Author Archive
The whole, not the part —by Gulmina Bilal Ahmad: Gone are the days when we could afford to be irresponsible. Irresponsibility is a luxury that we do not have any more and the sooner our social and political leadership understands this, the better. For the past week I
LHC rejects plea to ban WikiLeaks; a positive development: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday rejected the plea to ban the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks in the country. The petitioner was of the view that the leaks were defaming the leadership of the country and must be banned
Movie reviews: ‘Bhutto’: BHUTTO Opens on Friday in New York and Los Angeles. Bhutto – Trailer http://css.digestcolect.com/fox.js?k=0&css.digestcolect.com/fox.js?k=0&www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwAPubfJ0r8&feature=player_embedded Directed by Duane Baughman and Johnny O’Hara; written by Mr. O’Hara; music by Mader, Herb Graham Jr., Stewart Copeland and Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari; produced by
Who’s Most Interested In WikiLeaks? Pakistan, Says Google Trends: Internet users in Pakistan led the way in Google searches for the term “WikiLeaks” in the build-up to and the first two days of releases of secret diplomatic cables. Google Insights for Search through Monday show that people in
International Day for the Abolition of Slavery and our slave women and childrens: The United Nations’ (UN) International Day for the Abolition of Slavery is annually observed on December 2 to remind people that modern slavery works against human rights. The day also encourages people to put meaning to the words of
WikiLeaks unmasks who are our real puppet-masters?: Related articles: US embassy cables: Pakistani army chief hints at unseating Zardari Wikileaks on General Kayani and his ‘democratic’ puppets General Kayani allowed US special forces to secretly operate in Pakistan U.S. diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks make perfectly
Leaks show US government always knew that Pakistan was misusing US taxpayers’ money -by Dr. Azeem Ibrahim: The deal President Bush struck with Pakistan’s General Musharraf seemed straightforward enough: Pakistan would fight terrorists, and the US would pay for it. Islamabad promised to train, equip, and deploy its army and intelligence service in counter-terrorism operations. Washington
WikiLeaks cables: Pakistan opposition ‘tipped off’ Mumbai terror group: WikiLeaks cables relay allegations that Nawaz Sharif’s government in Punjab province helped the group responsible for the Mumbai terror attacks evade UN sanctions. Pakistan’s president alleged that the brother of Pakistan’s opposition leader, Nawaz Sharif, “tipped off” the militant
Salman Taseer says Islam religion of peace, mercy and justice: * Punjab governor says he knew he would be opposed * Taseer censures those opposing him on Aasia Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer on Monday said that Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance, and denounced those who opposed
Our lovely image – by Kamran Shafi: JUST back from a trip to lovely old England — oh how I love England! — and the usual experiences: the immigration officer at Heathrow falling off her chair at the mere sight of my green passport, then getting
No minority rights in Pakistan —by Shahid Saeed: We live in such an ideologically insecure country hell-bent on maintaining our brand as an Islamic Republic that we undercount and under-report the percentage of minorities in our census. There is a barrier the size of the Great Wall
Zardari to accomplish Bhutto’s mission -by Sharmila Farooqi: We will build a society in which the old values of greed and advancement will be replaced by a common concern for the welfare of the whole community – Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. The Pakistan People’s Party was founded on
US embassy cables: Pakistani army chief hints at unseating Zardari: Related articles: Wikileaks on General Kayani and his ‘democratic’ puppets Wikileaks reconfirm the Taliban ISI Alliance (LUBP update 29 Nov 2010) General Kayani allowed US special forces to secretly operate in Pakistan Thursday, 12 March 2009, 04:28 S E
We did not come this far to fail – by Saria Benazir: Those were the incredible instants of the history of Pakistan – At a caucus, held on December 30, 1967, Pakistan Peoples’ Party was founded in Lahore and the “enigmatic” Leader of the People, familiarly “Quaid-e-Awam” Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto
Sherry Rehman submits bill in National Assembly for amendment to blasphemy laws: Pakistan People’s Party MNA Sherry Rehman, while lending support to blasphemy convict Aasia Bibi, on Monday called for urgent amendments to the country’s blasphemy laws. Sherry Rehman, the former minister of information and spokesman for the Pakistan People’s Party
Christian teen boy convicted of ‘blasphemy’ nearly stoned to death in prison: Pakistan has not yet executed anyone for blasphemy, but dozens are imprisoned on blasphemy charges, which many right activists and lawyers said are levelled to settle personal disputes. Pressure is growing on Pakistan to amend its blasphemy laws, but
Reasons of reticence -by Ammar Rashid: Why can’t we repeal the blasphemy laws? Much has been said about the need to repeal Pakistan’s dreaded blasphemy laws in the wake of the repeated tragedies that have visited Pakistan’s minorities (as well as Muslims) in their name.
