The Denial

Moazzam Husain in his column in Sunday’s Dawn:

‘WAITING in line to drive through an army checkpoint on the leafy Shami Road of Lahore garrison, my driver hesitatingly utters: “Sir, can I ask you a question?” “Yes sure,” I tell him. “This is all a game isn’t it…. Ultimately they want to take away our nuclear weapons … don’t they sir?”

With military operations under way in Dir, Buner and Swat and the question coming from a retired infantry soldier who is now employed as my driver I assume the “they” means the Taliban, the troublemakers, the Islamists, the militants, the rebels or some such. Still, to be sure I ask: who wants to take them away? “Why, the Americans, the Jews, the Indians of course. After all they are the ones funding the Taliban!” he exclaims.’

Now I’ve Seen Everything

Watch the New York Times coverage of two Pakistani brothers who have been manufacturing bondage- and fetish-wear, selling it to Americans, and making over a million dollars a year. The segment is entitled A Pakistani Underworld and states:

Despite a threat from Islamists, two Pakistani brothers stealthily manufacture fetish and bondage wear, earning more than $1 million a year from their Western customers.

Could Pakistan be more schizophrenic?