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Iqbal and reconstruction of religious thought In Islam إقبال والتعمير في الفكر الديني في الإسلام

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Nineteenth century was very critical for Islam and Islamic theology. Islamic theology had remained static for centuries. It evolved up to first three century and then became static, particularly after sack of Baghdad in 1258 A.D. Sack of Baghdad was a critical moment for the Islamic world. It delivered severe blow not only to the Abbasid Caliphate but also to Islamic thought. In fact the decline had begun from 11th century itself. The Muslim power was weakening and sense of security was lost. For flowering of a civilisation and culture, peace and stability is very essential. 


It is true that other Muslim empires did come into existence after fall of Baghdad and those empires like Fatimid and Safavid empires on one had and regional empires like the Moghul Empire, on the other. These empires were also great empires and provided stability and peace for several centuries. Yet, the Abbasid Empire, for various reasons, had become in the words of Toyenbee, a ‘universal state’ of Islam. Its decline had great psychological impact on the minds of Muslims. Many scholars maintain that the gates of ijtihad (intellectual assertion) were closed after the fall of the Abbasid Empire.

The stagnation in theological thinking continued until the beginning of the colonial period in various Islamic countries including India. India, though not an Islamic country, was under the Muslim (Moghul) rule until 1857. The colonial rule gave a great jolt to Muslim thinkers in most of the colonised world. Jamaluddin Afghani, Muhammad Abduh, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and several others were product of this crisis situation in the Muslim world. The mainstream theology, however, continued unchanged. But some major thinkers emerged in all these countries who realised the significance of re-thinking theological issues.

It is important to note that the external situation has great effect on the thinking of human mind. The external challenges create new responses and increased challenges create greater response and it is creative minority, which creatively responds to the external challenges. And it is creative intellectuals in these Muslim countries who responded to the external challenge posed by the colonial rule. From India those who responded to the British colonial challenge were, among others, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, Dr. Mohammad Iqbal, Maulavi Chiragh Ali, Maulavi Mumtaz Ali Khan and several others.

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, Maulavi Chiragh Ali and Maulavi Mumtaz Ali Khan were brilliant thinkers and Islamic scholars. They chose to respond to the crisis in Muslim society created by the colonial rule and wrote on related topics. Their contributions to Islamic thought in India were quite seminal. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan also began to write a new commentary on the holy Qur’an but could not complete due to storm of opposition from the orthodox theologians. His priority was to spread modern education among Muslims. But Maulavi Chiragh Ali and others continued their campaign for re-thinking issues and responding to new challenges. This was their priority.
Dr. Iqbal came later on the scene. He too had an opportunity for both traditional and modern education. Iqbal was product of intense crisis period in modern Indian history, particularly the crisis Muslims in India were facing. The Indian Muslim elite had lost political power and now had to compete with the Hindu elite for government jobs and elected offices. In addition to loss of power they were nursing minority complex as well. Thus they were suffering from double challenge – loss of power and minority status.

Iqbal was acutely aware of this situation and was quite sensitive. On top of all this the Muslims in India felt great shock at the fall of Turkish Khilafat after the First World War. The Khilafat movement became a big issue in Indian freedom movement as well. It was after fall of Turkish Empire that Iqbal wrote his moving poem Khizr-e-Rah. And it was during this period of intense crisis that Iqbal developed the concept of khudi i.e. self. This concept of self was meant to overcome the sense of deprivation among the Muslim elite and give them sense of self esteem and generate power-consciousness among them. Iqbal admires power precisely because the Muslim elite was suffering from the feeling of powerlessness. 
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The chirping birds flying from the Presidency



With a PPP coalition with the dying and discredited PML-Q now almost ready for a takeoff, the brilliance, or some say bankruptcy, of PPP politics has now been fully exposed, if there still was any doubt in any mind.

The largest party of the country, which has a creditable record of struggles and sacrifices for democracy, has lost its political direction, has shown very little ability to govern but has displayed an unmatched capacity to blackmail and survive. Practically the party is hostage to the whims and machinations of one person with a twisted and troubled mind with a bagful of tricks.

