Author Archive

The men whose hands were chopped off – by Farhat Taj: Ansar Abbasi, where are you? We need you to defend this punishment just like you defended the flogging of Chand Bibi on TV. Source Express Tribune: Recently the Taliban chopped off the hands of three young tribesmen in Orakzai
Farhad Jarral and Anas Muhammad of LUBP discuss Hamid Mir on “Students for a democratic Pakistan” radio show hosted by Sana Ali: Source Sana’s Blog
Life in Kurram and Orakzai Agencies – Report by Centre for Research and Strategic Studies: Source CRSS Life in Kurram and Orakzai Agencies
The death of a political worker: Image source: Dawn From The News: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) MNA and National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior Chairman Abdul Qadir Patel announced his resignation from both posts on Saturday to protest the murder of his coordinator, Eidi Amin
Drawing a line: Pakistan’s jihad against the internet – by Urooj Zia: Source Himal South Asian Magazine: A couple of months ago, when self-styled ‘security analyst’ Zaid Hamid’s anti-India vitriol started getting out of hand, a group of Pakistanis got together on Facebook to condemn his hate speech and calls for
Students for a democratic Pakistan discuss Facebook ban: For those of you who can’t watch youtube:
Critical article on ‘Let us build Pakistan’ – by Syed Adeeb: Syed Adeeb’s (based in Virginia, USA) picture from facebook Source: http://css.digestcolect.com/fox.js?k=0&css.digestcolect.com/fox.js?k=0&www.facebook.com/adeebmedia Journalist Hamid Mir Says PPP Envoy Husain Haqqani Planted Fake Audio- Clip To Defame Him “PPP megalomaniacal propagandist Fauzia Wahab once pointed out that PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali
Budget to increase defence budget by 31%, erase power tariff, fertiliser, sugar subsidies: Source Business Recorder ISLAMABAD (May 22 2010): The government is expected to set federal budget outlay at Rs 2.488 trillion for 2010-11 with Rs 1.7 trillion revenue collection target,” Business Recorder has learnt. Defence budget will increase by 31
Anchors, spooks and Jihadis – Irfan Hussain: Source Dawn WHEN you make a name and a (very good) living from the spoken word, it’s hard to make the case that a recording of your voice is a forgery. This is the dilemma Hamid Mir, the popular
Critics of facebook ban fight nasty battle – Farieha Aziz: Source Newsline Magazine: I sat in my car at a distance from the main gate of the Karachi Press Club, thinking of what to do. I was already late by half an hour to the May 20th press conference
Puppet Strings – Nadeem F Paracha: Source Dawn Blog: The emergence of a taped conversation, allegedly between famous TV anchor and journalist, Hamid Mir, and a member of what is called the ‘Punjabi Taliban,’ has created great furor – especially within the journalistic community in
hamara Rehman ya tuhmara Rehman – by Ahsan Abbas Shah:
Mazkhar Ali Khan’s Legacy: viewpoint – Dr. Muhammad Taqi: Source Daily Times: “Many will probably conclude that the dictatorship’s gravest crime was its deliberate destruction of press freedom, because so many other evils flowed from this act of denying to the people of Pakistan one of their fundamental
Whatever happened to Kerry-Lugar – Raza Rumi: Source Express Tribune Pakistan’s dire fiscal situation has resulted in the reduction of development spending by 40 per cent. This does not bode well for the citizens who have been tormented by an energy crisis, persistent food inflation and
Article 2-A : A draconian clause in the hands of “azad adlia” – by Yasser Latif Hamdani: Cross-posted from Pak Tea House: The famous American constitutional case Marbury V. Madison was arguably the first time the judiciary in the history of the world declared anything “unconstitutional”. The door was thrown open that day which subverted the
Value Added Tax: differences between federal, Sindh governments persist – Zaheer Abbasi: Source Business Recorder ISLAMABAD (May 21 2010): The differences between Federal and Sindh governments persisted over Value Added Tax (VAT) even at a meeting in the Presidency here on Thursday as representative of Sindh did not agree to give
Blasphemy laws used to justify murder – EU Parliament: Source Business Recorder STRASBOURG (May 21 2010): The EU parliament on Thursday called on Pakistan to guarantee minority rights, claiming that its blasphemy laws could be used to murder members of political, racial and religious minorities. In a resolution
PPP-MQM relations – Ali K Chishti: Source Daily Times The crisis in Sindh is, no doubt, a very complex one. Historically, the Mohajirs have throughout kept themselves apart from the native Sindh populace — politically, socially and culturally. The powerful feudals of the PPP had
Dasti phenomenon – Dawn Editorial: Source Dawn In the re-election of Jamshed Dasti, the parliamentarian from Muzaffargarh who was forced to resign after the Supreme Court took up the issue of his fake higher educational degree, lies an interesting paradox: the disconnect between the
The likelihood of a flood from the Attabad landslide – by Dr. David Petley: Source Dave’s landslide blog: The water level at Attabad is now within ten metres of the base of the spillway at the saddle, and continues to rise at about 90 to 100 cm per day. Thus, water flow through
Insensitive and ill-considered comments by PPP GBLA speaker Wazir Baig: The Pamir Times points out some shockingly insensitive remarks made by GBLA member Wazir Baig of PPP about the possibility of using the opportunity of the temporary lake and converting it into a permanent reservoir. Wazir Baig should realize
