Author Archive
Taliban suicide attack kills at least 14 Shias travelling to Parachinar in NW Pakistan: A suicide bomber on foot, Friday 5 March 2010, killed at least 10 people in Pakistan’s northwest and injured another 15, a senior regional official said. (Update: Death toll now reaches 14) The bomber exploded his bomb near a
Promoting senior army officers without consulting the government: State within a state? – by Ayesha Siddiqa: The fact that Gen Kayani has the powers to promote senior officers without consulting the government is far too important to be brushed aside as a minor procedural issue. –Photo by APP It is amusing to note that there
Shifting deadlines and cheerleaders of doom in Pakistani media – by Ayaz Amir: Star-gazing — for what it is worth Islamabad diary Ayaz Amir As I have had occasion to mention before, Islamabad since its birth has been a city dedicated to nothing so much as intrigue and conspiracy. It has always
A poem on Pakistan’s controversial chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and his Talibanic cronies – by Syed Saif Zulfi: Contributed by: Ahsan Abbas
Manmohan Singh in Saudi Arabia: A lesson and a few reminders — by Syed Talat Hussain: The Saudis, in their national interest, can get into a tighter hug with Pakistan’ archenemy without fearing as much as a raised eyebrow in Islamabad, because Saudi Arabia is a giver and Pakistan is a taker Imagine Israeli Prime
NA-55, Democracy’s last chortle – by Qudrat Ulla: The recently concluded NA-55 by-elections in the heart of Rawalpindi were highly capricious in many ways- it was the finale political Armageddon of the shrewd Sheikh of Potohar in which he tried to play all his tricks but to
Taliban’s attack on Baloch cultural concert in Khuzdar blacked out by Pakistani media: An injured student is treated at a hospital after a blast in Khuzdar, southwestern Pakistan, on March 2, 2010. Source: Xinhua Once again, Pakistani media has almost blacked out an act of violence by Taliban extremists. This time the
Workers Party Pakistan: Pakistan’s New Left – by Muhammad Ali Siddiqi: The Workers Party Pakistan should refrain from playing the role of a traditional opposition party which considers it obligatory on its part to oppose every government move. Pakistan’s New Left By Muhammad Ali Siddiqi The formation last week of
Nawaz Sharif steals electricity but vows to fight corruption: PML-N Chief Nawaz Sharif addressing a public gathering during by-elections campaign in constituency NA-123. -APP According to the sources, Nawaz Sharif addressed party workers on Grand Trunk Road near University of Engineering and Technology. While Nawaz made a case
In Pakistan we are fighting for our lives – by Asif Ali Zardari: In Pakistan we are fighting for our lives We will defeat the terrorists. Our security is backed up by democracy and a strong economy By Asif Ali Zardari Thanks: The Guardian 1 March 2010 When I was elected president
Holi festival and Pakistani Hindus: Picture Source: BBC Urdu Pakistani Hindus to miss Holi celebrations February 23, 2010, Islamabad: The few Pakistani Hindus, who have made the federal capital their home, will miss splashing colours at each other as they brace up for a
Taliban and Sipah-e-Sahaba’s attack on Eid Milad-un-Nabi rallies: This is not sectarianism, this is terrorism: Rescuers stand near a child injured by a firing, at a local hospital in Dera Ismail, Pakistan on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010. According to police official unidentified gunmen opened fire on a procession celebrate anniversary of the birth of
Yet another case of multifaceted fraud by our military saviours – by Aamir Mughal: Today I found Dr Shahid Masood and Shaheen Sehbai spinning more lies on ‘Meray Mutabiq’ (Geo TV) with General (retired) Shahid Aziz. I therefore consider it pertinent to cross-post the following article from my blog to LUBP: One more
The rightward march of Pakistan under the leadership of PML-N – by Nadeem Paracha: The active emergence of a revamped PML-N supplemented by an alarmist new electronic media can be detected as a more vocal arrival of the New Right in Pakistan. The rightward march By Nadeem F. Paracha Saturday, 27 Feb, 2010
The dauntless heroes of NWFP Police — by Farhat Taj: A police officer and bystanders remove an injured victim of a suicide car bomb in Peshawar. Photograph: A Majeed/AFP/Getty Images The public perceive the police as as much an innocent casualty as the innocent civilians in the state’s pursuit
Has the Charter of Democracy become irrelevant? — by Mohammad Jamil: How can one put highly professional military personnel, dealing with sensitive information, under non-professionals who are not competent enough to do the job? Politics is said to be the art of the possible and some say it is the
Civil service reform revisited – by Sania Nishtar: The International Crisis Group’s Report on Civil Service Reform has sparked conversations around the need and potential avenues for restructuring Pakistan’s civil service. This, however, is not the first time that a report on the subject has been made
Muhammad: A Prophet for Our Time – by Karen Armstrong: Book Review Title: Muhammad – A Prophet for Our Time By: Karen Armstrong 249 pages. $21.95. HarperCollins/Atlas Books. Reviewed by Laurie Goodstein – in The New York Times (International Herald Tribune) The religion with the most adherents on the
Reassessing the lawyers’ movement — by Ayesha Ijaz Khan: The judiciary must pick its battles carefully and avoid the type of crescendo that would altogether remove its focus from its primary function of delivering justice. It must be mindful that unless people begin to feel the results of
Tehzibi Nargasiat – by Mobarak Haider: Mobarak Haider Title: Tehzibi Nargasiat (Cultural Narcissism) Category: Psychology Publisher: Sanjh Publication Year of Publication: 2009 Price: Rs150 Here are some comments and reviews on an excellent, non-fiction book by Mobarak Haider. Ever wondered why a certain kind of
