Author Archive
Shahbaz Sharif’s bargain with the Taliban – by Ayesha Siddiqa: Shahbaz Sharif appears to have his footprints all over the PML-N’s future. –File Photo Shahbaz Sharif’s faux pas Shahbaz Sharif’s comments asking the Taliban not to attack Punjab have caused a furore in many parts of the country. In
Mard-e-momin – by Ahsan Abbas Shah: President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday became the first president to donate all his body organs after signing a bill to enact a law to regulate transplant of human organs in the country. The president made the announcement of
Verbal diarrhoea of Shahbaz Sharif – by Fasi Zaka: Imagine a situation where you have to speak before a large crowd. Right there and then, even though you are not a cow, you discover you have foot-and-mouth disease. That is to say, you mistakenly put your foot in
Zaid Hamid and Ghuzwa-i-Hind — by Tayyab Shah: Zaid Hamid and his followers will not shy away from using religious texts of doubtful authenticity, with totally wrong and self-serving interpretations, to promote war. But the Pakistani youth is no more willing to be at the receiving end
Need for an operation clean-up against the IJT militia in Punjab University: Once again, the Islami Jamiat Talaba (IJT) is in the news for all the wrong reasons. Their list of offences is long and exhaustive, and their thug-like hold over the Punjab University (PU) has devastated this once premier institution.
Dargah-e-Jati Umrah – by Hakim Hazik: درگاہِ جاتی عمرہ ملفوظاتِ شریفِ مکہ از: حکیم حاذق تعاون بشکریہ، ذوالنّون مصری [ترجمانِ خصوصی، مسلم لیگ نون] لاہور کی خاکِ پاک عرشِ منور کے برابر ہے۔ بیسیوں بزرگانِ عالیشان اس خاک میں آسودہ ہیں۔ حضرت شریف الاشراف، گیسو
Encountering fundamentalism — by Nizamuddin Nizamani: Extremist Islam is encroaching deeper into the Thar Desert and almost all district and tehsil headquarters of Sindh and Balochistan, where large numbers of seminaries, with new buildings and equipped with every kind of infrastructure, have been erected during
Punjab khappay? – by Nadeem Paracha: According to many emails that I received after posting a blog in the wake of the terrible bomb attacks in Lahore last week, I was ‘spreading politics of ethnicity.’ I don’t know exactly what made these folks think this way,
Dr Farhat Hashmi: Cultivating Al Qaeda in Muslim women: Biography Dr Farhat Hashmi, daughter of the (late) scholar Abdur Rehman Hashmi, is a mother of four, and comes from the Indo-pak subcontinent. She received her Ph.D. in Hadith Sciences from the University of Glasgow, Scotland. Al-Huda International Welfare
From Osama to Taliban, where are the Sharifs headed? – by Saeed Minhas: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s careful treading through the power corridors received a severe blow as his public appeal to the Taliban for avoiding his fiefdom raised an unprecedented hue and cry in the National Assembly. If the CM’s
By aligning itself with Taliban and Sipah-e-Sahaba, PML-N poses existential threat to Pakistan: Existentialist threat The PML-N’s right wing ideology is an open secret. Thus it is not surprising if the party has now come clear on its stance vis-à-vis the militant outfits. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has finally exposed the
Shikwah and Jawab-e-Shikwah between PML-N and Taliban: Acknowledgement: The title of this post has been adopted from this comment by Siddiqui. While Shahbaz Sharif pleaded to the Taliban not to attack Punjab by reminding them that PML-N (ruling party in Punjab) and Taliban are natural allies
Cornered PML-N launches bid to limit damage, forced to explain its ties with Taliban and Sipah-e-Sahaba: During the national uproar, the PML-N continues to make failed efforts to control the situation, but without much success. Cornered PML-N launches bid to limit damage Source: Dawn Correspondent, 16 Mar, 2010 ISLAMABAD: The entire counter-terrorism effort being spearheaded
Who is behind Zaid Hamid’s crush India brigade? – by Kamran Shafi: The crazy Right and rump Pakistan I was to regale you with other stories to do with our security establishment’s tortured and seemingly futile hunt for the very elusive holy grail of strategic depth in Afghanistan (I ask you)
Do we need secularism? — by Dr Khalil Ahmad: For Libertarians, religious freedom is an inseparable part of this natural personal freedom that the Constitution of 1973 so purposefully protects. Protecting religious freedom as a fundamental right is not only morally, spiritually, and intellectually of greater merit but
Dr Shahid Masood’s letter to Shaheen Sehbai – by Qais Anwar: مارچ کب ہو گا؟ میرے پیارے شاہین صہبائی میرا یہ خط جس وقت تمہاری نظروں سے گزرنے گا مارچ کی پندرہ تاریخ ہو چکی ہوگی ، مطلب یہ کھ آدھا مارچ گزر گیا ہو گا بغیر کسی مارچ کے.
