On Cafe Pyala’s misrepresentations on Dr. Zulfiqar Mirza
A pyala (bowl) void of integrity and transparency?
Related posts: In support of Dr. Zulfiqar Mirza: Stop one-sided operation in Lyari
President Zardari, no further reconciliation with MQM! – by Dilshad Chandio
Editor’s Note: It is disappointing to see Cafe Pyala’s ambiguous and personal attacks on Dr. Zulfiqar Mirza of PPP. After yesterday’s press conference, Dr. Zulfiqar Mirza has become a hero on the Karachi streets for not mincing any words and even being critical of members of his own party for not taking the right steps to quell the violence and terrorism that has engulfed Karachi.
When cross posting the following article from Pakistan Blogzine, we don’t necessarily agree with all the points being raised. However, one thing has become very clear and this has been highlighted in the post: Cafe Pyala has emerged as a strong advocate for MQM and should be transparent about this.
In the last two months, one simply has to see their public twitter feeds to come to the obvious conclusion of Cafe Pyala’s one-sided support for MQM. There is nothing wrong with that and they should be open about this.
While all political parties have criminal elements at their fringes, MQM is a criminal organization which has been provided a political face. Equating them with ANP, PPP or Sunni Tehreek is simply dishonest. None of these organizations have made fascist statements that explicitly position Karachi as the domain of one ethnic group that should dominate the others.
Dr. Zulfiqar Mirza has a legitimate point that the ongoing operation in Karachi must not be limited to Lyari alone and therefore target the PPP. Even Cafe Pyala admits that MQM has the most organized militia; shouldn’t there also be similar operations in MQM’s middle and upper-middle class strongholds or are these operations limited to the “badboodar” poor localities of Karachi neglected by the “middle class” , “educated” MQM walla gentry!
In presenting Zulfiqar Mirza’s public exposure of MQM as an ISI-motivated ruse, Cafe Pyala has made its stance very clear. Unlike the backstabbings of fake civil society types like Aitzaz Ahsan, Sherry Rehman or Shah Mahmood Qureishi, Zulfiqar’s cri de coeur for Karachi is not a betrayal of the PPP but a principled stance to expose the party most responsible for Karachi’s violence.
We are also bemused to see the strange comparison between NAB allegations on President Zardari and the confessional statements of Ajmal Pahari. Once again to equate the two is laughable and points to an obvious bias. Many of the allegations against Zardari, that were first manufactured on the office stationary of Saif ur Rehman and later on picked by a dictator-created NAB have been disproved in Court (like the recent SGS case) and have involved Zardari spending nearly eleven years behind bars for allegations of white collar crimes.
The Ajmal Paharis, Mumtaz Qadris and Malik Ishaqs (clearly an ISI-Army proxy) have been accused of far worse and aside from their brazen confessional statements, including boastful press conferences, they have recieved very selective treatment from the Judiciary which has still not taken a Suo Moto on MQM’s involvement in the May 12 massacre of PPP and ANP workers.
In their selective vitriol against Dr. Zulfiqar Mirza, Cafe Pyala doesn’t even make a typically vague condemnation of the judiciary’s pathetic role in creating the horrible Law and Order situation throughout the country. As critical supporters of the PPP, we know what the game is when a fellow jiyala like Dr. Zulfiqar Mirza is attacked to take the heat of Rehman Malik; the same Rehman Malik who until yesterday was such a fan favourite of Cafe Pyala’s tweeple brigade buddies. If Rehman Malik is being defended by attacking Zulfiqar, we know who the judas is and its NOT the good doctor. (End Note)
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On Cafe Pyala’s misrepresentations on Dr. Zulfiqar Mirza
Context: Cafe Pyala is commonly known as among MQM propagandists on Twitter along with @FiveRupees @Mirza9 @akchishti @theselongwars @tazeen @uroojzia etc;
@cpyala is a “media critic” blog which has never written on Pakistani media’s silence (or misrepresentations) on Shia Hazara genocide, Baloch genocide and Kurram blockade;
It is the same blog which wholeheartedly supported ISI’s (@ejazhaider etc) criticism on AatishTaseer’s piece in WSJ;
It is the same blog which blames prosecution and police for the release of Malik Ishaq and other terrorists by ISI-backed CJP;
It is the same blog which dishonestly promoted a defamatory and sectarian video against Aamir Liaquat Hussain, which was manufactured by none else but Samad Khurram and Ghulam Mustafa, co-manager of pkpolitics with the help of a Geo TV insider;
It is the same blog which speculates on everything under the sun but refused to comment on Wali Khan Babar’s murder.
