Pakistan’s moment

The turmoil in Pakistan has received a lot of attention. Rashtriya Sahara in its editorial...

The turmoil in Pakistan has received a lot of attention. Rashtriya Sahara in its editorial dated November 5 entitled ‘Musharraf ka baukhlahat bhara kadam’ (Musharraf’s panic-laden step), writes that the general has to face “intense opposition from the judiciary, press, political parties and most of all, the people of Pakistan. For reining in the terrorists, democratic power would have been more effective than the army. It is difficult to say whether the government would be successful in curbing extreme religious elements in the present situation.” National Herald’s Qaumi Awaaz on November 7 in an editorial entitled, ‘Musharraf ki mushkilaat’ says, “the political and economic developments in the sub-continent are going to be affected by the situation in Pakistan.” It pleads that “all neighbouring countries, including India and parties of different countries must put pressure on Pakistan to end Emergency immediately and restore democracy — and to allow trade and economic activities to flourish.”

Jamaat-e-Islami’s bi-weekly Daawat writes on November 7 that, “behind the shield of Islamic terrorism, a demonstration of dictatorship will not go down well. The people of Pakistan have to find a permanent solution to this problem.” Delhi, Lucknow, Dehradun and Mumbai daily Sahafat on November 7 says, “it is possible that Emergency is just a shield, with the US forces getting a free run to deal with ‘terror’ so that people don’t even find out about what the US is doing.” Striking a different note, Kolkata and Delhi daily, Akhbar-e-Mashriq, says on November 6, “Musharraf has found a way of being strong, and in power with devotion.

He has carved out a path for the next five years.” The paper writes that, “it is crucial that a large body of people are satisfied with general Musharraf as he has given them internal peace and prosperity. The people are fed up of the jihadi elements.”

Tehelka’s sting

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In the aftermath of the sting operation on Gujarat, on October 27 Rashtriya Sahara says, “the revelation prompts us to ask if we are living in a civilised human society or in a jungle inhabited by cannibals?” Daawat on November 1 has condemned “the involvement of the Gujarat government in killing of Muslims and including the government machinery in the process.” According to it, what is “most disturbing is that the government influenced the state’s courts as well.”

Reacting strongly to the Tehelka sting, Akhbar-e-Mashriq has raised the question in an editorial dated November 2: “why don’t Sonia and Manmohan open their mouth? Inse acche to Lalu Yadav hain — Lalu is better than them — he has at least called for the arrest of Narendra Modi.”

The generally volatile weekly Nasheman from Bangalore on November 4 writes, “people want to know what action is taken against Gujarat culprits by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressing sympathy with Muslims and shedding tears on injustices against them and Congress president Sonia Gandhi.” Jadeed Khabar from Delhi (October 27) writes, “the participation of Narendra Modi and his team in the killing and destruction in Gujarat was so obvious, that no one was surprised by what was shown on TV.”

Register your marriage

This court ruling has generally been criticised by Muslim leaders as they say Muslim clerics maintain a register of nikaahs performed. But Akhbar-e-Mashriq on October 27 urges cooperation.

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It writes, “we give our details during the time of the census and while getting the election identity cards, then why fight shy of recording details of an important duty like marriage, especially as the registration process is not going to interfere in any way with the marriage or faith?”

Islamic rock

The latest issue of Delhi’s weekly Nai Duniya records the meteoric rise of a rock star, a young Muslim, Sami Yusuf, who combines “Egyptian and Western elements and conveys the message of Islam in a very contemporary paradigm — with praise of God, creation and spiritual identity”. Sami was widely acclaimed when on October 21, he sang at Wembley in London in a concert for peace in Darfur.

Bahraich faces new ‘wolf attacks’: 4 children mauled, 16 injured this month

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As many as four children have been killed and 16 injured in wild animal attacks, suspected to be wolves, in Uttar Pradesh’s Bahraich district this month — a chilling reminder of similar incidents that haunted the region last year. The body of one of the children is still missing. All those injured are adults, except for one child.

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