Articles and letters may be edited for the purposes of clarity and space. They are published in good faith with a view to enlightening all the stakeholders. However, the contents of these writings may not necessarily match the views of the newspaper.
Dissolution through talks
The scorched-earth brand of politics by Mr Khan, ever since he responded to the vote of no-confidence against him by mass resignations by PTI MNAs, seems to be coming unstuck. National Assembly Speaker disclosed that those MNAs who had resigned had not yet vacated the Parliamentary Lodges, and they still used their memberships to apply for foreign visas. Apart from the PTI’s problems with the MNAs’ resignations, the party’s MPAs in KP and Punjab do not seem to have responded enthusiastically to Imran Khan’s announcement that he would dissolve the Punjab and KP Assemblies.
Imran Khan has tried two Long Marches, a series of public rallies and has even appealed to the Establishment to intervene, so as to get early elections, all without success. Now all that is left is for him, like Samson, to pull all down upon him, no matter what the cost.
The back channel that seems to have developed between President Arif Alvi and Ishaq Dar needs conversion into Imran Khan taking more ownership of talks, with his being ready to talk. That might require him to give up his narrative of his opponents being thieves and dacoits, but that remains the only possible, but not guaranteed, path to fresh elections. The PTI’s leader should also realize that time is against him.
The closer the date for elections at full term comes, the less sense will his demand for a premature dissolution make. Even his supporters may well feel that waiting a couple of months is an option. If Imran Khan does not get a dissolution very soon, he will find that he is not going to get one at all. The only path of an early dissolution is through talks, and that will only be possible if he gets off his uncontrolled running horse and talks to his opponents.
QAZI JAMSHED SIDDIQUI
Lahore
Fly Jinnah!
Fly Jinnah offers you the opportunity to only pay for the baggage you need. You can select checked baggage weight while booking or modifying your flight (23 Kg, 30 Kg or 46 Kg) with ‘no limitation on the number of pieces.’
Fly Jinnah offers you a generous free hand baggage allowance of 10 Kg”. The above message downloaded from the airline’s site on Google clearly states “there is no limit on the number of pieces” against the baggage weight booked at the time of booking of the ticket. But, on the contrary, on the ticket it mentions “1 piece” only. It is profoundly confusing for the passengers.
If the airline has changed its baggage policy, it should remove the obsolete information from its site and upload the latest information with the revised baggage policy. Will the top management of Fly Jinnah please take immediate cognizance of the matter, and rectify the discrepancy?
M FAZAL ELAHI
Islamabad
Sufism: Practical definition
Why are sufis (Islamic saints) depicted as super human creature? Why are they shown cut off from normal life? Actually this view of sufism is contrary to the Islamic code of life and the holy life of the Holy Prophet (Khatamun Nabiyeen SAWW).
Islam is a practical religion that enjoins upon its followers to live in this world without nurturing materialistic world within themselves. The fourth caliph of Islam and the fountainhead of sufism Hazrat Ali (A.S) defines piety (Taqwa) as to tread through a thorny path without the robe being hitched and torn.
On the contrary, in the modern version of sufism, the sufis are depicted as super human creatures. They are shown cut off from normal life. This view of sufism is contrary to Islamic code of life and the holy life of the Last Prophet.
The model of life we see in the holy life of our prophet and that of his companions is vibrant and dynamic. They didn’t become recluse, rather they accomplished all their canonical and worldly obligations observing the golden mean. The second caliph of Islam Hazrat Umer (RA) rebuked a person who remained in the masjid for long asking him whether he hadn’t any work to do.
M NADEEM NADIR
Kasur, Punjab
Blameworthy Bollywood
Bollywood is known to be a huge part of South Asian culture. Many people grow up viewing these films, unaware of the psychological damage they can cause. Bollywood has recurring themes in most of their popular films. The “romance” films continuously show a “handsome” lead who falls in love with a random girl he sees passing by, he harasses her till she finally falls in love with him and they dance their way to a happily ever after.
A culture of stalking and harassing women has become commonplace. India, the birthplace of Bollywood, is literally the world’s worst country to be a woman. In 2021, the statistics show a woman was attacked every 6 minutes in India. Young men view that the heroines in these films do not face legal penalty, which gives them the notion that committing such heinous crimes against women is okay.
Viewing such entertainment is Haram. The Almighty has not put us on this earth to waste time watching films. The distracting music and provocative scenes promote degeneracy. Abu Rayhanah reported: The Holy Prophet SAW said, “The Hellfire is forbidden for the eye weeping from the fear of the Creator. The Hellfire is forbidden for the eye vigilant in the way of the Almighty. The Hellfire is forbidden for the eye that lowers its gaze from what the Almighty has forbidden.”
The youth is ruining their potential by wasting hours in front of the screen looking at impermissible content. The society at large is suffering and the rising crime rates are not disconnected. As Muslims, we really need to think twice about what we’re viewing and what we are allowing our kids to consume. The repercussions of being negligent in this regard is not minuscule.
NOOR BUTT
Rawalpindi