Whatever ZA Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto and many stalwarts fought, believed and meant by democracy, certainly does not match up with what their party has shown by its actions. The current PPP has proved that its definition of democracy means absolutely no scruples, no principles, no respect for any institution or any democratic tradition, no larger political vision except bulldozing and blackmailing individuals and institutions, cheating political allies and friends in self-interest, buying or bullying opponents, browbeating those who cannot retaliate and surrendering to those who can hit back.

The underlying and prime objective of the party has shifted from the larger goals of democracy, a clean and sustainable polity aimed at bringing betterment and prosperity for the impoverished people, to survival of the present gang of leaders, saving their illegal assets and properties at home and abroad, making as much gains as possible through indiscriminate and almost daredevil loot and plunder for everybody at the helm.

To make this possible, the party’s gung-ho leaders have devised the strategy of using provincial cards, personal threats, confronting and browbeating every institution that threatens them, launching deception plans, diverting attention from critical issues to non-issues, wasting time of the nation and the people and keep hanging on to power, by hook or by crook.

Though government officials deny, people talk about, right or wrong, that all its major political and economic initiatives have one thing in common —- the lucrative prospect of commissions and kickbacks of millions and billions, whether it is the money-wasting Benazir Income Support Programme, rental or offshore power projects, stuffing thousands of PPP workers in collapsing and dying state-run corporations, signing hundreds of MOUs with Chinese companies or appointments of cronies to key posts in the financial and corporate sector like the NBP, ODGC, PSO, petroleum ministry, PIA, Pakistan Steel Mills and dozens more.

All postings, transfers and appointments in the government-controlled institutions have been with one single purpose - to protect the past and present criminal conduct of the leaders. Thus the FIA, NAB, HEC, police, intelligence agencies (barring those which are not under their thumb and can hit back if tinkered with) have been manipulated not to perform their normal work, but to do the opposite.

These policies and appointments come from one source of power, the Presidency, which has found a very cooperative and accommodating sidekick in the Prime Minister House, who signs on the dotted line and on the side has consolidated and improved his and his family’s gains with initiatives of a lesser kind, lucrative nevertheless.

On the political side the aim is clear —- we must stay in power, no matter if we have to sleep with the devil, share the house with rogues or shun any friend or foe. There has to be no second thought if in the perverted deals our immediate and short-term interests are protected, even for a few days.

What then the PPP has not done in the last three years is to take care of the State and national interests on the larger canvas of political, security, economic and strategic decision-making and governance. What it has done is to surrender these important national policies to the security establishment with the thought that if there were failures, they would be to blame, not us.

In practice political sovereignty, or parliamentary upper hand for some, has been given up knowing that it was beyond its capacity to handle.

For a time the security establishment was happy with the arrangement as it stabilised the country with politicians in the front, apparently in control, but the main strings being pulled from behind the scene. The hope was that the political class will improve its performance, would learn some lessons and with time it will take charge. That did not happen but things galloped in the opposite direction.

People say though officials deny that the PPP led the pack and thinking that the present tenure may be cut at any time, shouted “wolf” at every moving shadow and made a sprint towards money making, right or wrong, with friends, jail mates, personal providers, even house servants unleashed to run state organisations and make hay as long as the sun shone. The Opposition too could not grasp the reality or stop the PPP.

Three years thus passed and now every one is realising that the country and the state has been the biggest loser and these runaway robberies have to be stopped. The economy has gone for a six, out of the ground, nay the stadium. Even a military takeover cannot bring it back on its feet.

In this scenario and faced with the blackmail of JUI and MQM and no longer a free lunch offered by the PML-N, the PPP has quickly invented a new definition for the PML-Q, from “Qaatil league” (Killer’s party) to “they are not guilty, Musharraf was” and big carrots are being offered to get it on board before the budget.

On its part the Chaudhrys of Q-League have got the chance of their life. They have never been a political party but a bunch of individuals assembled by Musharraf under a party name. When he was gone the party disintegrated, with some still undecided where to go, as they had nowhere to go.

