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Challenge of the Islamists THESE are troubled times, and, characteristically, there are questions agitating the minds of many. Are Islam and fundamentalism synonymous? Are Islam and terrorism synonymous? Indeed, are MMA and fundamentalism synonymous...		Musharraf is not indispensable PROFESSOR Ghafoor Ahmad, the deputy chief of the Jamaat-i-Islami, says the West is propagating the wrong image of Islam in an effort to attack and usurp resources of small and weak Muslim countries. He believes that the biggest citadel of terrorism is the US-Israel nexus....
Adam’s mom ONE sizzling afternoon of this hot and humid summer, what I saw near Regal bus stop in Saddar, Karachi, was outrageously shocking. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I saw Adam’s mother begging! Adam, like most of us, was our lowly-paid colleague in one of the God forsaken departments of Government of Sindh....		It’s so simple YOU are a robber. You enjoy the liberty of simply walking into someone’s house, tying and gagging the inmates before robbing them. Sure and confident, you tell your victims that the...
What do you think of advertising? ADVERTISING is swarming over the media and spilling over. Hype, media-blitz, brouhaha, ballyhoo-advertisements sing, swing, howl, dance and mimick. There is so much of advertising that you can hardly take any of it in because this extravaganza of the so-called ‘persuasive art’ strangely precludes the very thing which interests you....		Dispensing naked justice THE recent incidents in Fallujah and elsewhere in Iraq are clear indications of the trigger-happy mentality that seems to have gripped the American troops in that country. With the ‘liberated’ Iraqis...
The Muslim reawakening AMERICA’S desperate attempts to reestablish itself as the world’s strongest nation in the wake of air strikes on its financial and defence/security monuments on that fateful day in September, have reached...		Other people’s wars UNTIL Copernicus revealed a multiplicity of worlds, it was believed that the Earth was flat and was the centre of the universe. This may have been a breakthrough in our knowledge...
The road to Somani LATE in the night, braving chilly Islamabad, me and my friend Shakeel were snuggled tight in our beds. We were saving all the energy for almost three days travel that lay ahead of us. We had already covered more than 20 hours in our travel from Karachi to Islamabad....		Controlling pests in the kitchen garden KITCHEN gardens are popular for various reasons. People may start a kitchen garden perhaps to supplement the food budget, to get high quality food, or simply to experience the joy of watching plants grow. However, gardeners are disappointed when diseases...
Spellbound in paradise PLODDING on with our heavy loads, slipping on rocks, falling and cursing the day when we volunteered for this horrid expedition, we struggled towards the unknown destination of Kishan Gunga valley....		The cradle of civilization-II DESPITE its accumulation of knowledge, power and wealth, Baghdad has been ransacked, plundered, undergone mass massacres, sectarian and tribal rivalries, riots and bloodshed. It also faced natural calamities in the shape...
War and traditions IN victory and defeat, war is a drama which most historians, poets and writers like to narrate with passion and vigour. It is such a powerful and moving topic that when they describe scenes of battlefields, killing and bloodshed, and dialogues between victors and the vanquished, they make them into great epics that sensationalize....		The plight of Sikhs WHILE talking about the SAARC writers’ conference held in the Maldives, I think I should be content to talk about the writers, poets and fiction writers I met there, leaving the...
Learning lessons from history WHEN Gen. Alfred Rommel, who had written many papers on tank warfare and infantry attacks, was sent to Africa to replace the ailing Italian command in 1941, his men were regarded as an expeditionary force. Axis forces were...		Group of impulsive souls at the helm WHILE the PCB has done quite a bit after the World Cup debacle, it seems that not all is going well. There was already much speculation in the media about the...
Need to tighten discipline THE national side is once again getting ready for some serious challenges in the international arena. The camp is under way and the players and coaches, I am sure, would all...		The queen of hearts TODAY is Mother’s Day. Beyond hearts and flowers, what does it signify to Americans? The closest is a combo of crass capitalism and an indescribable love for mom....
Streets of San Karachisco AN interesting serial shown on TV took us to the delightful Californian city of San Francisco, where two energetic police officers comb its labyrinthian streets, alleys and byways to unearth crime and track down culprits. Now, fantasy and drollery join hands to give us the following scenario: we find these heroes of the SFPD in our own city....		The Kashmir issue I FOUND the interview of Asghar Khan, in Dawn Magazine of April 27, 2003, really interesting and informative. I would like to express my views regarding the Kashmir issue. It is a good suggestion that Kashmir should become....
MOSAIC: Fighting SARS with firecrackers CHINESE peasants, lacking the medical know-how and funds to fight the deadly SARS virus, are lighting firecrackers to scare off the “god of plague.” Some farmers in Shanxi, the hard-hit northern province near SARS-infested Beijing, set off firecrackers in the belief they would...		Newsmaker HIS is as daunting a task as they come. To be the first Prime Minister of a Palestinian state that has yet to fully emerge from the shackles of Israel, is, indeed, a job that very few must have been in the hunt for. For veteran freedom-fighter and politician Mahmoud Abbas...