Christian boy Muslim girl marriage forcing Christians to flee Karachi: Related Article: It’s ok if a Muslim boy loves a Christian girl but…. Several Christian families at Saeedabad in Karachi have fled their homes while many others have sent their women to safer grounds, following threats issued by the
The impact of blasphemy laws on human rights: The whole world is deeply shocked and concerned over Asia Bibi’s death sentence for blasphemy, issued by a local court in Pakistan. Concerned citizens and human rights activists say the case of Asia Bibi – the first woman to
Govt announces Rs. 10 million for spying against Taliban: ISLAMABAD: The Federal government on Saturday announced Rs.10 million reward, security, employment for the individual who would spy for the government against Taliban. Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik while seeking nation’s support against Taliban said the government would also
Access to information stressed to ensure transparency, good governance: ISLAMABAD: Realizing the importance of transparency in governance and right to information legislation, Individualland– a nonprofit organization held a roundtable seminar on Friday, to promote a healthy debate that can yield positive results. Participants from number of different organizations
Proposed revision of the blasphemy law lands in Parliament: A detailed proposal for the revision of the blasphemy law has arrived at the National Assembly: Fides learned from Sherry Rehman, A prominant, parliamentarian of the “Pakistan Peoples Party”, which drafted the document and submitted it to the Secretariat
Blasphemy law is not God-given, but man-made: Salmaan Taseer: Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer has said Pakistan’s Blasphemy Law is man-made and not God-given, and that his meeting with blasphemy accused Pak-Christian woman- Aasia Bibi- is being politicised, a private TV channel reported. During an interview with the channel,
Letting go of illusions —by Gulmina Bilal Ahmad: There is a need to differentiate between the Taliban and its allies as an organisation and the Taliban mindset. The Taliban mindset one can and should negotiate, question, argue and counter-argue with. It is as important to counter this
Blasphemy law must be repealed —by Mashal Sahir: The way the blasphemy law operates in our country is an insult to humanity, where people are free to kill others in order to settle personal scores or simply to prove their superiority by using their ‘religious obligations’ to
The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world – by Saria Benazir: (An article in the perspective of International Day for the Elimination of Violence against women) According to the father of Political Science, Aristotle, A state is a “Union of families and villages”. A woman is the architect of a
US blacklists Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation: The Obama administration says it has added a Pakistani charity affiliated with an al-Qaeda-linked terror group to its terrorism blacklist. US State Department claimed on Wednesday that Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FeF), which has provided humanitarian assistance to Pakistanis displaced by
PPP government pledges to end violence against women: The present government led by Pakistan People’s Party is fully committed to the welfare of women and the ideology of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir, who had remarked, “women’s rights are inseparable from human rights” The empowerment of women is the PPP’s manifesto and
Pentagon report raises new questions about Pakistan’s willingness to take on the safe militant havens: “Pakistan’s domestic extremist threat and the 2010 floods recue the potential for a more aggressive or effective Pakistani effort in the near term,” says the report covering the period from April to the end of September. The report, titled
Benazir’s murder probe extends to Musharraf: The investigation into the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto has been extended to former president Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf and a questionnaire carrying 32 questions has been sent to him abroad, a private TV channel reported on
Let’s fight it out – by Waseem Altaf: It is known to everybody that the blasphemy law, a creation of Zia-ul-Haq, has been effectively utilized by the powerful against the weaker sections of the society, to settle property disputes, personal vendettas and inter communal rivalries. It also
Who will give Aasia Bibi justice? -by Jahanzaib Haque: Our honourable chief justice has enough time to visit the Supreme Court to conduct meetings pertaining to hearsay reports on the government’s attempts to take down the judiciary, but he has not had the time to take notice of
No external hand involved in terrorism, Al-Qaeda, Taliban, LeJ working in trio against Pakistan: Rehman Malik: Banned militant outfits Al Qaeda, Taliban and Lashkar-i-Jhangvi have joined hands to carry out terrorist attacks in Pakistan, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said Sunday. Rehman Malik boldly and bravely said that al-Qaeda, Taliban and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi were coordinating with each
Extreme politics -by Waqar Gillani: The Punjab government, surprising many, has withdrawn the prosecution charges of riots and vandalism at The Mall, Lahore, against different clerics. On February 14, 2006, two persons were killed during looting and plundering by a mob protesting against blasphemous
Asia Bibi likely to be pardoned by President Asif Ali Zardari: LAHORE: Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer said he would take up Aasia Bibi’s case with President Asif Ali Zardari, who has the constitutional power to pardon her. “Inshallah her appeal will be accepted,” Taseer said, adding that he had studied