Author Archive
A perspective on Benazir Income Support Programme — by Syed Mohammad Ali: The politics of poverty alleviation The programme seeks to provide direct assistance, specifically to women. Thus, besides empowering them economically, it encourages them to seek national identity cards as a precondition to obtain disbursals, which it considers crucial for
The civil-military struggle within — by Sher Ali Khan: Changing the pattern of the civil-military relationship is a difficult task to achieve. Thus far the Pakistanis have gained some political space through their recent stand against the last dictator. This has not necessarily translated into governmental autonomy in
Hypocrisy unlimited: FATA parliamentarians’ scanning at US airport: In the last few days, we have witnessed a pseudo-nationalist hype in Pakistani media, newspaper columns and TV talk-shows alike, in which a matter of ‘great national honour’ (ghairat) was highlighted. The matter pertained to the alleged insult of
Judge Saeed Khurshid’s resignation: LUBP has previously posted two articles on this topic, which can be read here and here. Given the lack of attention to this issue by the lawyers as well as Pakistani media, we find it pertinent to post the
Begging Taliban for mercy: Shahbaz Sharif is loyal to Punjab at Pakistan’s expense?: Related articles: The Punjabi Taliban and the Ostrich of Punjab: Shahbaz Sharif The umbilical connection between PML-N and religious conservatism: Jaag Punjabi jaag – by Aamer Ahmed Khan Shahbaz Sharif’s bargain with the Taliban – by Ayesha Siddiqa According
Culture of police torture in Pakistan – by Qudrat Ullah: Although the police flogging are not an uncommon arcane in Pakistan, yet the shocking telecast of flout police torture of some hapless accused, in the presence of flabbergasted on-lookers, in a remote Punjab locality by the acerbic media, has
Pakistani media is ignoring a disaster in waiting in Hunza: Story of a lake and the sinking paradise – by Irfan Siddiqi: The LUBP has previously posted an article on this topic by Dr Shahid Siddiqui highlighting the gravity and urgency of this issue. Gojal (in uppper Hunza) needs to be be declared a calamity-hit area, extending rightful facilities to its
Societal perspectives on terrorism — by Dr Hasan-Askari Rizvi: At least one generation has been socialised into a favourable disposition towards Islamic conservatism and militancy. They have a natural sympathy towards the political discourse of the militants even if they do not support their violent methods The terrorist
Who’s the ‘middle class’ in Pakistan? – by Umair Javed: The obsession with the modern educated professional as a prototypical middle class Pakistani tends to shift focus away from those that are rarely educated in formal institutions, yet continue to control a larger share of political and economic capital
Glory, piety and politics – by Nadeem Paracha: With Pakistan’s two main political parties looking exhausted by being made to play a continuous game of cat and mouse with the establishment, the new generation of young Pakistanis began to look elsewhere. Many young Pakistanis, who in their
Bank Loans Write-Off: A comparison of PPP, PML-N and General Musharraf: According to statistics by the State Bank of Pakistan, there are glaring differences in terms of fiscal irregularities between elected governments and military governments in Pakistan. Government of General Pervez Musharraf appears to be most corrupt followed by the
President Zardari signs historic Women’s Rights Bill: Thanks: New Pakistan The Americans do not have a monopoly on freedom and protection for women. This is the message from yesterday’s historic event in Islamabad where President Zardari signed the Protection Against Harassment of Women at Workplace Billensuring equal
A Pakistan you never knew! Being gay in the Islamic Republic – by Shaheryar Ali and Nuwas Manto: First published at Sherryx’s Weblog “Invisibility” and “Silence” are the hallmark of fascist societies. A national stereotype is built and than implemented through ideological and coercive apparatuses of the state. Gender is an important battle ground in these “nation-building”
