Author Archive

PPP to nominate Pervez Musharraf as prime culprit of Benazir’s murder: Jehangir Badr: Source Online: KARACHI: The secretary general PPP Jehangir Badr has announced that the government would nominate the former President Pervez Musharraf as the prime culprit of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination. Answering a question while addressing a press conference, regarding clearing
well done, Ahsan Iqbal and PML-N: PML-N has decided to stand by the parliament rather than supporting the undemocratic judiciary that has already formed a five-member bench to review the 18th amendment petitions. The only way that democracy can survive in Pakistan is for the
What basic structure doctrine – by Feisal Naqvi: Source Monsoon Frog (and also Dawn) The 18th Amendment is less than a few days old and already it is under attack. Several petitions have been filed challenging the new provisions regarding the appointment of judges and more are
Autopsy of an assassination – Irfan Hussain: Source Dawn IN the mid-1990s, when there was an upsurge in the bloody infighting between the MQM and its breakaway Haqiqi faction, the head of the Intelligence Bureau in Karachi told me that if the ISI were to just
The art and skill to manage the PPP in the province – Ismail Khan: Source Dawn It is a miracle that the Pakistan Peoples’ Party has survived despite the seemingly never-ending wrangling, internal strife, leg-pulling, intrigues and manipulations. Ask any of its leaders, who have had the opportunity to lead the party in
Indictment by the United Nations – Zafar Hilaly: Karachi: The UN report on Benazir Bhutto’s assassination does nothing for some but a lot for others. It’s old hat, a waste of money, say the former. But to the latter it is perhaps the single most devastating indictment
Naming the Establishment – Nirupama Subramanian: Source The Hindu: The U.N. report on Benazir Bhutto’s killing wades directly into the controversial subject of civilian-military relations in Pakistan. Anyone who has been in Pakistan even briefly knows about the “establishment”. It comes up so often in
Rehman Malik’s U Turn: According to this report in Dawn Rehman Malik has removed Hamid Gul from the Exit Control List saying that he “personally thinks that Hamid Gul was not involved in Benazir Bhutto’s murder”. Rehman Malik is already under suspicion himself
Crucial Damage Control – by I.A. Rehman: THE attempts being made to control the damage caused by the killing of more than 60 civilians in two bombing attacks in the Tirah valley can only be welcomed. But one hopes this is the beginning of a more
Nasrullah Baloch – “The Supreme Court No Longer Talks of the Missing Persons”: Source The Baloch Hal An exclusive interview of Nasrullah Baloch, chairman Voice for Missing Baloch Persons (VMBP) with The Baloch Hal Interview by Malik Siraj Akbar If there is one issue one cannot skip while talking about Balochistan, it
UN Report & Conspiracy Theories – Munizae Jahangir: Source Express Tribune Is it not strange that there are so many conspiracy theories around the murder of a leader who before she was killed clearly named those she suspected of being a threat to her security? Certainly the
Commenters expose Talat Hussain’s hypocrisy!: Recently Talat Hussain wrote a melodramatic article called “10 things I hate about foreign media and reporters”. It contained Talat Hussain’s usual hypernationalist rants against foreign journalists in Pakistan. Examples from his article: The incessant complaining. Living in outsized
Tribute to Benazir Bhutto – by Hafsa Khwaja:
Govt Silence Sounds Death Knell for Faisalabad Ahmadis – Nasir Jamal: Source Dawn: LAHORE, April 16: It is no longer just a doorbell for Mohammad Iqbal and his family; instead it has a ring of alarm about it. As a boy goes to answer the call the other inhabitants form
Balochistan’s depressed Press – Baloch Hal Editorial: Source The Baloch Hal Daily Asaap. Abid Amin. Khuzdar Press Club. Malik Arif. All these tags lead to divergent but equally disheartening conclusions which narrate an abysmal state of the press freedom in Balochistan. These tags help us to
Ex-MI Chief Nadeem Ijaz Ordered CPO to Wash Benazir Murder Scene – By Tariq Butt: Source The News: ISLAMABAD: The report of the UN fact-finding commission says the then Rawalpindi City Police Officer (CPO), Saud Aziz, had ordered to hose down the scene of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination at the Liaquat Bagh on the order
U.N. Probe of Bhutto Killing Faults Pakistan Military – Time Magazine: By Omar Waraich: Pakistani authorities not only failed to provide former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto the security that could have saved her life, but elements within the powerful military establishment may even have played a role in her December
Amina Masood Janjua has changed her mind: Despite Justice Muhammad Sair Ali’s rhetoric on January that the missing persons case was more serious than the NRO, since the three member bench of the current Supreme Court was formed to decide the missing persons case we have
Report of the UN commission on Benazir Bhutto’s assassination: General Musharraf and the ISI indicted: Commentary/summary by Abdul Nishapuri The UN Commission’s report clearly identifies General Pervez Musharraf, the ISI and the Punjab Police (collectively the powerful security establishment of Pakistan) as responsible for the tragic murder of Benazir Bhutto and also for impeding
