Jan 1, 2002
From Beyond September 11: An Anthology of Dissent (Pluto Press). I was visiting New York when the news of the massacre of 15 Christians in Bahawalpur flashed up on CNN. It was a brief item, included in an update on the war, and all that the casual viewer would know was that ‘Islamic fundamentalists’ had… Read more
Oct 1, 2001
Indian Express, 1 October 2001 The fearful events of recent weeks have brought to mind an extraordinary cricket match I was once privileged to witness in a rural hamlet some miles outside Quetta in Pakistan. A wicket had been marked out on a dry, pebbly flat, and a boundary demarcated with little red and yellow… Read more
Sep 28, 2001
Media Workers Against the War, 28 September 2001 I’m thinking today of a remarkable man I met not long ago in Quetta, a city in western Pakistan, a few hours drive from the border with Afghanistan. He was a devout and observant Sunni Muslim. He was also a community activist, who had helped establish women’s… Read more
Feb 2, 2000
Aaj Kay Naam, February 2000 On a rural road in southern Punjab I saw an official government sign sporting a curious message. “My Dear Countrymen, Army will never disappoint you like the past.” It was signed: Pervez Musharraf. Musharraf is the military dictator of Pakistan who, in Blairite-style, has rebranded himself as the country’s “Chief… Read more
May 27, 1999
Daily Telegraph, 27 May 1999 Pakistan may have come to the boil at just the right time. After a poor run in 1998, they have looked invincible since Wasim Akram was reinstated as captain in January. Anyone who has watched their three wins in the World Cup must have been impressed by their depth of… Read more