Now that corruption cases have caught up with their mainstream leadership, Moonis Elahi being the poster boy, the desperate Gujratis need a safe haven and what better place to hide than the Federal Government, with a prospect of toppling PML-N in Punjab as well. They will grab even half the carrot at double the price being asked by the PPP.

But once the budget is passed, what kind of minced meat the PPP will make of the Gujratis can only be guessed. The case of MQM vs Zulfikar Mirza is a good example. There are many Mirzas in Punjab to take care of Gujrat if there is need to keep them under the thumb.

How the security establishment is looking at all this is interesting. Many chirping birds are flying in every TV talk show these days disclosing what is happening. These birds don’t fly abroad but some informed people tell us the establishment is not creating another IJI with MQM, Imran Khan, JUI and some Q-leaguers and the birds spreading these rumours are flying direct to the TV houses from the Presidency to scare Mian Nawaz Sharif and others.

What is deplorable is how some of the more respected media persons have started pushing the agenda of the corrupt and the discredited by raising these bogeys.

As the opposition led by Nawaz Sharif has no plan or vision to stop this rot, the key responsibility comes back on the shoulders of the establishment. But where does it stand and what will it do is a big question.

But those who know say that they will ensure that an independent Election Commission is set up, a free and strong judiciary stays on course and its judgments are implemented, the corrupt are punished and disqualified and a free election is held under a genuinely neutral and fair caretaker administration, sooner or at its time.

Then the chips may fall where they may. No one should be scared of these scarecrows sitting in talk shows.

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Radical Fatigue


There’s a theory: Whenever an extreme finds itself cornered and desperate, it becomes even more extreme, almost to the point of being nihilistic. Consequently, such an extreme starts facing a paradox. The brighter it burns or the louder it crackles, the quicker it starts to consume itself, until it is no more.

In other words, a heightened state of extremism becomes its own reason of fall and demise. This kind of a destructive and violent burnout is common with extremist political and religious organisations. They either consume themselves in their own fires of violent bigotry and intolerance, or to avoid such a burnout, they modify and soften their stance and find ways to join the mainstream.

Of course, in the process of burning out in the flames of their own nihilism, they do manage to inflict some serious material, human and psychological damage around them. And this is what we are witnessing today as far as Pakistan and the many extremist organisations that plague it are concerned.

The violent sectarian and Islamist outfits that have for so long unleashed unprecedented levels of havoc and bloodshed on the state, government and the people, now seem to be entering that nihilistic burnout phase.

This phase, extremely violent and indiscriminating in its desperation and vengeance against the people and the security apparatus alike, could have started a lot earlier if some misguided elements in the military had not pampered the extremists in pursuance of their rather delusional ‘strategic goals’.

As the state and the military now seem to be admitting (albeit grudgingly) the uncontrollable nature of the beast they had helped feed and grow, the beast is attempting to feed on the sympathetic bits on offer from another source of patronage and support: i.e. the political-religious and right wing parties and organisations.

It is true that compared to the beast’s erstwhile keepers in the now more cautious security agencies and the state, the other forces are negligible.

But lately these loud tiny tots have found support in the privately-owned electronic media. There is no great revelation in the already obvious suggestion that much of this media is vehemently right wing in its orientation. It’s not just about the media sounding populist and reactionary due to certain cynical economic and ratings-friendly reasons, there is much more to it.

Simply put, many of Pakistan’s news channels have a wall-to-wall covering of some of the most rabid right wing journalists in their midst. And it’s a colourful mix. Some have had direct participatory pasts with right wing outfits such as the Jamat-i-Islami and Hizb-i-Tahrir; some with certain shadowy intelligence organisations; some with both; and last but not least, there is now a growing number of ‘modern’ looking folks on TV who seem to have no clue about the complexities of politics.