What the provinces gain – by IA Rehman: Source Dawn: The biggest beneficiaries of the 18th Amendment would be the federating units and this should be made known to the people of these units, otherwise the reform measures will not receive the kind of public support that
Shaukat Tarin talking about Mashal LNG Project: Another informative article on the issue by Munawar B. Ahmad: The Supreme Court’s suo moto hearing of the much sensationalised $1 billion scam alleged in the award of the LNG contract to GDF-Suez, may or may not determine if
Arrival of the Hazarawals – Syed Talat Hussain: Source Daily Times The ANP wants to champion the cause of the length and breadth of the NWFP, but does not want to set foot in the Hazara Division. Even after days of mayhem and police-driven murders, the party
سندھی زبان لازمی کیوں نہیں؟ ریاض سہیل: Source BBC Urdu سندھ ہائی کورٹ نے صوبائی حکومت سے معلوم کیا ہے کہ اڑتیس سال گذرنے کے باوجود سرکاری اور نجی تعلیمی اداروں میں سندھی زبان لازمی قرار دینے کے قانون پر عمل کیوں نہیں ہوسکا ہے۔ عدالت
Parliamentary Theocracy – By Yasser Latif Hamdani: Source Daily Times The 18th Amendment reintroduces the requirement for the prime minister of the country to be a Muslim. Pakistan’s slide down the slippery pole of religiosity is quite clear Frederick Douglass — the great 18th century American
Political expediency, quest for short-term gains – by Ismail Khan: Source: Dawn WHEN politics comes into play, everything else becomes secondary. Two tragic incidents, both avoidable, took a terrible toll of human life. To the northwest, jets pounded suspected militant positions and in the process, by the authorities’ own
Pakistan’s South Punjab: Politics of marginalization – Raza Rumi: Source Pak Tea House The discourse on South Punjab conceals the grassroots social movements and the clamouring for a linguistic identity in the region The conundrum of South Punjab remains a major challenge for analysts, policy makers and above
Anti-Pakhtunkhwa protest claims seven lives in Abbottabad: Source The News ABBOTTABAD: Seven people were killed and over 100 sustained injuries on Monday when police used force to break up a protest here against the renaming of NWFP as Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The peaceful headquarters of Hazara division turned
The brick-bat over Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in Hazara – by Ismail Khan: Source Dawn: DOES this demonstrate a genuine, legitimate concern of a people who fear their status and interests as equal citizens being seriously undermined in a newly-named province? What is this kerfuffle all about? Is there politics behind it?
The Jang Group and Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman – how low the standards would fall? – By Yousuf Nazar: Source I am getting quite fed up with the planted, biased, illiterate, and highly unprofessional so-called reporting by the The News International.  Its current owner Mir Shakil ur Rehman was not above cheating in the exams. More about this
Interview with Sherry Rehman: (photo source, Jang) Source Newsline Magazine “It is actually possible to find cross-party support for women’s issues now” – Sherry Rehman Q: Which government, in your view, has been the most woman-friendly in terms of gender-sensitive policies? State the
Plight of Balochistan’s coal mine workers: Source Express News: Related article from Newsline, April 2006: Death In The Mines
5 killed in Abbottabad over Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa renaming issue: PML-Q leaders have been agitating day and night for the last one week over the issue of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa renaming. On 6 April 2010 Umar Ayub Khan, son of Gohar Ayub Khan and former MNA and formerly State Minister of
No more advice, please: Journalists and analysts are very fond of constantly giving advice to the PPP leadership. According to them, PPP leadership needs to embrace their advice in order to become the true voice of Pakistani liberals presumably so that members of
Geo TV 50 Minutes special on protests in Hazara Division over NWFP renaming: Source Siasat.pk
Historic Indeed – by Battar Sattar: Source The News The writer is a lawyer based in Islamabad. Our nation has grown accustomed to receiving even delightful news with suspicion, if not disbelief. But the 18th Constitutional Amendment that proposes significant changes to our Constitution and
ہاشمی، سعد رفیق کا ووٹ سب نے محسوس کیا: Source BBC مسلم لیگ نواز کے رہنما مخدوم جاوید ہاشمی اور خواجہ سعد رفیق کے اٹھارویں ترمیم کی ایک شق کے خلاف ووٹ کے بعد سیاسی حلقوں یہ بحث جاری ہے کہ اب پارٹی میں ان کا مقام کیا
Saleem Safi on Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa renaming issue in Hazara district: Source Jang:
SCBA, LHCBA lawyers ignoring the law: According to this news report, SCBA and LHCBA lawyers have declared in a joint press conference that they will challenge the 18th amendment on the grounds that it has destroyed the entire structure of the 1973 constitution. However this
Representatives of all parties criticize judiciary in 18th amendment parliamentary debate: Source BBC ’عدلیہ کو پارلیمانی فیصلوں کا مذاق اڑانے نہیں دیں گے‘ اٹھارویں آئینی ترمیم کے بل پر بدھ کو قومی اسمبلی میں بحث جاری رہی اور مختلف جماعتوں کے بیشتر اراکین نے ماضی میں عدلیہ کی جانب سے
Saad, Hashmi narrowly escape “N” show-cause notices – Shafiq Awan: Source: Daily Times LAHORE: Although politicians earned a good name through the 18th Amendment, the “democrats” among them closed the door for democracy within their parties as parliament passed the clause on intra-party polls unanimously, according to sources. PML-N