It was, perhaps, the toughest moment for President Musharraf when he went on national television last month to announce his decision to outlaw five Islamic militant groups.  The move, in the midst of Indian threats of war and increasing pressure from the United States to crack down on terrorism.......                                                            
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General Pervez Musharraf has replaced the political constituency he inherited from General Zia-ul-Haq with a new one, and apparently decided to restructure the state along somewhat liberal lines as opposed to theocratic formulations promoted in past decades.........
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Two men from Moradabad (UP, India) recently went to an airport in New Delhi to receive a guest.  While waiting for the visitor they started exchanging views on their daily concerns and used the word masail  in their conversation in Urdu.  The hyper-sensitive cops present there concluded that they were talking of missiles.........
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The algebra of war and jingoism is strange.  The war chatterers, who view the heroism of guns and missiles from a safe distance on glossy television sets or follow events on the internet, are the ones who support war as a manifestation of the strength and pride of a nation.......
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With the dawn of the 90s, the shalwar took a backseat as Pakistani designers experimented with their new-found replacement: ‘trousers.’  In began with a straight pyjama-like silhouette which moved into higher-cut tapered pants and finally culminated in the more inventive capri pants..........
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In the Frontier, where purdah is seen as a part of one’s code of honour, the entry of Pushtun women in the public arena of politics in a large number has, indeed, been a revolutionary move.  The allocation of 33 per cent seats for women under the devolution plan is a symbolic........
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