Exactly what the nature of the state is today - as opposed to what was envisaged by Jinnah, argues the country's liberal intelligentsia - was made very clear by General Musharraf when he recently addressed members of the electronic media: "Pakistan is an ideological state; it is not a secular state. It is the Islamic Republic of Pakistan." .............detail

British-bornAhmed Omar Saeed Shaikh, convicted for the kidnap-slaying of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, has admitted to having met Bin Laden twice in Afghanistan, but says he is more committed to the one-eyed Taliban spiritual supremo, Mulla Omar, whom he considers "the overall leader of all mujahideen.".........detail

Camp X Ray at Guantánamo Bay is, perhaps, the most mysterious, tightly secured prison with multiple satellite surveillance systems. This top secret detention centre houses the inhabitants of some 40 odd countries from six continents. The detainees have not been charge-sheeted for their crimes, and a list of their names and nationalities has yet to be made public. .......detail

Q: Do the Geneva Conventions apply to the situation prevailing in the South Waziristan agency of Pakistan, where the army is engaged in a full-scale military operation?

A: International humanitarian law or the laws of war are equally binding on all parties to a conflict, no matter who they are - whether government functionaries or non-state armed groups..........detail

Casual kurtis are now standard fare around the globe. But there's little that's standard about the treatment they are given at the hands of designer Sanya Muneer. Worn over the ubiquitous jeans, Sanya's kurtis are belted jacket-kameezes, gossamer fine embroidered evening wear creations and Chinese cheongsam-style summerwear coats............detail

 Q: You organised the first ever Muslim Friday prayer service of a mixed congregation led by a female Imam, Dr Amina Wadud, at Synod House at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, an Episcopal church in Manhattan. Why was a church chosen for this historic occasion?

A: When the art gallery had to back out because of fears of a bomb threat, I searched the city for an alternative venue..............detail