Adil Najam

News from Pakistan (at least the television variety) is always full of protests. Everyone seems to be forever protesting about something or the other. But the protests flashing on the screens right now do seem qualitatively different.

Guess who is protesting right now: businessmen, doctors and academics.

Adil Najam

On the first death anniversary of Benazir Bhutto we had carried a post asking “What if she had not been killed?” Today, on the 22nd death anniversary of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto (ZAB) it may be a good time to ask the same question about him.

On previous anniversaries of ZAB’s death we have asked you to comment on Mr. Bhutto and his legacy and about the rationale and reasoning given for his death by his nemesis, Gen. Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. This time let us think a little about what his death meant for Pakistan – and, thereby, for all the rest of us.

Adil Najam

For the fifth time in as many days, a bomb ravaged through Pakistan killing innocent Pakistanis. Muslims killing other Muslims they considered less Muslim than themselves. This time the target was the shrine of 13th century Sufi saint Sakhi Sarwar in District Dera Ghazi Khan. This time more than 40 were killed. That number is likely to rise.

This was, once again, a target killing of a Sufi shrine. As so many times before, this time the victims of this heinous murder were devotees at a Sufi Shrine. As so many times before, this time the murder was committed by a mere child (reportedly 15-16 year old and reportedly now in custody amongst the wounded). A child who is himself a victim in so many ways. A child who grew up in displacement and got the idea instilled and cemented into his mind that the short-cut to heaven was to blow other Muslims up!