movement: the bourgeois streak FOR long, the Pakistan Movement has been put down, chiefly, as the handiwork of feudals and landlords, claiming that it was ingeniously engineered and primarily led by them, to make themselves...
Women and modern literature AMIDST the absurd drama of Pakistani politics, the Academy of Letters has brought out something meaningful. It is Adabiyat’s special issue devoted to feminine literature and spread over a bit less...		The seven protocols of ODI ranking IT was perhaps appropriate that the backdrop of the ICC Press Conference on ODI rankings at Lord’s, was the grunting of tractor engines relaying the outfield. It can be said that...
Separating men from the boys THE Australian thrashing of England, and the emphatic South African victory over the Sri Lankans last week were a fresh reminder to all lovers of the game that the chasm between...		Plans galore HOCKEY has been in the media limelight for the last few weeks. Though much of it is in terms of criticism, it is a healthy sign that at least people are talking about the game that had apparently lost appeal with the masses. Also consuming enough media space are various...
The miracle of Zum Zum ABOUT 4,000 years ago, a young infant was crying for water and rubbing his feet in the sands of a desolate valley, where stands today the magnificent house of God, the Ka’aba, and the city of Makkah....		Bhola in trouble IT was the happiest day in Bhola’s life. He had married his dream girl in Jeddah. After the nikah ceremony in a local mosque, the bride’s parents served a simple meal to the guests who were invited to share the happy moments with them. Being a noble, practising Muslim...
The dawn of life TIMES change, but things go on as they always have. Take childhood, for example. It is the dawn of life, and so it will remain as long as every child brings the message that Providence has not altogether despaired of Man....		American evangelists’ blasphemy THE scathing verbal assault launched by several American evangelists against Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), as also reported by Anjum Niaz in Blasphemy! in the issue of October 20, was unbearably painful. By...
MOSAIC: Fabulous fabrics FABRICS designed by top team Paul Simmons and Alistair McAuley are anything but timorous. Their innovative and imaginative designs have attracted attention and admiration from architects’ practices, businesses and museums all over the.....		Newsmaker AS much as Hollywood is a glamour town, it is also a town where traditions are made, not followed. And one of those time-honoured traditions, particularly for the actresses, seems to be to marry as many men as possible before....