This is the month in which anniversary of Pakistan’s birth is celebrated every year. In addition to the patriotic fervor displayed on national TV channels and in newspaper supplements, we also get our annual dose of articles about how Pakistan represents a dream gone sour, a promise unfulfilled and a betrayal of hope. There are [...]

I have been seeing several status messages on facebook since the recent Oslo attacks about how the Norwegian terrorist, Anders Behring Breivik, who has confessed to the carnage of July 22, is being given more favourable labels by the Western media, because he is not a Muslim. The latest one was this status message which is [...]

I have been seeing since last year newspaper stories about Susan Boyle’s excellent performance in a talent competition show on British TV and how she wowed the audience and judges, but I never paid much attention. Last week, I saw Susan appear in Oprah, which made me curious about her. I searched her name on [...]

Wikipedia is an incredible source of [almost] reliable information on more topics than can be found at a single place anywhere else. Whoever came up with this idea and implemented it has indeed served the cause of knowledge sharing and dissemination in a magnificent way. Wikipedia is being run as non-profit enterprise. Maintenance of this [...]

Come away, O human child! To the waters and the wild With a fairy hand in hand For the world’s more full of weeping Than you can understand – W. B. Yeats

When you find your silent thoughts and feelings acquiring the shape of words, even if someone else’s, it surely feels very good. This is what happened when I read Ayaz Amir’s column in yesterday’s Dawn. He writes: “Time was when Pakistan had few people to be proud of. Now so many, a whole string of men of integrity [...]

Na koi khwab na saheli thi Us muhabbat mein main akeli thi Ishq mein tum kahan ke sache the Jo aziyyat thi, ham ne jheli thi Yaad ab kuchh nahin raha lekin Ek darya tha ya haweli thi Jis ne uljha ke rakh diya dil ko Woh muhabbat thi ya paheli thi Main zara si [...]

Raza Rumi’s post on Ramzan was published by ATP on October 9. Reproduced below are some of the comments on the post relating to emphasis on rituals, mathematical count of sawab and washing away of sins: Shueyb Gandapur says: October 10th, 2007 9:56 am Of course, too much emphasis on rituals, and too little attention to character and [...]

For quite some time, the feeling kept haunting me that the time for Qurratulain Hyder’s departure was imminent. Finally, the sad day came and she left us for good. Despite the impossibility of circumstances, I had a great desire to meet her some day, while she was a living legend. I have my old-time friend, Fuzzle, [...]

Mere azizon tamam dukh hai Hayat dukh hai, mamaat dukh hai Yeh sari mohoom o be-nishan kayenat dukh hai Wajood dukh hai Wajood ki yeh namood dukh hai Yeh hona dukh hai Na hona dukh hai Judai to khair aap dukh hai Milaap dukh hai Ke milne wale judai ki raat mein mile hain Yeh [...]