December 2011

What the Arab Spring and the Occupy Wall Street movement have in common Is Zuccotti Park the next Tahrir Square? For weeks, people have been asking me if the protests taking place in lower Manhattan and around the U.S. were similar to those I covered in Egypt during the Arab Spring. After a visit to the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations, …

The need of time is to promote coordination and coexistence of different civilisations and to reject/condemn theories of confrontation . Since the emergence of Islam in 7th Century, the West has adopted a biased and hostile attitude towards Islam and the Muslims on account of ethnic, religious, social and political prejudice and malice. The West, mainly comprising Christians, initially termed …

December is the 12th and last month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of seven months with the length of 31 days. December starts on the same day as September every year and ends on the same day as April every year. In Latin, decem means “ten”. December was also the tenth month in the …

1- PLAY A TRICK Someone has played a trick on him. (i.e. deceived him or gave  him a surprise.) 2- PLAY THE INNOCENT The accused tried to play the innocent in the court. (i.e. tried to pretend to be innocent.) 3- PLAY DEAF I complained about his son but he played deaf. (i.e. pretended not to hear anything.) 4- PLAY …

NATIONAL AFFAIRS Gilani renews talks offer to ‘angry Baloch leaders’: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani renewed his offer of dialogue to ‘angry’ Baloch leaders and said he was even ready to go to their doorstep to listen to their grievances. 6,000 Baloch recruits join Pakistan Army: The Pakistan Army inducted, after training, 6000 Baloch recruits in a passing out ceremony. …

The detection of the individual use of performance-enhancing drugs is more straightforward than that of collective match-fixing and spot-fixing, which is why the trial of the Pakistani trio and their agent, Mazhar Majeed, is such a rare example of its type, and so important at a time when modern communications enable gambling interests to extend their tentacles ever further. The …

The aim of the bill is to reduce social injustice against women by discouraging several practices and customs in vogue in the country which are not only against human dignity, but also in contrast with Islamic injunctions. Whenever came to power Pakistan Peoples Party has been striving, through a number of ways to protect the rights of minorities, children and …

Now, once again the migratory birds are in the air. Big bill boards have appeared along the highways. Captain!  Hold on. Don’t be carried away by the huge gathering at Minar’ Pakistan. Some people are comparing it with 1940 and some with 1986. ‘Change is in the offing’ some pundits are predicting. Mind you, it’s autumn in this part of …

Will Imran be able to transform into reality his agenda of change, with all his personal charisma and enormous support of the country’s youth? ‘Change is not coming! It has already come’ These were the words with which the PTI Chairman Imran Khan concluded his address to the mammoth crowd of his enthusiastic supporters, who had rallied around him under the …

the pipeline would pump 33 billion cubic meters (bcm) a year from the South Iolotan field in Turkmenistan to Fazilka in India, crossing 735km of Afghan territory, then 800km in Pakistan. On paper, it’s one of the sweetest gas deals there is. At one end, the world’s second largest gas field; at the other, 1.2 billion people demanding clean energy, …