Author Archive
Political talk shows in Pakistan and the honourable lies – by Nadeem F. Paracha: Honourable lies “In the wake of Pakistan’s more aggressive involvement in the US-run ‘war on terror’, the narrative began being tampered with by talk show ‘guests’ — mainly from the Jamat-i-Islami, certain retired generals who still seem nostalgically stuck
Trial of terror suspects? – by Huma Yusuf: Ajmal Kasab’s conviction and sentencing to death came as no surprise. The Pakistani Foreign Office mumbled a muted response, promising to study the judgment in detail. Indians meanwhile celebrated the conviction as a sign of the vitality of their
Hunza lake: A disaster in waiting – by Kishwar Naheed: ہنزہ جھیل قیامت بن سکتی ہے….کشور ناہید ادھر بیجنگ+15 پر بحث کرنے کیلئے سارے پاکستان کی عورتیں جمع ہوئی تھیں۔ ادھرکسان عورتوں کی کانفرنس SAP پاکستان میں ہو رہی تھی اور تیسرا قصہ یہ چھڑا تھا کہ ہنزہ میں
Incompetent terrorist but not incompetent recruiters – by Nazir Naji: In the following op-ed, veteran columnist Nazir Naji highlights the need to eliminate the ideological recruiters and logistic facilitators of the terror-network in the region. Naji writes that Faisal Shahzad (the Times Square bomber) may be an incompetent operative
Higher education in Pakistan – by Dr. Javaid Laghari: The developing countries are no longer content to be a source of cheap labour. Instead, they are rapidly becoming the driving force of innovation and creativity. They are redesigning entire products and business processes to reduce costs. IBM today
Lengthening shadows of spy agencies’ rule in Pakistan – by Babar Sattar: Lengthening shadows Legal eye We will never know for certain whether or not Maj Gen Nadeem Ijaz, the former head of Military Intelligence (MI), ordered that the crime scene be hosed down following Benazir Bhutto’s assassination. The three-member fact-finding
The Left politics in Pakistan: Nothing left? — by Salman Tarik Kureshi: The Left, whether united or otherwise, remains ignorant of and utterly irrelevant to these historical mega-phenomena. This is in spite of the fact that left-wing philosophers of the order of Gramsci and Foucault have written at great length on
Curious case of Faisal Shahzad and the infrastructure of jihad – by Cyril Almeida: This undated photo shows Faisal Shahzad, right, and his wife Huma Mian. Shahzad was arrested at a New York airport on charges that he drove a bomb-laden SUV meant to cause a fireball in Times Square, federal authorities said.
If half-a-million ethnic Punjabis flee Balochistan – by Jan Assakzai: If they flee Balochistan A disturbing fallout of Baloch militants’ estrangement is going to be mass migration from Balochistan of Punjabi- and Urdu-speaking people, who mostly live in Quetta. The professional entrepreneurial middle class composed of the non-indigenous communities
Silence or conditional condemnation of the Times Square bomber — by Dr Mahjabeen Islam: Ours is a nation with many Joseph Goebbels. We rattle on in convoluted, minute details and in the effort to convince others, delude only ourselves, unfortunately so deeply that we lose the beginning of lies and the death of
North Waziristan: the new terrorist epicentre?: The investigations into Faisal Shahzad’s attempted car bombing in New York have shifted focus to his links in Pakistan. While little evidence has so far emerged of his link to one or the other terrorist group, his own admission
Wild boars attack Pakistan’s Supreme Court: Mukafat-e-amal? Wild boars inhabit the thickly-forested areas around Islamabad. The city is located in a valley in the foothills of the Himalayas which provides them with perfect cover. Today was however a strange day in Islamabad’s history. Destiny had
Jinnah: India-Partition-Independence – by Jaswant Singh – Book Review by Iftikhar Ahmad: Book review: Creation of the state of Pakistan —by Iftikhar Ahmad Jinnah: India-Partition-Independence By Jaswant Singh Oxford University Press; Pp 565, Price Rs 995 It is claimed that Jaswant Singh’s book, Jinnah: India-Partition-Independence, attempts an objective evaluation. It is
The grapes are sour for Nisar: Bargain games between PML-N and the Supreme Court – by Saeed Minhas: ISLAMABAD: The civil and military bureaucracy should be scrutinised by the parliamentary public accounts committee, however, the judiciary can opt for whatever it wants and parliamentarians will respect its position, provided it takes a declared position. If this was
Of friends and fire: Taliban’s violence against the JI and Khalid Khwaja – by Nadeem Paracha: On April 19, a Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) rally in Peshawar was attacked by a suicide bomber. The gruesome attack was allegedly engineered and undertaken by members of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The irony is that the JI are one of
Chameleons: Pakistani politicians’ approach towards Taliban – by Farooq Sulehria: The suicide blast in Peshawar on April 19 that claimed 23 lives was a little different, in the sense that instead of targeting the ANP, as usual, the suicide bomber chose a Jamaat-e-Islami demonstration to detonate himself. The Naib
The Scylla of violence: indiscriminate violence against the non-combatant settlers in Balochistan – by Dr Mohammad Taqi: “This is a political war and it calls for discrimination in killing.” — John Paul Vann, US adviser in Vietnam The recent killing of Professor Nazima Talib in Quetta has once again called into question the logic of indiscriminate
Khawaja’s murder: a dark indicator – by Kamila Hyat: The sordid murder of Khalid Khawaja, the former ISI official, squadron leader and a man thought at various times to have negotiated between the US, the Pak Army and militants, exposes the many inter-linkages relating to terrorism. There is,
