World order needs global justice From the Newspaper | Philippe Sands   IT sometimes feels like a week doesn’t pass without some former head of state or other alleged outlaw on the front page as a new international trial opens.

Ignorance is bliss From the Newspaper | Aasim Sajjad Akhtar   IT is remarkable to think that it has been three years since the mother of all military operations in Swat forced more than two million people from their homes

Conduct of civil servants From the Newspaper | Ismail Khan   THE gradual breakdown of law and order in Swat in late 2008 and its total collapse in the early 2009 was until now considered to be the most damning

The debt volcano From the Newspaper | Sakib Sherani   AMONGST the many worrying elements in Pakistan’s current economic condition — faltering growth, record-low investment, historic inflation — it is perhaps a tough call to pick the one we should

Free will and predestination From the Newspaper | Nilofar Ahmed   AFTER creating Hazrat Adam God asked all the angels to perform sajdah, or prostration, before him (2:34). Being the first human being, he represented all of humanity. Iblis, or

Actions without a narrative M Saeed Khalid Friday, May 18, 2012 Pakistan has suffered enormous losses in human lives and material costs to its economy as a result of the US led-war against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban since October 2001.

Dangerous liaisons Kamila Hyat Friday, May 18, 2012 The warm handshakes, and talk of a long-term strategic relationship we saw soon after both the Obama administration and the PPP government moved into power have long since vanished. Hands today, even

Brevity not the soul of wit Ayaz Amir Friday, May 18, 2012 We were making a point and we’ve made it: this from Ms Hina Khar, our winsome foreign minister, putting a paint brush job on our blocking of Nato

Will the real Imran please stand up? Mohammad Malick Friday, May 18, 2012 The writer is editor The News, Islamabad.   It took him almost sixteen years but Imran Khan finally made a grand political entrance with his spectacular Oct

Sinful as the devil! By: S Tariq | May 18, 2012 | Little do we realise, but we as a nation epitomise the seven deadly sins – wrath, greed, sloth, pride, envy, lust and gluttony. These sins are so intertwined

Wars, deceptions and lies By: Dr Mujahid Kamran | May 18, 2012 | It was the incredibly prescient and profoundly observant George Orwell, who wrote: “War against a foreign country happens when the moneyed classes think they are going to

Creating authoritarian regimes By: Robert Olson | May 18, 2012 | It is now clear that the decade-long US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, rather than establishing democracy and eradicating terrorism – their stated objectives – have instead created authoritarian

Reopening the supply routes By: M A Niazi | May 18, 2012 | If ever the USA doubted the utility of agents of influence, those doubts should have been laid to rest by the DCC meeting, followed by the Cabinet

Ask the people first From the Newspaper | I.A Rehman MUCH of the confusion that marks the debate on the creation of new provinces is due to the absence of a reasonable, democratic and comprehensive constitutional provision on the issue.

Pranksters By: Chauburji | May 17, 2012 | There is a streak running in our family’s genetic makeup that has occasionally landed us in trouble with our friends and relatives. This is our inclination towards playing practical pranks on unsuspecting

US callousness By: Azam Khalil | May 17, 2012 | “Whatever disgrace we may have deserved, it is almost always in our power to re-establish our character.” – Plautus The Americans have always been ignorant or callous about peoples’ requirement,

The pits of terrorism By: Mahir Ali | May 17, 2012 | Given the possible consequences, it would be facetious to suggest that there is anything amusing about the latest terrorist plot blamed on al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

Experiences from a little land By: Atle Hetland | May 17, 2012 | When we reach lunch time in Pakistan today, every child in Norway is up and dressed in his or her best clothes, ready for all the excitement

The ‘Haqqani’ network Ikram Sehgal Thursday, May 17, 2012 Erstwhile phone buddies Husain Haqqani and Mansoor Ijaz have amply proven each other to be dubious characters, and such people have a recurring habit of falling out. The truth about Memogate’s

The terrorism excuse Mehreen Zahra-Malik Thursday, May 17, 2012 I’d call it a new version of voodoo politics but I’m afraid that would give witchdoctors a bad name. But yes, the PPP’s wily evangelists are playing a new game: sticking

More will happen Shahzad Chaudhry Thursday, May 17, 2012 A year after Osama bin Laden was eliminated in the Abbottabad operation by American forces there continues to linger the original questions that were raised in the immediate aftermath: was Pakistan

On divergent paths Zafar Hilaly Thursday, May 17, 2012 The writer is a former ambassador.   It took the American helicopters a full two hours to kill the 24 Pakistani soldiers at the Salala (military) outpost near the Afghan border.