In this post, I will offer some comments on Cafe Pyala’s (@cpyala) latest post on Zulfiqar Mirza’s press conference.
Key issues in @cpyala’s latest post on ZulfiqarMirza’s press conference:
1. It discounts Zulfiqar Mirza’s important charges against MQM and terrorism in Karachi
2. It creates a false equation between MQM’s systematic, massive violence with reactionary and minuscule violence by ANP, PPP etc
3. Contrary to @cpyala’s claim, Ajmal Pahari’s and other videos of MQM terrorists are online for many months now. Also fascimiles of reports are available for many weeks.
4. When @cpyala write: “without trying to sound like I am defending the indefensible”, they are doing the exact opposite, i.e. defending the MQM (while hardly trying to maintain their false neutrality).
5. @cpyala has never written on the Baloch or Hazara genocides, yet they have audacity to attack another website for presenting “a selective version of truth”
6. Next comes @cpyala’s most frequent tactic, i.e. blame the prosecution, challenge the legality of charges against terrorists. According to @cpyala, Ajmal Pahari and other videos/reports, “these documents and confessions do not necessarily establish guilt.” Wow!
7. According to @cpyala, Ajmal Pahari’s confessions are not much different from NAB’s accusations of corruption against Mr Asif Zardari. Shame!
8. @cpyala asks: “why have these terrorists not yet been prosecuted in the courts of law”. Hey, your heroes in judiciary are releasing terrorists!
9. @cpyala finally reveal their true loyalties by stating that ZM’s presser was aimed to divert attention from “piles of ammunition and torture cells in Lyari”
Finally, this comment about Wali Khan Babar, the Geo reporter who was killed by MQM’s target killers. Here’s a comment from an old post on Cafe Pyala’s website:
Dear Café Pyala
In your lame excuse for not commenting on the murder of journalist Wali Khan Babar in Karachi, you say: “….unlike some, we do not feel we have unambiguous knowledge about who assassinated him and so refuse to be drawn into a blame game based on pure speculation”.
Have you always commented on a murder when you have “unambiguous knowledge” about who murdered him/her?
You simply had to say the same things just after the murder of Mr Babar what you have said now: “We feel we have lost a very bright and upright colleague and a warm-hearted human being………. And we deeply mourn his death. All we can say is that journalism has become a much more dangerous profession in this country in the wake of his murder.”
Please don’t try to fool your “regular” readers because they know that you have commented on several murders/crimes where you didn’t have “unambiguous knowledge” about the accused.Asif Ali Khan
January 25, 2011 12:14 AMAnonymous said…
@Asif Ali Khan, well said, dude. ISI, MQM, DAWN and the Abbas brothers are holly cows and Cafe Pyala can’t write about them. Everyone knows the reason!
Cafe Pyala is as neutral a blog as is MQM a peaceful party (as shown in the bnner).
Shahid Saeed’s comment on Cafe Pyala’s post:
The video confessions are many months old now, and scans of the JIT interrogations made their way online a month+ ago too. Whois lists website registration on July 8 too. Also, a few of the 8 month old JIT reports was covered some months ago by The News too. Biggest reportage came from Weekly Pulse in January. Since The News and before them, Pulse, had access to the entire report, it’s not a matter of “leaking” the report, since it doesn’t seem all that difficult to obtain a copy, but about daring to release them into print. The secret-y nature thing-y from you seems a bit political correctness and nothing else.
As for covering only the MQM, JIT listed 3 Haqiqi, 2 LeJ, 2 SSP, 1 SeM, 1 ANP, and 18+Pahari from MQM.
It is the same Cafe Pyala blog which writes a full post in defence of Angelina Jolie and Veena Malik but does not even sneeze over silence of Pakistani media on the murder of thousands of Shias in Parachinar and elsewhere!
On cafepyala’s selective morality against Aamir Liaquat Hussain
http://criticalppp.com/archives/139
Farieha Javed
August 29, 2011 at 4:31 am
Cafe Pyala writes: “I don’t subscribe at all to the sectarian twist this video takes towards the end, which is obviously motivated by other concerns.”
