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Respect Muharram
Muharram is the first month of Islamic calendar and a month full of sacrifices and lessons. The first Muharram is the martyrdom of Hazrat Umar (R.A), the second caliph of Islam, for whom our Prophet (pbuh) once quoted “If there were a prophet after me, it would be Umar”. After first Muharram the innumerable sacrifices of Hazrat Imam Hussain (R.A) and his family in the epicentre of Karabala begins. He laid down his everything but did not leave the right path even though it was so bumpy.
Every human in the world including and excluding Muslims laments the sorrow of the grandchild of Prophet (pbuh) It is not compulsory to be a Sunni or Shia to feel the pain for the martyrs of Karbal but one must possess humanity. The incident of Karbala gives the lesson of being steadfast and not to relinquish before the cruel despite bearing many atrocities. Unfortunately, rather than spreading the beautiful message of Karbala, many people have indulged themselves into sectarian arguments on social media. A person from one sect is trying to grill another person from different sect. The sacrifices by Imam Hussain (R.A) are to unite us not split us. We must avoid arguing on useless things and should spread message of being pious by great scholar of Islam Imam Hussain (RA).
AWAIS GOPANG
Sukkur
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Muharram is one of the most significant festivals celebrated by the Muslim community in India as it marks the beginning of the Islamic New Year. It is the first month of the Islamic calendar and the second holiest of the four sacred months in a year in Islam, the first being Ramazan.
Muharram observance starts after the sighting of the new moon on Islamic calendar’s last day and continue for ten days. The tenth day of Muharram, called the day of Ashura, is of most significance for different Muslim factions for various reasons.
JUBEL D’CRUZ
Mumbai, India
PM’s urgent intervention requested
Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) Islamabad is the only national level institution of its kind for preservation and promotion of art. Lately, it has been in troubled waters with interested parties playing their dirty games covertly and overtly. PNCA has a rich art treasure of paintings of noted artists in its Permanent Collection over the decades.
PNCA Permanent Collection includes 10 paintings of internationally reputed artist Anwar Jalal Shemza who had expired in January 1985. After almost 35 years of his demise, during which there were no claims by his heirs or others, an attempt is now being made with the connivance of the official quarters concerned to hand Shemza’s paintings worth millions of dollars in the international market to his so-called heirs. This amounts to virtually looting the national art treasure and depriving PNCA of some of its precious paintings in its Permanent Collection for decades together.
Prime Minister Imran Khan’s urgent intervention is requested in this matter which unfortunately involves some vested interests including the owner of an art gallery in Lahore. Once the paintings are handed over to the so-called heirs of Anwar Jalal Shemza, who were hiding somewhere for all these years, then it will be very impossible and difficult to recover these from their possession. The PM is requested to intervene immediately and save the national art treasure being so looted by the so-called heirs of prominent artist Anwar Jalal Shemza and save PNCA from being deprived of so many paintings out of its Permanent Collection.
OSAMA BIN ASIM
Rawalpindi
Revamping curriculum
Curriculum plays key role in grooming the intellectual level and creativity among students. Right curriculum and perfect content refer to the highest level of knowledge. The word curriculum means “a race “or “the course of race “. The meaning illustrates the competition of modernisation and globalization. But unfortunately we have miserably failed to understand its meaning deeply. In Pakistan, the curriculum is of old times.
The content of school books is so ancient that the same content was studied and learnt by sons, fathers and even grandfathers. The developing nations have gone far away in the way of progress and technology and we are so busy that a minute of attention for revamping curriculum and pedagogy is heavy on our shoulders. It’s all set to play havoc on the future of young generation. Relevant authorities ought to take steps to modernise the curriculum so that young minds may grow.
ZUBAIR AHMED RIND
Jacobabad
UAE-Israel deal
Apropos to the peace deal between Israel and the UAE announced on 13 August. Israel and the UAE had reached a historic deal that would lead to a full normalization of diplomatic relations between the two Middle Eastern nations in an agreement that US President Donald Trump helped broker.
But for those aware of happenings in the Middle East, the relationship between Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi had been blossoming behind the scenes for many years. Palestinians protested against deal, seeing it as a betrayal of their cause by a major player in Arab world, which has broadly held that normal ties with Israel are only possible once its dispute with Palestinians is resolved. However, Prime Minister Imran Khan had categorically rejected any possibility that Pakistan could establish relations with Israel after it signed a historic deal with the UAE to normalize bilateral relations.
The Premier had said that accepting the State of Israel is equivalent to giving up Pakistan’s stance on Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). In this context, Palestine Embassy thanked Premier Khan for such a strong response and appreciates every individual of Pakistan, including political parties, media, civil society, who is observing solidarity with Palestine in any possible way.
AFIA AMBREEN
Rawalpindi
