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Do Taliban Represent Our Religion?

Qaisar Sultan

Late Benazir Bhutto and her well paid speech writer and supporter, Mark Siegel, a great Ashkenazi mind, convinced Americans that the Talibans would be strengthened if Pakistan stayed with the authoritarian rule of a military general. The neo-conservatives were waiting for such a suggestion that would lead to attack on Afghanistan and Iraq. General Musharraf who was considered as the best possible alternative to any other leadership, all of a sudden became the symbol of despotism, autocracy and repression, supposedly causing extremism. General Musharraf had to make a deal to stay in power- He was willing to jump in river of fire to stay put- He was desperate and confused. General Musharraf did not support Americans wholeheartedly- He was extremely careful how far he wanted to help them. He was also making comments on Israeli and Palestinian conflict to the dislike of Israel. Read More »Do Taliban Represent Our Religion?

CRUSH EXTREMISM

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ALI SUKHANVER

Park51, originally named Cordoba House, is a planned 13-story Muslim community center to be located two blocks from the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan. The major part of the center will be open to the general public. It will contain a Muslim prayer space that has controversially been referred to as the “Ground Zero mosque. The proposed construction of this community centre has become a controversial issue and a very hot favourite point of opposition for various religious sections of the American society. Some of the politicians who want to win the political sympathies of the religious sectors are also trying to exploit the situation. “No mosque at ground zero. We won’t allow creeping Sharia in the United States,” says in an article former Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich who is one of the possible presidential candidates in election 2012. As a result of such type of instigation angry Americans are participating in different protest rallies. They are raising slogans in opposition to the building of new mosques and Islamic centers in America.Read More »CRUSH EXTREMISM

How it feels to be a Pakistani in North America

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There is a well-built view that Pakistani identity is troublesome in western countries. It is more serious for Pakistanis than Indians; Bollywood stigma is not more precarious than someone perceived to be representing an extreme view of life. It is true that after 9/11, we are looked down as religious and repellent to western culture and values. The regular barrage of negative reports about Pakistan in media has tarnished the image of those who come from that part of the world. It hurts to know that those who respected Pakistani community and considered our people as intelligent and hardworking found us possibly dangerous or least against their values and customs. The truth is that most Pakistanis living in western countries still live in the old world, dominated by their religious fervor. From seventies to nineties, we never observed veil on Pakistani Read More »How it feels to be a Pakistani in North America

21st century ‘Great Game’

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Ikram Sehgal

Rudyard Kipling’s 19th-century “Great Game” encompassed mostly the region mow comprising Pakistan and Afghanistan and adjacent areas. It remained an area of turmoil in the 20th century. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 and the subsequent events that led to the ouster of Soviet forces and the emergence of the Taliban in Afghanistan in the last decade of the past century brought things to a head.
Robert D Kaplan’s 13th book, Monsoon, expands the area of “the Great Game” in the 21st century and examines the role of the US in the Indian Ocean. The interested powers include China, Russia, India and the emerging countries at the rim of the Indian Ocean. The search for energy and its denial thereof are what drove Japan to battle in the Second World War. The 21st century “Great Game” still has oil and gas as objectives, but the primary riches are greater (and now definable), the untold wealth buried in the triangle where the borders of Pakistan and Afghanistan meet with Iran’s.Read More »21st century ‘Great Game’

MORAL RESPONSIBILITY OF THE INDIAN NATION

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ALI SUKHANVER

“Go India! Go back! We want freedom!” the charismatically enchanting valley of    Srinagar was resonating with the ear-piercing slogans raised by the hundreds of protesters who had gathered there after the Eid prayers. The Indian security forces started firing shots in the air and used teargas to disperse the violent crowd but all in vain. The protesters transformed into a procession and proceeded towards the main city and ultimately started hurling stones at the police. So many injured, so many arrested .That is how the people of Indian held Kashmir celebrated their one of the most sacred religious festivals The Eid-ul-Azha on 17th of November 2010. The most pathetic event of the day was that the Chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq were disallowed to lead Eid-ul-Azha prayers. These leaders condemned the action of the Indian government as a ‘blatant infringement of people’s religious rights’. The International Herald Tribune reports, ‘Authorities deployed thousands of troops in Srinagar to prevent a repeat of massive protests that hit the city two months ago on Eid-ul- Fitr.The commercial Lal Chowk area, where protesters hoisted Islamic and Pakistani flags during the last holiday, was sealed with barbed wire.’Read More »MORAL RESPONSIBILITY OF THE INDIAN NATION