Author Archive
What other dictators does the US support? – by John Elliot: Aside from Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, here are the other most controversial leaders propped up by the U.S. As Egyptian pro-democracy protests rage on, media attention has suddenly focused on the U.S. alliance with the country’s authoritarian rulers. American
Selective ray of hope emanates from Veena Malik to Declan Walsh – by Sana Jokhio: After partially waking up from the deep denial of the extremists, Pakistan’s educated elites (commonly known as FCS, i.e., Fake Civil Society) and their English-speaking media counterparts are once again falling back on narratives that are full of omissions,
Lahore shooting by Raymond Davis and “the legal issues to settle”: Some questions for Ejaz Haider: Once again, Ejaz Haider’s choice of topic and narrative is strikingly similar to the topic and narrative chosen by Ansar Abbasi, Hamid Mir etc, something which has forced me to write this post. First of all, I must thank
The PPP vs the holy nexus of Punjab and the establishment – by Ayaz Amir: بھٹو پر ایوب کی پرچھائیاں زیادہ گہری نہیں تھیں ، وہ ذہین اور کچھ کر دکھانے کی لگن لیے تاریخ سے بھی شُد بُد رکھتے تھے ۔۔۔ اُنھوں نے نپولین اور ہٹلر کا مطالعہ کیا تھا لیکن برِ صغیر
26 target killers shook Karachi: Pulse Exclusive Report: Related Articles: Eerie silence on the 26 target killers Last week a few sections of our press covered parts of the JIT report on target killers in Karachi. That itself was startling telling us where the killers belonged to.
On Gaza, Darfur and our hypocritical activism – by Syed Ali Abbas Zaidi: Cross-posted from Plastic Tears Reactionary activism (and sudden burst of resentment fading away with time) defines our ideological advancement into the 21st century. There is a glaring difference between uproar in Muslim countries, when we compare Gaza to Darfur.
Pakistan’s intelligence agencies and human rights: An interview with Asma Jahangir: Q. Intelligence agencies in Pakistan are functioning without any law supporting their creation and functioning. Do you think that this a major reason for the involvement of intelligence agencies in human rights violations? A.Well, yes, this is one of the
Contract employees: Something the FCS wallas will never write on: Here is an example of a topic which will never worry the Fake Civil Society activists (Twitter Opportunists Club) because it goes against their hero, the saviour of Pakistan, CJ Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. Intellectual and moral honesty are two
Blaming the victim – by Sana Jokhio: It has come to our attention that a certain section of (fake) civil society (FCS) is using the martyrdom of Governor Taseer to malign the remaining PPP leadership. At a recent candle light vigil in Islamabad, where PPP supporters were
Eerie silence on the 26 target killers: Cross-posted from: Pakistan Blogzine Sindh Minister, Dr. Zulfiqar Mirza in a fiery and emotional outburst on 13th December, 2010 at the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry had indicated who is responsible for target killing in Karachi for the
Liberal extremists? Pray tell – by Nadeem F Paracha: Oh, my, that label again: ‘Liberal extremist.’ What on earth does it mean? Absolutely nothing. Great wordplay and deliciously idiosyncratic, but that’s about it. However, since the popular electronic media in Pakistan is usually about a rather nihilistic strain
Fatwa of Shaykh-ul-Islam Mufti Muhammad Idris Usmani about Mufti Naeem and Javed Ahmad Ghamidi: Note: This post highlights the fact that Islam is far from monolithic and while there are those who are issuing Fatwas based on a sectarian and hideous interpretation of Islam, there are more tolerant and inclusive interpretations of Islam.
Fake Civil Society must stop blaming the PPP: A rebuttal to Naveen Naqvi and Sana Saleem: Related posts: The blaming the victim brigade and Shahbaz Bhatti’s murder Three musketeers and the “PPP abandoned Salmaan Taseer” narrative An open letter to President Zardari — by Shahid Saeed We, at LUBP, have been exposing the shenanigans of
On Salmaan Taseer’s murder: We, the South Asian people, will never let religious fanatics to decide the destiny of future generations – by Dhirendra Sharma: The Governor of Punjab in Pakistan, Salmaan Taseer, was assassinated by a policeman who fired twenty seven bullets before surrendering himself with a sinister smile to a dozen security policemen around him. The bodyguard was assigned to protect him
Exposing Pakistan Army’s land corruption: Well done, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan!: PAC comes down hard on defence secretary * Committee directs secretary to be better prepared in next meeting * Audit officials say army using govt land falling in A-1 category worth Rs 120.767bn for commercial purposes By Zeeshan Javaid
Fake Civil Society (FCS) – by Shahid Khan: Related article: Taseer’s murder and the call for a ‘broad-based alliance’ between PPP and the ‘civil society’ – by Ahmad Nadeem Gehla 1. Civil Society, Real or Fake? The current phenomenon of ‘civil society’ did exist in Pakistan during
The drone of the ummah and the infidel blasphemers – by Hakim Hazik: Cross-posted from Justice Denied Note: This post was written two days before Salmaan Taseer’s martyrdom. From Khyber to Karachi and from Wahga to Naukundi, the lovers of the faith and of the blasphemy law came out in force. Armed
On Salmaan Taseer: A cry in the wilderness – by Kamran Shafi: Source: Dawn, 11 Jan 2010 I DON`T know where to begin, what to say. There are so many questions: the governor`s murderer could have been a fundamentalist, obscurantist, extremist, terrorist, whatever. But why did the other guards who were