To cover their incompetence many loudly mouth off incoherent, conspiratorial babble on politics, Islam, national honour, etc. Thus many news channels have become havens for tiny right wing tots who have continued to attempt attracting public sympathy for the extremists’ cause with their aggressive apologetic tirades and anti-America sloganeering. Nevertheless, these tiny tots and the way they are given a face by the largely right wing electronic media are not going to stop the beast’s nihilistic burnout. And this is because Pakistanis on the whole, and at least in this context, have begun to experience radical fatigue.

The way the Raymond Davis episode burst in the faces of the rightist TV anchors, who were clearly being maneuvered by those who wanted concessions from the CIA, and the way every rally and strike called by a leadership seeking popular approval on the issue fizzled out, was indeed revealing.

Fatigue and disillusionment are setting in. While so much radical hype does the rounds in the media about revolution, national honour, anti-Americanism, corruption and what not, every time the results of this maniacal hype on the ground is an anti-climax. This is simply because such animated hype has little or nothing to do with reality.

With the lack of ground support, all the tiny tots in politics and their media allies who are going on and on about their delusions have become unintentional parodies of themselves and silly caricatures of empty rhetoric.

Entertaining, but far from ‘revolutionary’. The state’s and the military’s growing weariness of the extremist beast and the fatigue setting among the public about empty sloganeering are positive developments.

However, though this may one day find the beast consumed by its own hatred and fire, one should keep a watchful eye on exactly how the media-proliferated right wing rhetoric over the years has affected society’s mindset. It is this mindset that will dictate Pakistan’s future: whether we will become a stable, democratic, progressive and tolerant people or continue to be consumed into oblivion by our own delusions about greatness and national honour.
Smokers’ Corner: "Radical fatigue" by Nadeem F. Paracha 


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A portrait of Pakistan

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Does Pakistan, at this time, inspire some hope or utter dejection? And how can we be rational and objective in making our own assessment of the prevailing reality? 

My own experience is that in spite of the ceaseless pounding of the electronic news media on our senses, even the fairly educated are mostly ignorant of some basic facts that relate to our major predicaments. Nor do they have any great respect for logical reasoning. Yet, they are generally very passionate in presenting their own perspective on the country and its problems. 

Whenever I have an opportunity to speak to a class in a higher education institute, I ask them to do an exercise: paint a portrait of Pakistan with facts and figures that you think are the most important and then make your own analysis to try to figure out what, in your opinion, is happening to this country and where it is going. 

My purpose, essentially, is to make them think - a task that mostly seems forbidding in our society. Yes, there are always a few students in every large class who are well-informed and smart. But a majority of them makes you seriously apprehensive about the future of this country. The level of intellectual degradation that I detect during such encounters is mind-boggling. 

Anyhow, as I struggle to engage them in a discussion on current affairs, I begin with some simple observations. Pakistan, for instance, is the sixth largest country in the world in terms of population. It is one of the seven countries that have proclaimed nuclear capability. Another high ranking that we have, among the top 10, is the size of our standing army. 

After this, one has to fathom the lower depths of our existence. The questions to be posed are obvious. What, for instance, is our ranking in the UNDP’s Human Development Index? What is our rate of literacy? What percentage of our population has access to safe drinking water, electricity and medical care? Where do we stand in the context of infant mortality? How do we compare in these areas with other countries of the region, with the countries in sub-Saharan Africa? 

Yes, I also underline the need for identifying factors that are positive and encourage a measure of confidence in the future of the country. We do have individuals who have made their mark on the world’s stage, including students. There has recently been a focus on Pakistani writers who write in English. A number of our painters have done astonishing work. We are celebrating Faiz in this centennial year of his birth and it is always a joy to realise that we had a poet such as Faiz in our midst. We surely have something to celebrate in the midst of this onslaught of gloom. 

My argument is that a concerned and educated citizen should draw his or her own portrait of Pakistan on the basis of hard facts and relevant information. In addition, one must also have a fair appreciation of Pakistan’s historical experience and its social, political and economic implications. In fact, compiling a fact sheet on Pakistan should be the first step in a conscious endeavour to understand the present drift of the nation and to be able to decide what role one must play to join the struggle for Pakistan’s survival. 