A tale of two Pakistani girls which remains hidden in other more important news: Here are two news items (which remain hidden in the more important headlines) from today’s newspapers. These news items once again reveal the typically hypocritical, class- and religion-centric and misogynistic nature of Pakistani society. The first story is about
In Pakistan, generals do not retire – by Syed Talat Hussain: Age of extensions The COAS has done precisely what the chief justice did in the case of his trusted comrades, which is not much different from the reasons we hear from the president and the prime minister for retaining
The creation of ignorance and hate speech by Pakistani media – by Kamila Hayat: The creation of ignorance There can be no doubt that the past seven years, since private media channels went on air in late 2002, have created a kind of revolution in the country. Never before in the history of
Pakistan women: Rights without rights – by Dr Farzana Bari: Rights without rights The UN theme this year for Women’s International Day was “Equal rights, equal opportunities: progress for all.” One wonders how to commemorate the day around the theme when rights and opportunities are simply disappearing from the
The End of the Zardari Government is Near: Courtesy: Pakistan Media Watch This is the first post in a series on ‘Wishful Journalism’ – an unfortunate practice that seems to be taking place more than actual reporting in some parts of the media. There is a difference between
An introduction to Rana Sanaullah: Here are some video clips providing a crisp introduction to what Nawaz Sharif and his PML-N stand for, particularly in view of their much trumpeted rhetoric for the rule of law and fight against corruption. Our focus in these
ISI’s Colonel Imam: Ideologue or pragmatist? – by Wasif Khan: Amir Sultan Tarar also known as Colonel Imam. — File photo In a recent interview with the New York Times, the once renowned Colonel Imam made some very insightful remarks and dire predictions. For those unfamiliar with the name,
Maulana Ahmed Ludhianvi of ASWJ leads a grand rally in Jhang with the help of PML-N’s Punjab government: We at LUBP proudly present to our readers the latest specimen of good governance of PML-N’s government in Punjab. Residents of Jhang (central Punjab) are currently experiencing an incredible surge in the presence and public activities of Sipah-e-Sahaba, a
Punjabi Taliban belonging to Sipah-e-Sahaba responsible for the Lahore’s Model Town suicide attack – by Amir Mir: Police and rescue workers stand near a crater, which was made from a suicide bomb targeting the Special Investigation Agency in Lahore. A suicide car bomb attack on a police intelligence unit in Lahore killed at least 12 people
Arresting Taliban to serve America’s interests – Guest post by Peter Chamberlin: First published at: Therearenosunglasses’s Weblog The multitude of theories on the reasons for the arrests are divided between cooperation and confrontation theories, either it is explained by mutual interests or by rivalries. In my opinion, it is both. Researchers
March of the landless peasants towards Lahore: As i write these lines, members of the band Laal and the Communist Mazdoor Kissan Party (CMKP) are currently in Khanewal mobilizing one of the largest movement of the landless peasants for a march towards Lahore and presenting their
Conspiracy against Jamaat-e-Islami – by Mohammed Hanif: جماعت اسلامی کے خلاف سازش محمد حنیف | 2010-03-07 اس صدی میں ہونے والی باقی ساری سازشیں ایک طرف لیکن سب سے بڑی سازش پاکستان کی نظریاتی سرحدوں کی محافظ، اس قوم کی بیٹیوں کی عصمت کی رکھوالی اور
To be dashing, keep bashing! – by Mian Saifur Rehman: PML-N leaders in various cities of Punjab have taken out rallies and resorted to public display of arms and firing to express their (shameless) support for the police chitrol (bashing). Here is an article on this topic by Mian
Well done, students of Peshawar University and Pashtun Aman Committee – by Nasir Ahmad: Pashtunkhwa Peace Forum, a worldwide group of Pashtun students and professional, lauds students of Peshawar University and Pashtun Aman Committee for stopping Zaid Hamid from speaking at the Islamia College Campus. A belligerent hate monger, racist, chauvinist and thug,