Bramdagh Bugti says Ali K. Chishti fabricated his “bogus interview” in Daily Times: Cross-posted from The Baloch Hal Quetta: A spokesman for Baloch nationalist leader and the head of the Baloch Republican Party (BRP) Nawabzada Bramdagh Bugti has termed two recent interviews published in a Lahore-based English daily as fake, fabricated and
In the name of God, you are dead – by Amir Mir: When Punjab Governor Salman Taseer stepped out of the Table Talk restaurant in Islamabad, after having lunch with his hotelier friend Sheikh Waqas on January 4, he was most likely aware of the possibility of religious extremists lurking around
My father died for Pakistan – by Shehrbano Taseer: Related article: Not unlike Benazir Bhutto, Governor Taseer was martyred because of his belief in a secular and democratic Pakistan – by Rusty Walker TWENTY-SEVEN. That’s the number of bullets a police guard fired into my father before surrendering
Namoos-e-Risalat or Namoos-e-ISI? – by Yousuf Nazar: Related articles: Namoos-e-risalat or namoos-e-zia-ul-haq? – by Abbas Ather Politicizing blasphemy law: who is behind Namoos e Risalat movement? A plan well executed The cat is out of the bag. For months, I have suspected that the ISI is
Salmaan Taseer: assassinated on a perilous path – by Dr Mohammad Taqi: Salmaan Taseer dedicated his personal fortune to the cause of publishing the unvarnished truth and the people’s right to know this truth. It would not have been possible for this paper’s editorial board to carry itself independently were it
From failed State to failed society – by Imran Qadir Butt: Which comes before which? I mean to say whether our state failed us first and then society as a whole degenerated or vice versa. But then I think we are at such brink where this distinction does not make
Fatwa of Shaykh-ul-Islam Mufti Muhammad Idris Usmani about Malik Mumtaz Qadri and his supporters: Note: This post highlights the fact that Islam is far from monolithic and while there are those who are issuing Fatwas that result in the murder of Governor Taseer, there are also those who have huge problems with such
Why do they pick on us Pakistanis? – by Pervez Hoodbhoy: My green passport requires standing in a separate immigration line once my plane lands at Boston’s Logan airport. The ‘special attention’ from Homeland Security, although polite, adds an extra two to three hours. I belong to the fortunate few who
Let’s starve the Kurram agency Shias; convoy of fuel, food torched by the Taliban: Related articles: Taliban attack convoy in Kurram agency, killing 18 Shia population of Kurram agency: Between the military and militants — by Farhat Taj Mr Zardari, Is Kurram Agency a part of Pakistan? Finally, ISI openly blockades Shias in
Extremist Deobandis kill two Shia teachers in D.I.Khan: It seems that the recent release of Qari Saifullah Akhtar of the Sipah-e-Sahaba / Taliban by the ISI / Punjab Government has brought some results. The recent wave of the anti-Shia violence in the country (in view of recent
Salman Taseer – Another Victim of Islamofacsim: LUBP interviews Tarek Fatah: Author, journalist, ad man, technical writer, political activist and family man, Tarek Fatah stands as a prominent opponent of Islamofascism today. From confronting the IJT thugs of Karachi University in the late 1960s to taking on the lobbyists of
The MQM-JUI drama being directed from you-know-where – by Kamran Shafi: So then, the MQM has crossed over to the opposition benches, joining Maulana Fazlur Rehman`s JUI, pushing the federal government onto the ropes. Let us now see how the drama, being directed from you-know-where, unfolds. Thus far, Mr Nawaz
Quaid-e-Azam and minorities – by Nasir Saeed: On the 25th December 2010 Pakistan celebrated the 134th birthday of the father of the nation, Quid e Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah. Dignitaries such as Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad Khan and Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah of Sindh
MQM: Losing the plot? – by Nadeem F. Paracha: The list of reasons that MQM gave for quitting the coalition reads like a summarised series of slogans and concerns that one gets to hear over and over again on talk shows: NFP. – File Photo So, the MQM
U.S. efforts fail to convince Pakistan’s top general to target Taliban – by Karin Brulliard and Karen DeYoung: Courtesy: The Washington Post, 31 Dec 2010 But they have yet to persuade him to undertake what theObama administration’s recent strategy reviewconcluded is a key to success in the Afghan war – the elimination of havens inside Pakistan where
Blind Faith: A short documentary film about the blasphemy law in Pakistan – by Sarah Naqvi: This is a must see documentary on the blasphemy laws, made just a few days before the assassination of Salmaan Taseer. The penal code of 1860, carried 4 sections. Laws related to offences against religion were enacted to diffuse
Female suicide bombers: A Farhat Hashmi production: Related article: Dr Farhat Hashmi: Cultivating Al Qaeda in Muslim women کیا اب خواتین، خودکش حملے کریں گی؟ رحیم اللہ یوسف زئی پاکستان کے قبائلی علاقوں مہمند اور باجوڑ میں عسکریت پسندوں کے حملوں کی نئی لہر، جس میں
New man of Australian cricket Usman Khawaja represents much more: Source: The Australian THE first Muslim to wear the baggy green will represent his culture proudly. That’s the culture that listens to Wolfmother, spends hours on PCs playing Call of Duty and claims Ricky Ponting is a “legend” who
The sinister side of Pakistan’s Sharif brothers – by Rajeev Sharma: For decades the Indian political and military establishments have been convinced that the deep anti-India mindset in Pakistan is rooted in Pakistan Army and the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI). However, available indications are that the rot is much deeper,