Author Archive

Three high ranking TTP officials killed in Afghanistan: Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leader Hafizullah and two of his aides were killed in Afghanistan on Wednesday, according to official sources. Hafeezullah was the head of the TTP in the Upper and Lower Dir areas of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province before
Updated: An open letter to the PPP – by Shams Rehman: With the dropping out of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) from the ruling coalition, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government suddenly looks vulnerable. And the fact is that it has become vulnerable. The possibility of the revival of the defunct
LUBP Interview with Dr Ayesha Siddiqa (Part II): Previous LUBP Interviews with Ayesha Siddiqa (Part I) with Nadeem F Paracha with Kamran Shafi LUBP: There is a growing perception that there has been an over-emphasis on the “feudal” tag by our urban chattering class who selectively orchestrate
Is China not an emerging imperialist power? – by Aamir Hussaini: In political dictionary definition of imperialism is the policy of extending a nation’s authority by territorial acquisition or by the establishment of economic and political hegemony over other nations. If we see role of government of China in our
The fall of Dhaka: a personal narrative – by Hassan N. Gardezi: December 16, 1971 was a gray and chilly winter day in Canada. We had just turned of the TV after watching the ritual of Gen. (Tiger) Niazi surrendering East Pakistan to an Indian commander displayed on the evening news
A letter to Barack Obama from the Afghan experts: To the President of the United States: Mr. President, We have been engaged and working inside Afghanistan, some of us for decades, as academics, experts and members of non-governmental organisations. Today we are deeply worried about the current course
Holding the economy hostage – By Khurram Husain: Don’t believe the hype. This is not about protecting the poor from inflation, or stopping corruption. This is about one thing only: blood. Let me explain. The opposition to the government’s attempts to introduce a value added tax (VAT)
Pakistan Peoples Party: Listen to the dissenting voices – By Aamir Hussaini: کارکنوں اور قیادت میں بڑھتے فاصلے کیا پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی تقسیم کی طرف جا رہی ہے؟ پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی بلوچستان کے صدر سردار لشکر رئیسانی نے دوسری مرتبہ اپنا استعفیٰ پارٹی کے شریک چیئرمین آصف علی زرداری کو ارسال
What Maulana Fazlur Rehman has on the cards – by Ali Arqam: In a dramatic set of events on the very fateful day of 14th December, Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) broke away from the federal coalition over the government’s decision to sack the Federal Science and Technology Minister Azam Swati without taking
Let us meet in cyber space! – By Babar Ayaz: Six months from now, business between Indian and Pakistani IT companies should be initialized and progressing and “money should be flowing both ways”. Such was the positive wish of the Indian IT delegation leader, Dr Ganesh Natarajan, at a
Condemning Swedish Bombing: Like Nazism, Islamofascism too must be confronted, says MCC: Unlike most of the Muslims organizations abroad that are either sectarian or ethnocentric, largely authoritarian, and influenced by a fear of modernity, Muslim Canadian Congress is a grassroots organization founded by Tarek Fatah, it provides a voice to Muslims 
Leaky logic – by Nadeem F. Paracha: Now how bad can it be for a president to be criticised by a monarch who is alleged to have asked the Americans to bomb Iran and whose countrymen are still thought to be one of the leading donors
US embassy cables: Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists raise funds in Saudi Arabia: Monday, 10 August 2009, 23:56 S E C R E T STATE 083026 SENSITIVE SIPDIS RELEASABLE TO PAKISTAN EO 12958 DECL: 08/07/2019 TAGS EFIN, KTFN, PREL, PTER, UNSC SUBJECT: UN 1267 (AL-QAIDA/TALIBAN) SANCTIONS: USG OPPOSITION TO FOCAL POINT DE-LISTING
People’s Poet of Balochistan: Commemorating Mir Gul Khan Nasir: 5th December is the death anniversary of People’s Poet of Balochistan, Mir Gul Khan Nasir. He was a prominent progressive poet, politician, historian, and journalist of Balochistan, Pakistan. Born on 14 May 1914 in Noshki. His father’s name was
Bharata Natyam in Lahore – by Ahmad Bashir: Courtesy: Nia Zamana Nov 2010
Blasphemy, Asia Bibi and cheap religious emotionalism – by Wajahat Masood:
A Critical View: Understanding the Politics of PPP‏ – By Ahmad Nadeem Gehla: Related articles: Forty-four years of Pakistan Peoples Party (1967-2010) – by Riaz Ali Toori A brief history of PPP: mauj mela, madari, maqtal – by Hasan Mujtaba Pakistan People’s Party is a party of masses. Majority of its supporters
LUBP Exclusive: A critical interview with Nadeem F. Paracha: Nadeem F. Paracha is a cultural critic and senior columnist for Dawn Newspaper and Dawn.com. Here is his exclusive interview for LUBP, which is being published as the first interview in the LUBP Critical Interview Series. LUBP: Nadeem, thanks
Wolf with the wings – by Sangeen Khan: My late grandmother would always have amusing lullabies for me. I can only remember one which I loved to chorus but could never imitate the grief and helplessness she would have in her tone for it didn’t make any
Stand up against the blasphemy laws – by Sherry Rehman: The sentencing to death of a Christian woman on charges of blasphemy by a sessions court in Nankana Sahib has created an uproar in Pakistan. The Aasia Bibi case has touched a raw nerve among thousands of people for