An insight into Hizb ut-Tahrir’s theological and political agenda: Contributed by: Sajjad Hussain The Hizbu ut-Tahrir’s strategy can be divided into four stages: 1. Ideology 2. Development of a “rigid theological” personality 3. Progression toward a theo-political state 4. March towards the “whole earth” Ideology: The theme and
Peace Carvan: A journey for peace – by Shujuaddin Qureshi: It was an unusual gathering at Karachi’s Cantt railway station, where over 100 people from civil society organisations, intellectuals, political and trade union workers, and journalists had gathered for a peaceful cause. Sixty of those gathered, including more than
Pakistan’s Most Wanted Terrorists – by Nick Fielding: First published at “Circling the Lion’s Den” Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency has published an updated version of its Red Book of ‘Most Wanted Terrorists‘. Containing 119 names, the list includes some of the most dangerous men in the country,
Development assistance: Impediment or facilitator? – by Junaid Qaiser: Individualland Pakistan, on 20 February, 2010 , organized a seminar on the issue of “Examining Development Assistance”. Representatives from civil society, media and education sector participated in the discussion. In her welcome remarks and context setting address, Individualland’s Director
She embraced Islam, came to Pakistan, only to be killed by Taliban: Belinda Khan, 44, originally from Cardiff UK, was one of eight people killed when car bomb exploded in volatile Swat Valley Here is the story of a British woman (Amina Khan, previously Belinda Gardinal) who embraced Islam two years
Zaid Hamid’s conspiracy theories — by Ishtiaq Ahmed: Conspiracy theories and theorists Conspiracy theories and their authors become a cause for concern when they begin to hallucinate and can no longer distinguish between their own flights of imagination and the world around them. When they hijack a
Principles of policy of Pakistan’s constitution – by Mosharraf Zaidi: Principles of policy Part I February 23, 2010 In his column last week, my friend Harris Khalique quotes a small part of Article 38 of the Constitution, which is titled, “Promotion of social and economic well-being of the people”.
Our quasi-feudal political parties — by Babar Ayaz: There is a wide demand and supply gap in the political market. The political parties that are ill-prepared, power-centric, self-seeking and have failed to fathom the change cannot meet this yawning gap. Their change and growth is quintessential for
A brief history of extremism in Pakistan – by Hassan Amin: Ever since the inception of Pakistan, Extremist Mullahs have always been vying to hijack the State. When I refer to the term ‘Extremist Mullahs’, I draw a line to separate, ‘Islamist Fanatics with a Political Agenda’ from the simple
Secularism vs Islamism – by Iqbal Akhund: In a recent TV debate on this subject, the applause meter would have given the win to Islamism. The debaters, three on each side, faced a small mixed audience — quite a few girls, many wearing hijabs, also young
Back towards tolerance in Pakistani society – by Charles Ferndale and Kamila Hayat: Here are two articles highlighting the importance of re-discovering and re-inculcating the seeds of tolerance in Pakistani society and the region in general. The path to freedom Monday, February 22, 2010 Charles Ferndale Kamila Hyat, in a typically lucid,
Democracy, transparency and accountability – by Dr Farrukh Saleem: Transparency is the mother of democracy. Two things: first, there can’t be democracy without transparency. Second, democracy can’t allow the murder of her own mother. No government, therefore, is a democracy unless it ‘implements a set of policies and
In a democratic system, the primacy of the elected institutions and leaders should be respected. – by Dr Hasan-Askari Rizvi: Beyond the executive-judiciary crisis The executive-judiciary crisis has another dimension with implications for the future of democracy in Pakistan. This can also be viewed as an attempt by a non-elected state institution, i.e. the judiciary, to restrict the role
Dr Aafia Siddiqui’s case and Pakistani media’s hysteria – by Farhat Taj: Caravans and howling of stray animals — Farhat Taj The media in Pakistan is constantly promoting a one-sided view of Dr Aafia’s case. Nobody is expecting 100 percent objectivity from the media. But still one is surprised how some
Advocate Naeem Bokhari’s letter to Pakistan’s controversial Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry: In the light of the recent emphasis on principles of merit and justice as reiterated by Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on numerous occasions, it is pertinent to revisit the letter written by the Supreme Court Lawyer
Diamer-Bhasha dam: A postcolonial project which remains ignored in Pakistani media: We have previously posted several articles on LUBP highlighting the plight of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan including the violation of their rights through the proposed Diamer-Bhasha Dam project. We note with concern that two innocent persons were killed yesterday
Did the match between President Zardari and CJ Iftikhar Chaudhry end in a draw?: Here are two thought provoking articles on this topic. The first one is by Zafar Hilaly in Daily Times, and the second is by Cyril Almeida writing in Dawn. The game not worth the candle — by Zafar Hilaly
Time out for reading, CJ Iftikhar Chaudhry – by Ayaz Amir: In his recent article in The News, Ayaz Amir recommends Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry to read Bacon’s essay “Of Judicature”. We provide below an excerpt from Ayaz Amir’s article as well as Bacon’s essay in full with an aim