I think it is important for all of us to take sides and have opinions that are founded on a careful analysis of the entire situation. In this respect, it would be vital to engage in serious discussions in a setting in which the interlocutors are willing to be patient in assessing the contrary point of view. Unfortunately, an enabling environment for such debates is simply not available because of religious extremism and the intolerance that prevails at various levels. 

Our talk shows, for instance, are usually devoid of any civilised and reasoned dialogue. Even more discouraging is the fact that rational debate is hardly possible on our campuses, in spite of any contribution that HEC may have made to improve the quality of our higher education. I am aware of one incredible incident when some students of a department of the University of Karachi became enraged when their teacher began to elaborate the meaning and significance of Reformation and Renaissance with reference to the evolution of modern Europe. They alleged that this was a subterfuge to promote secular ideas. 

So what do you do to raise the level of public discourse in this intellectual wilderness? One piece of advice that I have for students with whom I am sometimes able to interact is they should at least read newspapers and become aware of not just the political statements that are recycled on the outer pages but also look at comments that are made by national and international commentators. We do sometimes feel inhibited about expressing our thoughts in a candid manner and this discretion tends to enhance the significance of assessments made by foreign publications and institutions. 

As I write these words on Saturday, this morning’s newspapers are on my table. One major headline relates to the annual human rights report of the US State Department. About Pakistan, it says that “a failure to credibly investigate allegations, impose disciplinary or accountability measures, and consistently prosecute those responsible for abuses contributed to a culture of impunity.” The report has identified extra-judicial killings, disappearances and torture as major human rights violations in Pakistan. 

I would also like to refer to a rather detailed report on Pakistan that The Economist had carried last week. Its title: “A great deal of ruin in a nation.” It said that Pakistan “is not a country for those of a nervous disposition.” With reference to increasing incidents of terrorism and displays of fundamentalist religious and anti-Western feeling in the country, the respected news weekly makes this thought-provoking observation: “All this might be expected in Somalia or Yemen, but not in a country of great sophistication which boasts an elite educated at Oxbridge and the Ivy League, which produces brilliant novelists, artists and scientists, and is armed with nuclear weapons.”

This, essentially, is the enigma of Pakistan. It has nurtured primitive passions as well as impressive expressions of creativity and enterprise. At times, it seems that the forces of extremism and intolerance are gaining ground. Still, there is some potential for democratic development that is occasionally manifested in the resilience of our civil society organisations. 

If there are two Pakistans, which one would you like to defend? As I said, it has become necessary to take sides. But this choice has to be made in the light of what one knows about the country and its social and political evolution. I recall the comment of an Arab women’s-rights activist: “The goal is to liberate the minds of our people”.
Ghazi Salahudin: ghazi_salahuddin@hotmail .com
http://thenews.jang.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=40931&Cat=9
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A revolution for Pakistan?

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Jasmines are about to blossom in Islamabad, but is there any possibility of a Jasmine revolution in Pakistan? Such a revolution began in Tunisia, it arrived in Egypt and then spread to several other Arab countries with mixed success. Can Pakistan be on its itinerary?

The Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions depended on the resilience of the civil society and youth against terrible odds. The ambiguity inherent in the term ‘civil society’ notwithstanding, there is a broad base of educated people in Pakistan and hence this component is similar to the Egyptian and Tunisian situation. This segment of Pakistani society has already demonstrated its ability to bring about change in the past, most notably in the case of the restoration of the chief justice and departure of the last military dictator. So, can it bring about change again?

The Tunisian and Egyptian demonstrations started due to high unemployment, soaring prices of food items, corruption, poor living conditions, and the lack of freedom of speech; all but the last are present in Pakistan. The protests in Tunisia and Egypt were not led by any recognised political leadership; in Pakistan there are too many leaders. So, is it the presence of these tried and failed leaders which is preventing a Jasmine revolution in Pakistan? Or is it the absence of a clear-cut agenda of change? If the latter were the case, one can easily construct an agenda.