WTF? That’s not the other concerns, that’s the main concern of the doctored video!!
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About Aamir liaquat using abusive language please go to any big MADRASA in all over Pakistan you get more to enhance your vocabulary in abusive language at there.
Salman
August 29, 2011 at 4:32 am
The article on Newsline and Cafe Pyala against Aamir Liaquat are as disgusting as the clip itself if not more. Detailing the swear words and going to the details such as gestures @… and embedding the video at the bottom to ensure anyone who hasn’t watched it yet, could do so easily. Sick
http://www.newslinemagazine.com/2011/08/saint-or-hypocrite-technology-can-confirm-the-real-aamir-liaquat/
Salman
August 29, 2011 at 4:36 am
On Salmaan Taseer’s murder, a sinister role was played by Samad Khurram and Cafe Pyala:
When cafepyala apologized on the ‘fake fatwa’ from lubp and quoted what samad khurram has been pointing out, it was quite obvious that the chattering class wanted the killing of salmaan taseer to be made diluted.
http://criticalppp.com/archives/36827/comment-page-1#comment-62784
I wonder why did cafe pyala so willingly fall into Samad Khurram’s trap to defame LUBP?
Ain’t they the same who had stated that:
“Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire. Simply put, we can either shut up, resign ourselves to our fate and disconnect from this country and society or we can fight back and refuse to cede the space that the bastards want us to. Nobody ever said it would be easy.
As a start, let us declare Qadri, all those who support Qadri and murderers like him, the Khatm-e-Nabuwat movement and its ilk as outside the pale of Islam. Let’s see how they like being referred to as blasphemers and murtids. Nobody said the fight would not be dirty.”
http://cafepyala.blogspot.com/2011/01/real-blasphemers.html
It is evident that as an insider and outsider of Pakistani and international media, their blog is frequently “cited” and “linked” by their very own team members and networked friends in various news reports and columns; their principles of ethics and transparency are for all to see!
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Sunni Forum ki janib se Samad sahib and Cafe Piala ka shurkia. Shame on LUBP, PPP propaganda against Ghazi Mumtaz Qadri
http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/showthread.php?67216-Who-is-Mufti-Muhammad-Idris-Usmani…&p=558989
Pasha
August 29, 2011 at 4:38 am
Cafe Pyala usually don’t pick this kinda thing (Bramdaghs’ fake interview in Daily Times). They are careful guys as someon wrote on their blog
sorry pyaloos, but “the debate” was “defined” a very long time ago by the people who have (for 30 years now) housed, armed and funded your mullah “opponents”.
how laughable is the idea that you with your dark gray blog are in some kind of opposition to that 50,000-strong crowd of bearded youths.
and how many of you bloggers (even from within the safety of your ABCD acronyms) dared to point out that this week’s rallies were led by the L-e-T? How many of you will risk your lives, livelihoods and sanity to go one step further and state that the state (military-ISI) is what choreographs the L-e-T?
You can’t. Because that would amount to accepting that your enemy is the state. In which you live.
Oh dear.
You pyaloos should forget about all this liberal-shiberal and sit around a bonfire instead and drink an honest toast to the Pak Fauj, singing: “Gham hai ya khushi hai tu, meri zindagi hai tu…”
http://criticalppp.com/archives/36974/comment-page-1#comment-63855
Pasha
August 29, 2011 at 4:44 am
cpyala
Am so happy that @ejazhaider took on Aatish ‘Stranger to Writing’ Taseer 4 his trashy piece in WSJ. bit.ly/njbgLi
cpyala Aatish Taseer’s claims about Iqbal & Taliban are simply wrong. The rest of his piece flows from a Shining India mindset.
Laibaah Laiba Ahmad Marri
The media critic blog, @cpyala, now tasked to reinforce urban legends and interpretations about Aatish Taseer’s article? Pak Foj Ko Salam
http://criticalppp.com/archives/53901/comment-page-1#comment-139008
Pasha
August 29, 2011 at 4:47 am
Here is a complete archive (until this very moment) of tweets on Talat Hussain’s op-ed on Angelina Jolie starting from 24 October when daily Express first tweeted Talat Hussain’s article on Jolie and the LUBP tweeted Saad’s post criticising Talat Hussain.
