By Anwaar Hussain Can WE hear it? The rumble in the distance? It is getting closer. Perhaps every one can hear it now. The rumble in the distance, my friends, is that of the advance of the hordes. They are descending from the mountains. And they bring with them tidings from an ancient past long [...]

By Zafar Hilaly South Asian experts from over half a dozen institutions in the US, when asked about Pakistan’s prospects in confronting the Taliban challenge, gave a huge thumbs down. Our own pundit in residence, the much travelled and deservedly famous Ahmed Rasheed, is even more pessimistic in his candid moments. If then one were [...]

By Anwaar Hussain Alice fell straight down the rabbit hole. Suddenly she landed on a heap of sticks and dry leaves and the fall was over. She saw a Talib running in front of her through a long labyrinthine passage. It looked like some underground cave system. Alice started to follow the Talib. He appeared [...]

By Ejaz Haider* Apropos the faith -reviving video from Swat: let me congratulate, not necessarily in the same order, various people — Mr Imran Khan, the Jama’at-e Islami leadership, Lt-Gen Hameed Napoleon Gul, the ANP government in the NWFP, the majority of Urdu-language columnists, some English ones who write poetic prose, and yes, tv anchors [...]