Notes in Anguish

Among practicing Jews, the most prominent are those with long locks spilling out of their black hats, raising slogans in favour of the Palestinians. These are the Orthodox [Haredi] Jews. The position taken by their arch enemies [ the Zionist Jews of Israel] with regard to state policy, largely defines the ideological force driving the… →

It was believed by the Jews and also by the U.S. and the European Powers who helped to divert Jewish immigration towards Palestine, that the establishment of the State of Israel would finally bring the two-thousand-year-old Jewish trauma to its end. Of course, none of these powers admitted that it was they and the Christian… →

Over the last couple of weeks, our valiant soldiers bearing arms in defense of Pakistan, have given yet more blood so that we, the citizens, shall not have to do so. With the passage of time, such incidents are on the rise. And this was expected and prophesied. When a high command absconds from its… →

In the June 1967 Arab Israeli War the Israelis captured the Sinai and the Golan Heights from Egypt and Syria respectively, and evicted the Egyptians from the Gaza Strip, and the Jordanians from East Jerusalem and the West Bank territories and occupied them. Immediately after this they began establishing Israeli settlements in the occupied territories… →

Within a year of the Balfour Declaration WWI came to an end, and Jewish immigration into Palestine became much faster. And as it grew so did the alarm among the indigenous Arab population of Palestine who clearly saw that the demographic character of Palestine was being changed by this immigration which would inevitably lead to… →

The Jews were retrieved from their world of darkness, insecurity, and random violence to a large extent by Napoleon Bonaparte. His legislation brought an end to most of the discriminatory laws against them, and got them out of the ghetto, both in France and in the states he conquered. Though, after his defeat, many states… →

The roots of this genocide were planted a very long time ago and are embedded in the Jewish belief that they were the chosen people. Though initially this belief was cultivated among them to keep up the spirit of a weak community battling great odds, with the passage of time and ever greater hardships it… →

Qazi Faez Isa, we are told, often walks to the Court, eschewing a car ride. This must be good for his health. And in a convoluted, indirect sort of way, it must be good for all of us too, because our Chief Justice has a routine which improves his health on a daily basis. But… →

I often come across a citizen of an unfriendly neighboring country in the town library. We exchange pleasantries and a bit of conversation. The last time I met him he asked me how it was that Afghanistan gave us a drubbing in the cricket world cup. Earlier he had asked me how was it that… →

So, what is the state of Pakistan’s dilapidation today? Even a peripheral but honest survey should reveal the following: How could this country, born of so many noble aspirations, have fallen on the dung heap of unrelieved depravity so fast? How could its elite and its army have sold the country out so brazenly in… →

Of all oaths taken there is none more sacred than one taken by a general, nor that taken by a judge. If the oath of a general holds its sanctity against violation, the external borders of the state stand secure. And if a judge honours his oath, he ensures the inner security of the state.… →

On Oct 7 when Hamas launched a most meticulously planned and executed attack on southern Israel, they did it defeating a most sophisticated and well-guarded prison fence. The success of this operation stunned the world, benumbed the Israelis, and left them reeling. Most observers conceded that this operation was nothing short of a miracle, and… →