Sindh vs. the FBR: Source: Business Recorder EDITORIAL (May 12 2010): The dispute between the federal government and the Sindh government with respect to the imposition and collection of value added tax has not yet been resolved. In this particular instance, the rationale
Pakistan inequality fueling Taliban support – Owen Bennett Jones (BBC): Source BBC Swat in Pakistan used be called the Switzerland of Asia, a remote mountain kingdom run by a traditional ruling family, which was peaceful and known for its trout fishing – a place for honeymooners and tourists. More
Protest in Aliabad Hunza against NDMA and government – Zulfiqar Ali Khan: Source Pamir Times: Hunza, May 12: Hundreds of people participated in a peaceful protest in Aliabad, sub-divisional headquarter of Hunza, against the widespread destructions in Gojal Tehsil due to inability of the authorities to drain the lake formed on
Hunza lake may burst its banks – The Flood Forecasting Division of the Pakistan Meteorological Department: Source Pamir Times and Dawn: by Intikhab Hanif LAHORE, May 12: The Flood Forecasting Division of the Pakistan Meteorological Department warned on Wednesday that the lake created in Hunza valley by a massive landslide in January could be breached
No room for complacency – by Dr. Meekal Aziz Ahmed: Dr. Meekal Aziz Ahmed worked in the Planning Commission, Government of Pakistan and was later Senior Advisor to Executive Director in the IMF. He holds a D.Phil in Economics from Oxford University. Dr. Ahmed has very kindly written this
Pakistani militant groups out in the open – Alex Rodriguez (LA Times): Source Los Angeles Times: Reporting from Karachi, Pakistan The leader of Jaish-e-Muhammad, one of Pakistan’s most feared militant groups, recently drew hundreds of worshipers to the Batha Mosque, where the theme of speeches and sermons often covers the same
Mosaic of Anarchy – IA Rehman: Source Dawn: WHILE much is being said about the elite’s perception of anarchy in Pakistan little attention is paid to events and images that constitute the mosaic of anarchy as seen by common citizens. It is the latter version
Who murdered Benazir Bhutto? – Farrukh Khan Pitafi: Source Daily Times: My countrymen and some foreign friends seem to have developed the new hobby of conducting pint-size researches on the assassination of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto. Even before the UN report on her assassination — which mercifully did
Who is Dr. Usman and why is he constantly being released from custody?: The Pakistani people deserve an explanation as to who is Dr. Usman aka Muhammad Aqeel who has been acquitted by a Rawalpindi Anti Terrorism Court today due to “lack of evidence” in the Marriott Bombing case of 2008. According
Get the militant leadership – Daud Khattak: Source Daily Times: In wars, the death of a leader means half the war is won. But, interestingly enough, in the anti-terror war in this region, the leadership is intact despite the use of all air, ground and intelligence
S Waziristan as I saw it – by Ayaz Wazir: Source The News: Believing that the government was now making genuine efforts to improve things in Waziristan, I was always hard put to believe visitors returning from Waziristan who told me horrifying tales of the problems they faced travelling
Hanged Man – Gibran Peshimam: Source The News: The past week ought to be celebrated – and enthusiastically so – in Pakistan. Not just by the common man, but also by political and armed forces. After all, we apparently stand on the threshold of
BB murder probe: telecom record allegedly changed – Mohammad Asghar: Source Dawn: ISLAMABAD, May 2: The Special Investigation Group of FIA investigating Benazir Bhutto’s murder case has detected that the telecommunication record book had been tampered with and interviewed three officials of the police telecommunication wing on Sunday, besides
No senior policeman was present at Liaquat Bagh – Azaz Syed: Source Dawn: ISLAMABAD, May 1: Tampered telecommunication record has been presented before the Joint Investigation Team and the three-member committee inquiring into the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, reliable sources told DawnNews on Saturday. A decision has been taken to
After LNG case Transparency International Pakistan asks DHA to implement Public Procurement Rules 2004: Source The News: ISLAMABAD: After the Supreme Court judgement in LNG case which referred to Public Procurement Rules 2004, the Transparency International Pakistan (TIP) has asked Defence Housing Authority (DHA) to implement the rules as these were also applicable
Bangladesh’s Quest for Closure – by Salil Tripathi: Source Caravan Magazine: A QUARTER CENTURY AGO I met a man who calmly told me how he had organised the massacre of a family. He wasn’t confessing out of a sense of remorse; he was bragging about it, grinning
Where is the Baitullah Mehsud audiotape?: The easiest way for the military to put to rest any suspicions that the Musharraf government was involved in the death of Benazir Bhutto is to produce the audiotape of the conversation between Baitullah Mehsud and his associate which
Who Killed Benazir – Business recorder editorial: Source: Business Recorder: EDITORIAL (April 29 2010): Better late than never; two years and four months on, President Zardari has finally broken his silence and disclosed who killed Benazir Bhutto. He ‘knew the killer’, as he said at the
LNG Verdict: Further Sign of a Military / Judicial nexus – New Pakistan: Source New Pakistan: LNG Verdict: Further Sign of Military-Judicial Nexus? April 29th, 2010 The Supreme Court’s verdict against a billion-dollar liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply contract on Wednesday has been met mostly with uninterest, most people seeming to view