Offended by a veiled woman holding a bra?
I have been asked to comment on this picture by the blog editor of The Express Tribune, probably because the last time I blogged about the niqab, I took a controversial stance that earned me hundreds of comments, at least a thousand “likes” and retweets on Facebook and Twitter, and the ire of several dozen internet trolls who branded me as the blogger who “supports nudity”. Rather than provoke an equal amount of ire this time, I decided to do things a little differently: I posted the picture on my Twitter account and asked people what they thought about it. Given the ...
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Religion or science: That is not the question
The argument begins with this question: why should science and religion be kept separate? The answer depends on what you believe; however, let me present my case in favour of the separation of science and religion. Science is the study of nature and how it functions. The beauty of science is that when a theory is presented, scientists of that field do not immediately agree with the theoretical claims. Rather, they put the theory to intensive criticism and tests. In many cases, the theories are disproved on the basis of counter evidence or errors that are deduced. If the ...
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A modest ‘proposal’
The reaction that one expects after having written an explosive story on the gay and lesbian community in Pakistan is threatening warnings and murderous calls. All I got however, apart from that usual list of fiery comments on the article, was a very interesting email suggesting a ‘match’ for me (replete with a bio-data and picture akin to a rishta service). I honestly don’t know what to make of it especially since the email that was sent to me with this ‘proposal’ of sorts several months after my story was published.The fact that it coincides with my recent change in ...
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Pakistan vs England: A history of controversies
As every doosra and teesra out of Saeed Ajmal’s hand passed the incapable strokes of perplexed Englishmen, the smell of a potential controversy got stronger with every wicket in the fully packed media center of an otherwise empty cricket stadium in Dubai. Staying completely loyal to their predecessors, the British journalists and media men triggered another controversy by questioning the bowling action of Pakistan’s new Spin King, and the wisdom behind his selection of attire that consisted of a full sleeved T-Shirt. Rumors have it that if England lose the first Test in Dubai, Ajmal’s action might come under an even sterner media ...
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Khan v Peterson: The saga continues
The drama that unfolded after Amir Khan’s controversial defeat to Lamont Peterson, which resulted in the Briton losing his WBA and IBF light-welterweight titles to the American, just refuses to die down. Over the past month we have witnessed a string of accusations ranging from biased refereeing to a ‘mystery man’ tampering with the judges’ scorecard emerging from the Khan camp. Khan had initially started out by blaming referee Joe Cooper of unfairly deducting two points off him for pushing Peterson and had immediately demanded a rematch, along with appealing against the decision to the IBA and the WBF. However, it is ...
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Pakistan cricket, soaring through the ranks
It wasn’t a very long time ago that words such as ‘stability’, ‘consistency’ and ‘Pakistan’ were never used in the same sentence. However, since the spot-fixing trial, it seems that the Pakistan players and the incumbents at the board have finally grown out of their primitive mind set and realised what needs to be done. The emphasis displayed on consistency in selection and backing of players has been crucial to Pakistan’s success in the one dayers and Test matches. And, of course, the fear of real jail time and extended bans seems to have worked in favour of Pakistan. Pakistan now sits comfortably ...
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Misbah-ul-Haq saved Pakistan cricket
Whitewashing Zimbabwe is not a great indicator of any cricket team’s progress. And while Bangladesh’s latest annihilation on their tour to Zimbabwe aptly marketed the home team’s marquee return to international cricket, it also spoke volumes of Bangladesh cricket’s perennial decline. They played such habitually mediocre cricket, that gauging any sign of improvement in Zimbabwe’s first post-hiatus display was almost impossible. There is no doubting the abundance in talent, with the likes of Sibanda, Taylor, Taibu and Vitori in the ranks, Zimbabwe has the makings of a quality cricket side. However, can Pakistan afford to over hype their recent successes against them? Historically, ...
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A long wait for Aasia Bibi
She has already suffered a lot but it looks like a longer, more painful and tiresome journey lies ahead for her. Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman sent to the gallows by a district court in central Punjab last year for committing blasphemy, will have to wait for several years before the Lahore High Court (LHC) takes up her application, seeking review of the lower judiciary’s verdict. Lawyers associated with the case have indicated that it is unlikely that the LHC would take up any time soon the review petition in arguably the most ‘controversial’ case in the country’s recent legal ...
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Criticism of Ajmal’s action: Cause for needless controversy
The recent test series between West Indies and Pakistan, which ended in a 1-1 draw, confirmed Pakistan’s strong bowling lineup and the batting weakness of both the teams. It was one of those rare series in which the Green Shirts relied more on their spinners than the pacers and they returned handsome rewards. West Indian batsmen were simply clueless against the wiles of Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman and Muhammad Hafeez. Ajmal took 17 wickets in all and was deservedly named man of the series but the comments of some of the West Indian greats of the past left a sour taste ...
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The Rahat fiasco: Sacrificing freedom to safeguard what?
After singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan’s recent India fiasco, our interior ministry came up with an order binding artistes to obtain a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for travelling to foreign countries. The order does not seem to achieve any objectives and only slaps severe restrictions on the artiste fraternity. Local artistes, showcase their talent in foreign countries and help promote the culture of Pakistan this become a means of raising awareness about the values and traditions of our society the world over. In Rahat Fateh Ali Khan’s case, India proceeded to take action against him under its law simply because he ...
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