Suicide attack on SIU Centre, Lahore. Wake up, Punjab, against the PML-N, Sipah-e-Sahaba, Taliban alliance – by Nadeem Paracha: Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N’s political alliance with a terrorist organisation Sipahe-e-Sahaba (an affiliate of Taliban and Al Qaeda) seems to be paying off. Only recently, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif ordered release of two most dangerous terrorists belonging to Sipah-e-Sahaba; the
Anatomy of Conspiracy Theory – by Zahir Ebrahim: The following article is not Pakistan related but might be of an academic interest to the LUBP readers. Zahir Ebrahim Some may rationally ponder that how is it, that such a long running global conspiracy for world government as
Narcissism, vanity, selective memory loss and Pakistan’s judiciary – by Aamir Mughal: Does the present democracy owe its existence to Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry? At least that is what Justice Javed Iqbal thinks: ISLAMABAD: Senior judge of the Supreme Court Justice Javed Iqbal on Thursday said the present democracy owed
Adolescent girls’ plight in Pakistan — by Mehr Qureshi: There is no specific provision on incest in the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and police, prosecutors and judges often have dismissive and condemning attitudes towards the victims Today is International Women’s Day. This day is a global celebration of
TV talk shows: good, bad or just inane — by Dr Syed Mansoor Hussain: Being a strong supporter of freedom of the media I believe that every television channel and all the hosts have the right to say whatever they wish as long as it is within accepted societal norms of decency Every
Objectives Resolution and Secularism – by Wajahat Masood: Contributed by: Aamir Mughal First Constituent Assembly of Pakistan: M.A. Jinnah, Liaquat Ali Khan, Nurul Amin, Allama shabbir Ahmed Usmani, Maulana Akram and Dr I H Qureshi My friend Wajahat Masood has tried to dig the ‘Islamic roots’ of
Two sectarian terrorists freed by Punjab government – by Rauf Klasra: The controversial Chief Justice of Lahore High Court, Khawaja Muhammad Sharif, who is notorious for his pro-Taliban tendencies, has facilitated the release of two convicted terrorists of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) at the request of Chief Minister of Punjab Mian
Hamid Gul, Uzma Gul, Varan Bus Service and the Transport Jihad: How honest is General Hamid Gul, the saviour of Pakistan, the guardian of jihadis and the Taliban? Varan Bus Service was established with millions of rupees loaned to the daughter and son-in-law of a former ISI chief, General Hameed Gul,
Pakistan sets ground rules for AfPak policy – by M K Bhadrakumar: Natural law brings AfPak crashing By M K Bhadrakumar Be it a baseball struck in a neighborhood sandlot game or in high-wire diplomacy, an elementary principle of physics holds good – what goes up must come down. In a
Haroon Rasheed, the provincial deputy head of Jamaat-e-Islami NWFP, harbouring Taliban and Al Qaeda terrorists: For the past one week, Jamaat-e-Islami leaders and their pro-Taliban agents (Pakistani Taliban Union of Journalists – PTUJ) in media (e.g. Hamid Mir, Ansar Abbasi etc) have been propagating a one sided story of the “brutal killing” of the
An innocent victim of the Taliban’s suicide attack: An innocent victim of the Taliban’s suicide attack on a Shia convoy in Hangu on its way to Parachinar. A man lifts a girl injured in the suicide attack from an ambulance to be treated at a hospital in
Interpreting tribal leaders of FATA — by Farhat Taj: Anger against the Pakistan Army and the Taliban is intense and getting more intense with every passing day and so is disappointment with the government of Pakistan I am compiling a list of the tribal leaders of FATA who
Anjum Niaz, Raza Rabbani and the virus of yellow journalism – by Abdul Nishapuri: According to her ‘official’ profile at Naseeb Vibes: Anjum Niaz is the first Pakistani woman to qualify under US Government Immigration as possessing Extraordinary Ability in Journalism. She works as a correspondent for Dawn, has been editor of Dawn