The pseudoliberal group on Twitter is visibly in disbelief, shock, saktah, etc using all sorts of foul language against Talat Hussain (while the same mafia remained dumbfounded on articles highlighting Talat Hussain’s connivance with the military establishment):
http://criticalppp.com/archives/27053/comment-page-1#comment-38035
Pasha
August 29, 2011 at 4:48 am
cpyala
Zulfiqar Mirza was wrong abt Afaq being biggest “political prisoner” after Zardari. Malik Ishaq beat them both
Laibaah Laiba Ahmad Marri
@cpyala By comparing a despicable sectarian terrorist to Zardari, you are showing your true colors, MQM online! @saeedshah
http://criticalppp.com/archives/53356
TUm log CAFE PYALA key khilaf ho kyunke unhon ne gustaakh Aamir Liaqat Shia Ko Bay Naqab kar diya.
Sharm say dub Marro
bohat ala. so Cafe Pyala is pro-MQM? What about Mr. NFP? He has been equally anti-Mirza in his recent articles and tweets. Kindly be fair. Not emotional.
Hello LUBP,
Apparently Cafe Pyala are not too happy with your post!
cpyala Cafe Pyala
Wrt to a full post (!) about us from agent provocateurs, wanted to say no ‘arguing with idiots’ but discovered that’s Glenn Beck’s book.
cpyala Cafe Pyala
Wow. Just saw the troll influx on our timeline after the last post. No arguing with people who can’t – or refuse to – understand nuance.
cpyala Cafe Pyala
Faisal Sabzwari reiterated that people should read the “navishta-e-deewaar” (the writing on the wall)…
cpyala Cafe Pyala
In all seriousness, really think Zulfiqar Mirza having a nervous breakdown, needs help. Abusive 1 moment crying another, classic symptoms.
http://www.dawn.com/2011/08/29/of-messiahs-and-all.html
Zulfiqar Mirza
Even more curious is the case of this PPP leader. An animated Sindh minister in the PPP-led government in Sindh, Mirza was also known to be close to President Zardari.
Nevertheless, he turned the ongoing political tussle between PPP and MQM in Sindh into something more personal, loud-mouthing his way to notoriety, especially among urbanites.
Interestingly though, his recent press conference in which he accused the MQM of murder and terrorism, suddenly turned many anti-PPP (even some pro-PPP) and anti-MQM youngsters into hailing him as ‘saviour of Sindh and Karachi!’
Many of them were the same folks who’d earlier denounced him as a ‘scoundrel,’ ‘drunk’ and ‘uncouth.’
Thus, Mirza, at least for some months, can now enjoy the status of being perhaps the most unlikely of political messiahs of them all.
I agree with my brother TLW. LUBP must refrain from dirty campaign against Hazrat Cafe and MQM.
abidifactor Syed Ali Raza Abidi
This is an example of extremely frustrated, totally rejected, pseudo-elitist Peepla’s of #LUBP bit.ly/olSAUu @cpyala #MQM #Pakistan
I do not base my opnion on speculations and fictions. What Mr Mirza said in his press conference has yet to be proved (although he claims he has proofs and ready to produce before the Chief Justice). For me it is wait and watch what comes in days to come.
However, a long silence and belated modest reply from MQM quarters, that was something we did not witness in the past, have they changed their politics is a question. My political guru has said, right for now MQM is in a tight corner in Imran Farooq murder case investigation by Scotland Yard and Pakistani intelligence agencies are cooperating with them and not assisting MQM in this matter. You can call Asif Zardari a corrupt person, shrewd guy blah blah, but one can not deny he has proved to be a cunning politician. In the garb of “reconciliation” process, he cornered Nawaz Sharif, and now he wants to corner MQM (hitting the hammer when the Iron is red hot) and that the text of Mr. Mirza’s press conference was in the knowledge of Mr. Zardari beforehand.
And just what is happening in Supreme Court hearing on Karachi turmoil? Chief Justice harshly passed remarks why Zulfiqar Mirza remained silent for three years if he knew all about MQM and Rahman Malik. Exactly, the same period was taken by a Chief Justice of Pakistan to change his opinion and understand that ex-President Musharraf was nothing but a brutal dictator. Alas, the same Chief Justice is sitting and hearing. Long live the Chief Justice. Period.
I do not foresee any fruitful result of these proceeding. CJ thought he might bring some big fish (PPP top leadership) before the court, but the things are going the other way.