Debate of the week

One day still to go, yet it seems both candidates for the US presidential seat at the White House have already won, lost, won again, and lost again countless times. There is little doubt in the fact that every media organisation in the world wants to be the one to present the latest numbers starting from the earliest figures as well as opinions in the form of predictions, regarding the names Romney and Obama. In a recently published article, Dawn...

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) on Wednesday said that it would table a private member bill in the parliament for giving right of vote to overseas Pakistanis. “The overseas Pakistanis are 4 to 5 per cent of the total population. They contribute $12 to $13 billion precious foreign exchange to the national kitty every year. They should have the right to vote,” Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Dr. Farooq Sattar stated. The news was appreciated...

Photo: White Star archives It is sad to see how the very few cinemas of the country have over time become victim to neglect and vandalism. Recently, at least six cinemas were burnt to ashes in Karachi – cinemas where many of us can remember spending our weekends at with families and friends – relishing the bottle of soda and a bag of plain salted chips. Where new multiplexes with state of the art technology are now emerging in the bigger cities...

After President Asif Ali Zardari’s speech on Sunday, it is clear that there is no consensus yet between opposing parties when it comes to launching a military operation in North Waziristan. Where the political parties agree that action does need to be taken against militants, they can’t seem to decide on what the next step is. The president also pointed out the possibility of a blowback once action was taken against militants. Do you agree with...

Twelve cricketers belonging to Afghanistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, USA and West Indies are expected to land at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport in the next day and a half. They make up the numbers for the International World XI squad which will take on Pakistan Star XI in two Twenty20 matches at the National Stadium Karachi this weekend. The matches have been arranged jointly by the Sindh Minister for Sports Dr Muhammad Ali Shah, with support...

“It’s time to abandon the bloodied iron hand and reach out with the healing touch. Tell me how that wouldn’t be more desirable than a bloody divorce,” asked Abbas Nasir in his column ‘A new leaf on Balochistan?’. A very valid question when it comes to the developments taking place in Balochistan recently. Last month, Sardar Akhtar Mengal, the self-exiled Baloch leader, came up with his six-point demands for the state to start the process...

Awami National Party (ANP) leader Bushra Gohar succinctly summed up the very intentions of the Taliban, yesterday, when she said “the militants are even scared of children now.” The horrendous act of terror showed that there are no limits to whom and where the Taliban can strike – even in regions that have been given the green signal by the government and law-enforcement agencies as being Taliban free. It wasn’t until late into the night on...

Illustration by Faraz Aamer Khan During a meeting in Washington, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik asked the United States for drone technology stating that it would be used responsibly. “If we are given drones, we will use them responsibly as we used the F-16s,” said Malik, as the US media reported on Sunday that Pakistan appeared to be changing its position on the strikes. Malik told reporters he had conveyed Pakistan’s concerns...

Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan has taken a convoy of over 1,000 people, including PTI activists, leaders and local and foreign journalists on a two-day march towards South Waziristan to register his party’s protest against drone strikes in Pakistan’s tribal region. While the march has been at the receiving end of criticism from government officials as well as other political parties, some arguments have also been made in its favour. Anti-drone...

Baloch leader Sardar Akhtar Mengal put forth his six-point charter for the resolution of problems in Balochistan, in the Supreme Court last week. The charter demands an end to forced disappearances; that ‘death squads’ working in the province be disbanded; to allow Baloch political parties to function and resume their political activities without interference from intelligence agencies; persons responsible for inhuman torture, killing and dumping...