by Waseem Altaf Since the Muslims of the South Asian sub-continent were divided into ethnic, linguistic, cultural, provincial and class lines, the only thread available to the makers of the state of Pakistan was religion which was used to form the basis of a separate national identity. To further strengthen the role of Islamic nationalism, the “Objectives Resolution” was adopted …

Prime Minister Imran Khan in interviews to TRT, a Turkish channel, and ‘Middle East Eye’ said that his government was in talks with TTP.

Pervez Hoodbhoy WHAT did Afghan kids study after Mullah Omar’s Taliban were ousted in 2001? What was their school curriculum and, most importantly, how does it differ from PTI’s controversial Single National Curriculum (SNC)? When the Taliban government permitted boy-schools to reopen last week, these questions somehow popped into my mind. Quick answers were unavailable because the Afghan ministry of …

The Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, marked on August 15, has prompted a sequence of pushbacks on the rights and regular movements of citizens, especially women who, as they anticipated, are facing multiple threats to political representation, education and public work.

The euphemism of “collateral damage” encompassed bombing raids and cruise missile assassination strikes that killed civilians, meaning women and girls as well as men and boys. Berry quotes one critic of the war who argued that the alleged concern for women put a “feminist glow on some of the most brutal bombings.

In places where the Afghan defence forces and the local uprising forces stood against the Taliban, not only did the Taliban fail to gain any territory, but its forces were also thoroughly defeated.

The tradition of using microphones for calling to prayers in mosques started in 1930s. While many Muslim scholars were at first skeptical of its use on theological grounds, it established itself firmly as a sophisticated method in call for prayers and religious summons in mosques all over the world.

Hazara community in mourning but defiant after more than 60 people killed in school bomb blasts by Stefanie Glinski in Kabul Women gather to mourn the victims – mostly girls – of a series of explosions outside Sayed Al-Shuhada school in Kabul’s Hazara district. Photo: The Guardian Latifa and Hosnia had been sharing a wooden bench in their classroom at …

by Aasim Sajjad Akhtar When Mashal Khan was brutally lynched four years ago, the Tehrik-e-Labbaik-Pakistan (TLP) was still a relatively new and unknown force. As we remember Mashal today, the TLP has dramatically become Pakistan’s most powerful Islamist group, with unmatched mobilizational capacity. TLP activists block roads in various cities of Punjab, Sindh and KP to protest the detention of …

In an open letter, writers, academics, artists, journalists, lawyers, political and social workers have urged PM Imran Khan to take notice of a smear campaign and court orders asking police to file cases against women rights activists and organisers of the Aurat Azadi March. The smear campaign used deliberately doctored footage and misrepresented images to insinuate that the organisers and participants of the march raised slogans and displayed banners purportedly with ‘blasphemous’ content.

Press Release Islamabad: The organisers of the Aurat Azadi March (women liberation march) Islamabad chapter has expressed dismay at the order issued by a Peshawar session court. The sessions court judge on Friday directed the Peshawar Cantonment police to file an FIR under Section 22A of the CrPC against organisers and participants of ‘Aurat March’ held on 8th March 2021 …

High Asia Herald Report Journalists, politicians, academics, intellectuals and rights activists have expressed solidarity with the organisers of Aurat Azadi March (AAM) and have condemned the smear campaign by obscurantist rightwing groups and trolls. The Aurat March was held in several cities of Pakistan to commemorate International Women’s Day on 8th March. A joint statement signed by over 1,000 leading …

Political parties and lawyers have expressed their resolve to fight for the freedom of the press, expression guaranteed in the Constitution. They called for an end to muffling of the freedom of media and expression, repressive censorship, press advice, retrenchments of journalists and media workers, payment of salaries, the abolition of the unjust and discriminatory advertisement policy of the federal government and implementation of the 8th Wage Board Award.

By Asim Sajjad Akhtar BALOCHISTAN bleeds again. Yet another episode of gruesome brutality against Hazaras — coal miners no less — has brought yet another protest movement into existence. Yesterday it was the death of a Baloch daughter of the soil on foreign shores, tomorrow it will be a Pashtun man falling prey to the Taliban or their makers. Khurram …

 by Naveed Toshi The handsome and smart woke up late in the evening to meet the producer of Diriliş: Ertuğrul, the popular Turkish television series on the glory of the Ottoman Empire. IK was reportedly full of praise for the drama because it has depicted how Turkish Muslims made history by creating an empire fighting Mongols, Christian Byzantines and the …