By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn
A FRIEND who runs a school for children from modest-income families tells me that very often she has fathers coming to her with a request she found strange when she was first confronted with it.
They wanted to withdraw their sons from school for a year. When she probed into this unusual favour they sought, she was told that the boy was to be admitted to a madressah for a year.
Continue reading Education and bigotry
By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn
EDUCATION in Pakistan has again come under the spotlight. In a report released by the Brookings Institution in Washington recently, two staffers, Rebecca Winthrop and Corinne Graff, have investigated the role of madressahs and the school system in Pakistan in fuelling militancy in the country.
Continue reading Militancy and education
By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn
WHEN I landed in Toronto two weeks ago I was told that the city was in the grip of summit fever. Canada was to play host to two international conferences back to back — the G8 and G20.
Last weekend these conferences were held amid much brouhaha. The media was in a frenzy, raising all kinds of questions. Was it wise to hold such a summit in downtown Toronto, when such meetings traditionally act as a magnet for protesters? Was such a massive attendance warranted — the number had swollen to 34 as some leaders were invited as observers only to be seen, not heard? Was the price tag on security — a hefty $1.1bn — justified?
Continue reading Canada’s summit experience
By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn
PAKISTAN`S nuclear programme is once again under fire. This time the legality of its deal with China for two nuclear reactors ostensibly for civilian purposes is being questioned.
The US has demanded an explanation from Beijing and has asked for details of the accord it concluded with Islamabad three months ago. It wants to be sure that China is not violating the international obligations it undertook when it joined the 46-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). The NSG is a regulatory body to oversee trade in nuclear fuel and technology to ensure that material for civilian energy is not used for manufacturing weapons.
Continue reading The Chashma deal
By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn
BP (or Beyond Petroleum as British Petroleum branded itself after its merger with Amoco in 2000) has been in the news practically every day in the British and American media since April when its Deep-water Horizon rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico killing 11 people.
Since then a massive amount of oil is being spilled into the sea making it one of the worst ecological disasters of its kind in the world.
Continue reading Ecological disasters