A Jasmine revolution in Pakistan can begin on the basis of the surrender of the country’s sovereignty by the rulers. This needs no proof – even an upstart like David Cameron can cause a near total shutdown of the city when he arrives. Far less important people have caused the entire security apparatus of the country to be surrendered to foreigners; that should be enough proof and if it were not sufficient then the mid-night release of a double murderer and CIA operative, and continuous drone attacks should be enough cause for a civil society revolt against the existing system. 

In addition, the continuously rising prices of essential items, high unemployment, and poverty provide enough reasons to hope for the emergence of waves of protest by the middle class and educated youth.

All of these conditions have been present for some time and one would expect that any local group can utilise them to ignite the initial spark. The fact that this has not happened so far is rather difficult to explain; the only explanation one can think of is a great sense of doom and despair that exists throughout the country.

Wherever two Pakistanis are sitting, there is endless talk about the dismal state of the country, the corruption and incompetence of its politicians, and the unending intrigues and political drama, but there is never a spark of hope. Perhaps, it is this lack of hope that has hampered the Jasmine revolution, but then, Egypt was worse in this respect. There, two whole generations had grown up without hope. So, was it the intensity of their hopelessness that made change possible? Are Pakistanis not sufficiently engulfed in darkness?

Revolutionaries must be clear about what they want. Let there be a charter of minimum, non-negotiable demands with the top item being regaining sovereignty. It should be written in bold letters: Henceforth, all drone attacks will be responded to in kind. 

Furthermore, all CIA operatives must leave the country within 36 hours. All politicians must declare their wealth to the public within 24 hours and whatever is not declared should become public property and whatever is declared should be scrutinised by an independent commission. 

In addition, there should be a list of basic national problems for which solutions must be found within a reasonable time by an independent council of experts who should have the power to implement solutions. On top of the list will be the energy crisis, which has been blamed on corruption, poor planning, lack of resources and just about everything else. However, there are ways to estimate demand for gas and electricity and all that the country needs is a transparent and fast track procedure to meet this demand. 

It will cost money, but money is not the problem here; the problem is sheer incompetence and corruption. It has been claimed that if Pakistan were to replace its old grid wires, there will be enough electricity to meet our needs. And it has also been said that if Pakistan’s rulers were to stop their extravagance, there will be enough money to overhaul this grid system.

In Egypt and Tunisia, Jasmine revolutions had strong technological components: the internet and various social networking platforms. These platforms were needed because of extreme political suppression; in Pakistan these are likely to play a secondary role in the presence of relatively free news media. 

