Political instability is so much a part of life in Pakistan that it hardly evokes any concern. It is when the escalation of political instability begins to threaten economic life that the powers-that-be get restless and send their current ‘leader’ packing. That point may be approaching fast for prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
The men who surround Nawaz Sharif, with hard looks, bulging bellies and overflowing bank accounts, are casting nervous glances over their shoulders these days. The prime minister of the ‘heavy mandate’ suddenly appears clueless and out of his depth.
The dispute about Kashmir between India and Pakistan evokes different reactions at different levels. During the crisis over Kargil, patriotic sentiments on both sides ran high. But, as usual, Muslims in India were put in a particularly difficult position, increasingly asked to prove their loyalty to the country.
When the Saudi defence minister, prince Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz, appeared in Islamabad in May, and reportedly toured Pakistani nuclear installations with prime minister Nawaz Sharif, he congratulated his hosts on the acquisition of the latest military technology of which ‘the Muslim was proud’...
It is difficult to believe, surveying Pakistan’s 52-year history, that when the country was founded in 1947, Islamic activists all over the world looked to it for leadership and inspiration.
Fears of US action against Shaikh Osama bin Laden were further raised on August 9, when US military aircraft carrying commandos were reported to have landed at Islamabad and Quetta airports. Speaking at a rally later the same day, Maulana Fazalur Rahman, head of the pro-Taleban Jami’at Ulama-e Islam (JUI)...
Tens of thousands of Pakistanis marched in the streets of Lahore on July 25 to protest against prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s acceptance of a US-imposed settlement to the confrontation with India in occupied Kashmir which amounted to a humiliating withdrawal by Pakistan.
Prime minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan followed the traditions of his predecessors when he snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in Kargil. After a brilliant military operation in which the Indian army was given a bloody nose for the first time, with serious cracks appearing in its ranks...
Aware that if she were to return to her native Pakistan, she would end up in prison on corruption charges, Benazir Bhutto, the Pakistani opposition leader, has decided to ‘languish’ in Britain.
US foreign policy has been reduced to a three-point agenda in the post-cold war era: unquestioning support of Israel, daily bombings of Iraq, and chasing Osama bin Laden
There was poetic justice in the conviction of Benazir Bhutto and her husband Asif Ali Zardari on corruption charges by the Ehtesab Bench of the Lahore High Court on April 15. Each was sentenced to five years in jail and fined US$8.6 million
Nobody in the world needs peace more than the Muslims. From Srinagar to Sarajevo, and from Pristina and Palestine to the Philippines, they are being killed like flies. Thus, if someone really offers them peace, Muslims eagerly accept it. Peace, however, like everything else in the world, has lost its real meaning, at least when it applies to Muslims.
Ulama have been described as successors to the Prophet. Since the prophetic mission ended with the last and final messenger of Allah, upon whom be peace, the responsibility on the shoulders of the ulama is heavy indeed.
There appears to be a dichotomy in the attitude of the Pakistan government as far as the Afghans are concerned. Islamabad is virtually alone in backing the Taliban-backed government in Kabul.
The gladiatorial contest between the government of prime minister Nawaz Sharif and the Jang Group of newspapers would be comical were it not for its deadly intent. Both sides are trying to occupy the moral high ground where none exists.
What kind of people would open fire with automatic weapons on a group of worshippers in a mosque who had just completed Fajr prayers and were sitting to recite the Qur’an? The only answer is: coldblooded murderers and professional killers. To call them anything else would be outrageous.
It is no doubt important to be important. Nowhere in the world, however, is it more important to be ‘important’ than in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. While everything else is in terminal decline, the VIP culture is alive and well and thriving as never before.
The assassin of Maulana Muhammad Abdullah, a leading alim of Islamabad, remains at large two months after the heinous crime was perpetrated on October 7.
From Nigeria through Pakistan to Indonesia, there is talk of tracing the billions of Muslim money salted away by the corrupt regimes that have taken turns to send their countries to the cleaners.
The socio-economic and political chaos that grips Pakistan today allows little room for serious intellectual debate or discussion. To the political confusion must be added the din made by various religious parties and groups who insist that their version of Islam is the only correct one and that everyone else is destined for Hell-fire.
