When anti-Shia religious extremists kill people in the streets, why does it seem like everyone is afraid of secularism these days? From the Chief Justice to Syed Munawar Hassan, it seems that "secularism" has become the latest fad in bogeys. But what's so scary about secularism?

This business of the Supreme Court taking it upon themselves to overrule the people's elected representatives in parliament is really getting ridiculous. Now, having failed to fix the match, the Supreme Court appears to be trying a little spot-fixing of its own.

by K. Ashraf

Pakistan does not need a revolution. What Pakistan needs is Democratic Socialism.

The magic phrase about any successful system is: Confidence.  The confidence in a system comes from equitability, justice and sustainability. Rest of it is just detail, the details of the system, the way the implementers of the system implement it.

Ayaz Amir hits the nail on the head last week in his column for The News, "Fresh takes on patriotism". Amir is annoyed with MQM chief Altaf's recent outbursts about martial law, of course, and flays them with the sharp wit that he has come to be known for, taking no mercy on Altaf's own political opportunism and turning a blind eye to corruption when it served his own purposes.

Mohsin Hamid's column in Dawn today is thought provoking. With people talking about who is giving more aid, who is giving less, and what it's going to take to keep the country from falling backwards after years of war and now this devastating flood, there is one question that everyone keeps missing: Who is responsible for Pakistan's future?

"The Diary of Noreen Begum" is a series from the blog Chai Chutney Politics. A woman of formidable fashion, she is married to Major General Assad Akhter, and recounts her daily life as a member of Lahore's elite.

Too much has happened this past week, I just do not know if I can take it. I had despaired of my 22-year old Mona ever marrying. She was getting too old for suitable rishtas. Assad and I kept trying and found potentials – a couple of them were very good, but she rejected them all. One was a doctor living in the United States! His salary was great, so we could forget we hate Americans. Anyway, he was very impressive. Another was an engineer who came from such a good family in Islamabad – such good people, you know Journal, they have donated much to the flood victims. Ohh that story I cannot bear to watch on tv for too long. Hamid Mir knows that we are very sensitive. He obliges by spending most of his airtime blasting the government. Honestly, what are Zardari and Gilani doing to stop the water? Nothing, that’s what.

Militants are very good at two things only: Killing people and public relations. But for all the publicity that extremists are getting for taking part in flood relief, they are actually doing very little. Compared to the work being done by the government and military, the partnerships with the international community, and the work being done by everyday people - extremists are doing practically nothing. So why does it seem like every time you open a newspaper or turn on the TV, there is some story about JuD or some other jihadi group doing some relief work?

UK newspaper The Telegraph has been on an anti-Pakistan tear for the past few weeks. First, a column by their reporter Dean Nelson accused President Zardari of misusing funds for earthquake relief, a claim that was thoroughly debunked by the website Pakistan Media Watch. Today, the newspaper publishes an article by Con Coughlin calling for a coup! Why is this British newspaper so intent on attacking our government?

Whatever possessed Altaf Hussain to make statements supporting a martial law, his comments are short-sighted and ill-conceived. In fact, Altaf gets the whole thing backwards. If we're going to make progress in eliminative corruption, the only way to do so is to let the democratic process work.

Raza Rumi's column in today's Express Tribune should never need to be written. A tragedy of the proportions we are facing is a time to put aside petty differences and work to heal our wounds and move our nation forward. But this flood is doing more than washing away our crops, our infrastructure, even our people. It is washing away that layer of social blindness that hides from us our true selves. Like the famous portrait of Dorian Gray, we are finally faced with the truth. So how are we responding?

This old story about diplomatic visas for the US is like a stomach ache that just won’t go away. It follows a pretty typical pattern, though – Ahmed Quraishi invents some conspiracy theory, it gets repeated by The Nation, then The News, then it just starts floating around the internet message boards. Let’s see if we can find a cure, though, and get rid of this stomach ache before it gets worse.

by Sana Ali

Diplomats and development experts have long anticipated the upcoming Sochi Summit. The recent politicization of President Zardari’s foreign trips threatens to derail this vital meeting of the Presidents of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Russia where comprehensive projects are on the main agenda. One thing is clear: cooler heads must prevail and President Zardari’s attendance at this Summit must be regarded as an important step in securing Pakistan’s future.

The UN has rated the flood disaster as the greatest humanitarian crisis. So how are the nations of the world responding? We looked at the facts last week to determine which nations were helping and which were suddenly missing in Pakistan's time of need. Today we present an updated chart based on the latest available data.

The UN has rated the flood disaster as the greatest humanitarian crisis. So how are the nations of the world responding? The facts are pretty interesting.

Pakistan is suffering. Unprecedented destruction from floods destroy our countryside. Bands of murderers killing innocent people under a false claim of religion. And a media and middle class that seem to be outraged about everything except what is causing so much suffering.