Terrorists of Sipah-e-Sahaba held, bomb defused – by Faraz Khan: LJ man held, bomb defused By Faraz Khan KARACHI: Police arrested a member of the banned religious outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LJ) on Tuesday on suspicion that he was involved in a bank robbery that took place in the last week
The fascist struggle in Pakistan — by Naveed Afridi: We have seen the fusing of religious symbolism in the narrative of modern Pakistan, the worship of the armed forces and promotion of adventurous militarism from TV personalities as well as in charismatic figures like Zaid Hamid. We have
Investigation of Benazir Bhutto’s murder by a committee and a half – By Kamran Shafi: A committee and a half The committee set up to fix responsibility for the hosing down of the site of Benazir Bhutto’s dastardly assassination is something to behold: a federal secretary, a provincial additional secretary and the vice chief
Thousands of Pukhtuns celebrate the 18th Amendment and provincial autonomy in Clifton, Karachi: From Ali Abbas Inayatullah’s facebook: While Pakistan’s bourgeouise “intelligensia” often falsely paints the Taliban as being part of “Pushtoon Nationalism”, nothing could be further from the truth! After sacrifizing thousands of lives for opposing the Taliban and loosing scores
Banned outfits eye new recruits through jihadi material – by Faraz Khan: KARACHI: Religious organisations outlawed by former president Pervez Musharraf continue promoting terrorism in Karachi by distributing material to convince the youth to enlist themselves in the name of jihad, Daily Times learnt on Monday. Sources revealed that Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan,
Get the militant leadership — by Daud Khattak: 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 resources against them
Plight of Pakistan’s informal workforce — by Syed Mohammad Ali: Given Pakistan’s currently tenuous economic and security situation, coupled with increasing unemployment, more women and children will join home-based work, which is not regulated and where remuneration is extremely low
Understanding the Pakistani mindset on Ajmal Kasab (and other terrorists): Kasab’s home village slams Mumbai conviction Monday, 03 May, 2010 Villagers watch breaking news on the Indian court verdict against Ajmal Kasab at a house in the remote town of Faridkot in Pakistan. — AFP FARIDKOT: Farmers in the
Finally, the Deobandi awakening against Taliban terrorists?: No condemnation Dawn Editorial Monday, 03 May, 2010 There is little doubt that there still exist, across Pakistan, mosques, schools of religious learning and other religious centres that continue to spew hate. Unless that infrastructure of hate is shut
From Charter of Democracy to 18th Amendment – by Nazir Leghari: سکہ بند دانشوروں کی پسینے سے شرابور پیشیانیاں….عرض حال…نذیر لغاری 15/ مئی 2006 کو لندن میں پاکستان پیپلزپارٹی اور پاکستان مسلم لیگ (ن) کے مابین طے پانے والے میثاق جمہوریت میں ججوں کے تقرر کا طریقہ کار اس قدر
Bhuttoism ought to be a part of school syllabus – by Ahsan Abbas Shah: A thought provoking article on inculcating the principles of Bhuttoism in Pakistan as a part of school syllabus.
Textbooks from the hate factory – by Haya Fatima Iqbal: KARACHI: The portrayal of religious minorities in textbooks prescribed by state-funded textbook boards is a grave indicator of what the country’s young people are being taught in terms of tolerance and respect for other religions. According to a 2007
Misfortunes of the Pakistani Left — by Dr Mohammad Taqi: The Pakistani neocon media have stoked this urban Pak-nationalist zealotry — whose detonator is Saudi Islam — and helped the grotesque fascist mediocrities like the Brothers Sharif, complete their chokehold on Pakistan’s political economy “With the development of interest-bearing
Keeping the Profit in Oil and Persistent War – by Peter Chamberlin: Source: No sunglasses The accelerating pace of events in south and central Asia suggest that we are nearing the end of the “nice guy” phase in the terror war, where the need to keep-up appearances is overridden by military
Who murdered Benazir Bhutto? – by Christina Lamb: Bhutto was transformed when reunited with her supporters (Paul Rogers/The Times) Benazir Bhutto was brought back to Pakistan from exile as part of an international deal. Then she was killed — and all traces of evidence were immediately swept
Sipah-e-Sahaba responsible for Khalid Khwaja’s murder – by Amir Mir: Killers of Khwaja wanted custody of Afghan Taliban, not release Sunday, May 02, 2010 By Amir Mir LAHORE: The Asian Tigers’ demand for the release of some key commanders of the Afghan Taliban, including Mulla Omar’s second-in-command, in exchange
Constitutional obligations of judiciary — by Mohammad Azhar Siddique: A constitution is the aspirations of the people. It is the experience of the past, the present desires of the nation, and last, but not the least, a hope for the future. A constitution is a document for all
Asif Zardari and ‘concerned’ journalism – by Nadeem Paracha: What to say of an electronic media some of whose channels, for example, decided to place the cosmetic Shoaib-Sania saga at the top of their main 9:00pm news bulletins on the day the 18th Amendment was passed by the
A salute to martyrs of Pakistan’s war on terror – by Nazir Naji: شہیدوں کو سلام….سویرے سویرے …نذیرناجی 30 اپریل کو شہدا کا دن قرار دیا گیا ہے۔ یقینی طور پر اس کی وجہ سوات‘ ملاکنڈ اور قبائلی علاقوں میں کثرت سے شہادتیں پانے والے وہ فوجی جوان اور افسر ہیں‘ جنہوں
From Presidential Dictatorship of Army Generals to Judicial Dictatorship of Bureaucrats – by Junaid Qaiser: Pakistan was conceived by its founder as a parliamentary democratic country. Political forces in Pakistan have a consensus on the parliamentary form of democracy, which the two constitutions of the country, 1956 and 1973 drafted by the two respective