Those who started the Egyptian and Tunisian revolutions were just small youth groups; in Pakistan these can easily come into existence through existing mechanisms and hence, objective analysis indicates that the time is just right for a Jasmine revolution in Pakistan. 
Pakistan has an abundance of educated youth. These young men and women have great ideas and plans for a different kind of society. All that this new generation lacks at this point is the initial ray of hope; someone just needs to provide them that initial spark of hope and there will blossom a spirit of change.
By Dr Muzaffar Iqbal, a freelance columnist.Email: quantumnotes@gmail.com
http://thenews.jang.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=40546&Cat=9
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  • Why Nayyar need not worry: Zafar Hilaly: Kuldip Nayyar, the eminent Indian journalist and tireless protagonist for better India-Pakistan relations, told an audience in Islamabad the other day that peace between the two countries was vital. Otherwise, he added, “I feel Pakistan will move ...
  • White man’s burden, again? Amir Zia : The flawed and twisted concept of “white man’s burden” was once used by imperial European nations as a justification to vanquish and rule the non-white people in the name of “progress and civilisation” in far-flung regions. This Western-centric. ...... The colonial era is no more, but the false moral justifications to launch new wars have not changed in this age of neo-colonialism. The white man’s burden of yesteryears of carrying the cross in the name of progress and civilisation has now been replaced by the mantra of teaching virtues of democracy, freedom and human rights to the peoples of Africa, Asia and Latin America – through direct or indirect cold-blooded military interventions... The swift manner in which Security Council went into action on Libya stands in contrast to many other bigger conflicts on which the world body has been dragging its feet decade after decade. Israeli atrocities on Palestinians, especially in Gaza, in recent years, the continued Indian subjugation and repression of the people of Kashmir are two of the protracted conflicts on which the Security Council chose to play a limited role, despite all the killings and human rights abuses. ............ The Libyan conflict also remains a bad news for moderate and pro-democracy forces, which are fighting against the tide of extremism and militancy in countries such as Pakistan. They stand weakened as the west continues to interfere and interrupt in the natural evolution of Muslim societies – most of which remain unprepared for the Western-style democracy because of their particular social, economic, political and religious background. ....... It is high time for the Western nations to come out of their mindset of “white man’s burden,” which can only intensify conflicts in this day and age of powerful individuals, who have the ability and capacity to take on the world powers and keep the pot on the boil. The rulers and the elite of majority of the Muslim countries may be in the pocket of the Western powers, but not the Muslim street. It will react and strike back. ....Full Story
  • Fault lines Raoof Hasan : Pakistan has been lacerating with gaping fault lines ever since its inception. These scars, over time, have become deep wounds because of two factors. First, their continuation served the interests of the traditional ruling elite who did not (and do not) favour any fundamental change. Second, if ever there was a remedy prescribed, it was never administered because of pre-emptive derailment. Today, Pakistan is like a patient gasping for breath and in urgent need of multiple surgeries, but there is no physician available who appears capable and willing to initiate the needful procedures. ........ The spectre of corruption is all-pervasive. The allegations, even embarrassing findings by the judiciary, have been handled with arrogance and impunity. No genuine remedial steps have been undertaken to contain the damage. Instead, the propensity to show defiance in preference to compliance has been crudely on display. This has contributed to further strengthening the criminal mafias, patronised by key members of the ruling elite, which are holding the government hostage to their whims, fancies and self-righteous practices..................... Of late, a new dimension has been added to this woeful picture. Political leaderships, hailing from a broad spectrum of backgrounds, have come up with divergent recipes for combating the country’s ills. ..........  In short, the moral, legal and constitutional edifice of the state has suffered a total collapse. The legislature has defected. The toothless government survives in defiance of the judiciary. Law and order has touched an all-time low. Political leaderships are clueless as to the problems of the country and are proposing a divergent mix of remedies, mostly at odds with each other. There is an abdominal absence of the requisite democratic culture. With energies consumed, spirit exhausted, frustrations mounting and time fast running out, is there still a way out?
  • The crusaders are back. ....... Are we at the beginning of a grand reconfiguration of the entire region? Are we at the beginning of a new world order in which Europe will claim its share of Muslim world along with the United States of America? If yes, then who is next? Syria is the obvious choice, as Yemen is too poor and too remote and all the other countries are already client states. .......... Imagine a new Middle East under western control, with all its oil and riches serving the masters. Imagine the fate of some one billion Muslims whose lives will be reconfigured in a manner they cannot even imagine. And the irony of this situation is countries like Pakistan, which can really play a role in stopping these new crusaders, are mired in an endless drama of no consequence.........
  • Turkey reluctantly joins mly campaign against Libya
·        China pushes ahead Pakistan nuclear plant expansion: “Safety is also a major concern...reactors at Chashma...are derived from designs dating back to the 1970s."
·        Bahrain spillover to spread to Pakistan? : The Shia-Sunni tensions in Bahrain are couched in a wider Saudi Arabia-Iran struggle for influence in the ME.

Pakistan posts - World Watch - CBS News: 
 ... Extra reporting, analysis and more from CBS foreign desks across the globe. Read all 'Pakistan' posts on World Watch.  www.cbsnews.com

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Pakistan, Leadership Crisis :

Did Jinnah, a civilized and urbane man if he was anything, create Pakistan so that these humbugs, supported by our friends in the military – let us never forget this crucial nexus – should preach right and wrong to us? ..... Our highest temples should have been raised to education and science, art and invention, sports and culture. We should have justified Partition by outperforming the rest of the sub-continent.... Full story >>>
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