Pakistan’s eminent intellectual Dr Pevez Hoodbhoy on drone attacks in Pakistan: A drone – of the kind discussed here – is a programmed killing machine. By definition it is self-propelled, semi-autonomous, and capable of negotiating difficult local environments. Remote handlers guide it towards an assigned target. A drone does not
Ideology as ‘false consciousness’ – by Khaled Ahmed: Pakistan began describing itself as an ideological state when the word had been made respectable by the Soviet Union through its planned economy and rapid growth. Ideology in the case of Pakistan was its religion. The state is not
Drones Debate: Pashtun Nationalists, The Liberals, the Left and the far right: First things first. The USA has no right to stay in Afghanistan let alone drone Pakistan. It is the US military aggression and presence in the region that has fuelled unrest and complicated the matters. The very Taliban and
From Russia with Love: Main Ney Russia Mee kya Dekha – by Dil Nawaz: When Islamic Republic of Pakistan came into existence in 1947, Russia was known as the “Godless Empire” of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics under the “brutal” dictator Joseph Stalin. This inherent difference in ideologies resulted in tensions from the
Karachi Turns Deadly Amid Pakistan’s Rivalries – by Jane Perlez: KARACHI, Pakistan — This chaotic city of 18 million people on the shores of the Arabian Sea has never shrunk from violence. But this year, Karachi has outdone even itself. Drive-by shootings motivated by political and ethnic rivalries have
Case of bogus science – By Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy: Related article: khuda ka zikr kare zikre amreeka na kare? – by Zalaan COMSTECH is the Organisation of Islamic Countries’ highest scientific body. It has received millions of dollars from OIC countries, including Pakistan. Comstech’s magnificent headquarters are located
Democracy neither is a snake, Constitution nor a stick – by Wajahat Masood:
The Call Centre Odyssey from Islamabad – by Dil Nawaz: Mirpur city of Kashmir, situated 80 miles south east of Islamabad, is often called the ‘eastern most city of United Kingdom’ due to big population of British Kashmiris(Pakistanis or just Muslims, whatever they want to be known as). Jars
Money Talks: Jang group to beg American support: Guess who was spotted on November 9 in Washington D.C. at a reception for American and Pakistani media personnel thrown by US AfPak ambassador Richard Holbrooke‘s media assistant Ashley Bommer? Mir Ibrahim Rehman, scion of the house of Jang
No contradiction when it comes to Gen. Kiyani – by Adnan Farooq: One expression of hegemony that in Antonio Gramsci’s view sustains rulers in power, is self-censorship practiced by mainstream media professionals. Here is a case in point: Noted Geo-anchorperson and Jang-columnist, Hamid Mir, in his column last week (November 04)
New Light on the Accuracy of the CIA’s Predator Drone Campaign in Pakistan – By Matthew Fricker, Avery Plaw and Brian Glyn Williams: Widely-cited reports of the inaccuracy and disproportionality of civilian to militant deaths in the CIA’s ongoing Predator drone campaign against the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Pakistan are grossly misleading. The most detailed database compiled to date, assembled by the
‘Karachi card’ to backstab democracy – by Ali Arqam: Karachi, the economic hub of the country, depicts the complex social, political and economic problems afflicting Pakistan. The failure of the state to accommodate its ethnicities and diverse cultures in a national narrative, has logically resulted in rising political
On Arundhati Roy: The Burden of Proof – by Nimer Ahmad: Arundhati Roy, a name that needs no introduction even in Pakistani government’s “or” religious intellectual circles and she is often quoted in mainstream media because she is not just a fierce critic of US foreign policy but she had
TFT Interview with Asad Sayeed: A new agenda for Pakistan: I visit the LUBP site almost daily and my compliments for the great service you are providing. Attached is an interview that TFT did on welfarism a couple of weeks ago. If you think it is relevant and useful,
Hezbollah vs. the international community – by Hanin Ghaddar: Last Thursday, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah declared an open war against the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL). He set a new stage in the Lebanese political scene, whereby any Lebanese citizen who supports or cooperates with the STL
There cannot be justice without freedom – by Dr. Zafar Baloch: Dr. Zaffar Baloch, the president of Baloch Human Rights Council of Canada  delivered his speech in a conference called “Mining (in)justice: at home and abroad” organized by Community Solidarity Response Toronto (CSRT), it was held in Toronto-Canada from May
Happy Diwali to all – by LUBP team: Divali,  Deepavali or festival of lights is an important five-day festival  occurring between mid-October and mid-November, as it is based on lunisolar Hindu Calendar It is celebrated in almost all the South Asian countries by the followers of  Hinduism,
PPP and its sympathisers – by Ali Arqam: ہمارے ناراض دوست اور میڈیا پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی اپنی تمام تر مصلحت آمیزی، ہییت مقتدرہ کی خوشامد پر مبنی  روش، سیاسی اصطلاح میں درست اقدامات کے باوجود اپنے نام و عنوان، اپنے ماضی اور عوامی بنیادوں کے باعث کبھی
Kurram: the forsaken FATA – by Dr Mohammad Taqi: General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani visited a tribal agency last week but he did not tender an apology to some local families, whose dear ones — including children — were killed by the Pakistan Army gunship helicopters this past September.
General Ziauddin’s revelations – by Mohammed Hanif: بٹ اچھا، بدنام برا گزشتہ چند ہفتوں سے آئی ایس آئی کے سابق سربراہ اور بارہ اکتوبر 1999 کو چند گھنٹوں کے لیے اپنے آپ کو پاک فوج کا سپہ سالار سمجھنے والے جنرل خواجہ ضیالدین بٹ شہ سرخیوں