ASHRAF JEHANGIR QAZI

We have suffered the ignominy of four military coups. The fifth coup has taken place with the unanimous consent of members of the national parliament present and voting. Constitutional cover has been provided to this parliamentary betrayal of the Constitution. Parliamentary licence to amend the Constitution has prevailed over respect for the basic structure of the Constitution. Has an elected parliament the right to treat the Constitution and the country with contempt? Does the constitutionally elected executive have the right to gift its constitutional responsibilities to the military? Special military courts are a very dangerous option. The risks of irreversible miscarriage of justice are significant. There will be a category of Pakistanis who will not “deserve the same rights and safeguards as normal citizens”. They will be categorised as ‘jet-black’ before they are brought to trial. They will be denied due process. There will be no presumption of innocence. They are to be executed, according to the prime minister, within 20 days of being brought to trial. There will be no appeals to appellate courts.The presiding military officer will be judge and juror.

Western media keep using Charlie Hebdo attack to fan propaganda about the 'Islamification' of Europe.

SHARIF NASHASHIBI

Media coverage of the Paris shootings is typical of previous incidents involving Islam and free speech in the West. Much of it has veered between the misleading, sensationalist and absurd - such as a "terrorism expert" on Fox News branding Birmingham a "Muslim-only city". Journalists have jumped on the "Je Suis Charlie" bandwagon. Many would never condone Charlie Hebdo's content, so why self-identify with the magazine? One can condemn the murder of its staff without embracing what it stands for.The media seems reluctant to investigate the causes of radicalism that lead to such attacks, as if doing so implies justification.

 AYAZ AMIR Criticism is useless and it should be kept on hold. The dialogue process with the Taliban is firmly in the hands of fundos and open or covert sympathisers of the Taliban. To Rahimullah, our respected

 AHMED QURAISHI During the last days of the Bush administration, many of civilian and military aides to Bush concluded that Kashmir was key to resolving the mess in Afghanistan. One reason for this was the behavior of

A New doctrine was conveniently propounded by the chief minister of Jammu & Kashmir Omar Abdullah on Nov 17: “It is impossible to eradicate corruption in a coalition government.” Mark the word “impossible”.

M.J. Akbar

If by any mistake Democrats had publicised widely why I, if perchance an American citizen, would have voted for Barack Obama, his tight victory might just have become that much more tense.Nothing that Obama did, and he did more than he is given credit for, matched, as far as West and South Asia are concerned, the one thing he refused to do: go to war with Iran under pressure from hawks in Washington and hunter-falcons in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.  His cool deflection of

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BASHARAT HUSSAIN QIZILBASH

How Indians imagine Pakistan|Even after six decades, the idea of Pakistan continues to elicit new expositions particularly from across the border in India. No matter whether an Indian is a liberal, religious conservative or a diehard nationalist; the creation of Pakistan remains an enigma. Instead of delving in the ocean of historical sources to understand the rationale behind partition, the Indians cherry-pick evidence to construct grotesque narratives just to debunk Pakistan.Much more weird is the metamorphic nature of these narratives that are weaved just to fit in the political trends in flux at a certain point in time. One can discern at least three major planks in this regard. First, the birth of

MADHU PURNIMA KISHWAR

The venom and aggression with which Congress leaders are responding to a simple question first regarding Mrs Sonia Gandhi and now regarding Mr Robert Vadra proves yet again, if any proof were required, that Congressmen and women are convinced there is a lot to hide. The venom and aggression with which Congress leaders are responding to a simple question being asked first regarding the foreign travels of Mrs Sonia Gandhi and now regarding the magical expansion in the business empire of Mr Robert Vadra proves yet again, if any proof were required, that Congressmen and women are convinced there is a lot to hide.

SHAMSHAD AHMAD

  In recent years, we do seem to have had a conspicuous increase in the number of women in our political institutions but showcasing the presence of a few ancestrally privileged and heavily painted females with designer outfits in our cabinets or legislative chambers is neither gender-mainstreaming nor empowering of women. They only magnify the class divide aggravating the already acute sense of socio-economic despair and deprivation. Their presence in assemblies, conspicuous only through their expensive jewellery, designer outfits and fashion accessories is of no value to our women’s causes.

DR MALEEHA LODHI

The joint statement issued after the recent meeting between the foreign ministers of Pakistan and India was long on words and short on substance. It expressed the two ministers’ “satisfaction on the holding of meetings” rather than report progress on the disputes that divide the two countries. This is because the mélange of bilateral interactions over the past year has not driven any outcomes on the contentious issues that comprise the eight-point agenda.Notwithstanding S. M. Krishna’s terse and Hina Rabbani Khar’srambling remarks, the bonhomie on display at the joint press conference reflected

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IQBAL HAIDER

And Talibanization of our society It is an undeniable fact that not a single Pakistani, Iraqi or Afghani participated in the dastardly attack on Twin Towers and Pentagon on 9/11. But strangely, the U.S chose to attack Afghanistan, Iraq and made Pakistan scapegoat by once again assigning it the role of frontline state in its “war on terrorism”. Consequently, Pakistan has suffered incalculable destruction of an unprecedented magnitude. Unlike the Western countries, the people and Armed Forces of Pakistan are continuously facing such terrorist attacks virtually every day in