Pakistan’s right wing joins UK’s right wing: Imran Khan campaigns for a Tory candidate in London: Cricket legend Imran Khan and prospective MP Zac Goldsmith grilled at Kingston Mosque. Photo Source: Kingston Guardian Imran campaigns for Jemima’s brother By Murtaza Ali Shah LONDON: Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan has thrown himself full-time into the election
Mothers’ Day: Mother Beloved and Bradistan – by Dil Nawaz: This is a special post on Mothers’ Day. The obituary of Mrs Aziza B Qureshi, the mother of Fun Da Mental frontman Aki Nawaz. A celebration of Mothers’ Day and Mother Beloved’ s services to PPP, Bhutto family and
Wishful Journalism: Rehman Malik Fired!: Thanks: Pakistan Media Watch President Zardari is not the only government official in the sights of our Wishful Journalists. If one were to believe these pseudo-reporters, Interior Minister Rehman Malik has been preparing to leave his position for several
Towards women’s empowerment – by Farahnaz Ispahani: The touchstone of the morality of a nation or a society is the way it treats its women. Women are a vital segment of any society. Without their unhindered participation in all spheres of national life, no nation can
The Al Qaeda Connection – by Imtiaz Gul: Chilling truths Book Review by Afrah Jamal The Al Qaeda Connection – By Imtiaz Gul, Penguin Global; Pp 320 Today, the landscape has been transformed into a hunting ground as the showdown between the military and militants gets underway
Kamal Mehsud, the most famous singer of Waziristan: did the ISPR cheat him? — by Farhat Taj: Kamal Mehsud’s story is just one of the hundreds of stories of horror in Waziristan. The other stories are much more brutal and sinister in terms of the intelligence agencies’ collusion with the Taliban Kamal Mehsud was the most
Some legal aspects of PML-N’s alliance with Sipah-e-Sahaba – by Babar Sattar: Hobnobbing with terror Legal eye What are the irresistible compulsions of power politics that forced the PML-N to jump into bed with the proscribed Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan and its head Muhammad Ahmad Ludhianvi to win the provincial assembly seat in
Paradise pulp: How religion imbues the public sphere in Pakistan? – by Nadeem Paracha: Three vignettes revealing how religion really imbues the public sphere. Sticking out Ever since the 1980s, stickers asking people to pray have become a common sight, especially in buses, and on rickshaws. Of course, there is certainly nothing wrong
Blast after blast after blast in Lahore, who is responsible?: Terror drama unfolds in Lahore Two suicide bombers targeting Army vehicles detonated explosives within seconds of each other on Friday, killing at least 45 people and wounding 100, police said. It was the fourth major attack in Pakistan this
Punjab turns a blind eye as militant scourge thrives – by Ayesha Nasir: Activists from Jamaat-u-Dawa, a charity widely viewed as a front for the banned Islamist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, rally during an anti-India protest in Lahore last month. Arif Ali / AFP Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), potentially one of the most dangerous militant groups
Did Governor Slaman Taseer forge a political alliance with Sipah-e-Sahaba?: We at LUBP are pleased to post the following “press release” by the DGPR (Director General Public Relations) of the PML-N’s Government in Punjab, which was published in The News: Leader of defunct outfit speaks at Taseer’s election rally
PML-N’s Sipah-e-Sahaba group and its cost to Punjab: The pattern of by-elections in Jhang and PML-N’s alliance with Sipah-e-Sahaba is a worrisome development. However, this is not the first time that PML-N has established alliances with terrorist organisations. Only a few days ago (in February 2010), PML-N
PML-N teaming up with Sipah-e-Sahaba for Local Government polls in Punjab: ‘PML-N teaming up with banned outfit for LG polls’ * Deputy Opp leader describes PML-N’s links with Sipah-e-Sahaba as ‘shocking’ * Ex-Rahimyar Khan nazim alleges govt will only conduct LG elections when assemblies’ tenure ends * Pervaiz Rasheed says
Mai Jori – by Harris Khalique: In recent by-elections in PB-25 constituency of Jafferabad (Balochistan), PPP’s Nasir Khan Jamali won by a large margin. This area is a Jamali stronghold and tribal affiliations are the determining factor in electoral victory in Balochistan. However, the most
Veteran Pakistani journalist Nazir Naji faces threats by Taliban terrorists: This is an alarming development. In his op-ed in Daily Jang on 11 March 2010, veteran journalist Nazir Naji has provided details of various threats which he has been receiving from Taliban and their affiliate jihadi and sectarian organisations
Rehabilitation of the Taliban: Differentiate between the branch and the root — by Gulmina Bilal Ahmad: Roots Branches Young children were kidnapped by the Taliban and then made to serve as suicide bombers. These young men, and in the latter part of the battle young women, became cannon fodder for the Taliban’s heinous designs. They
A secular state is a moral state — by Ishtiaq Ahmed: The modern secular-democratic state must ensure that all individuals as well as majorities and minorities enjoy freedom of religion and conscience and the political right to choose their government In the last few weeks the Daily Times has carried
Hijacking from the Ground: The bizarre story of PK 805 – by Aminullah Chaudry: October 12, 1999: Pakistan Army takes control of Karachi’s Quaid-e-Azam International Airport —Photo courtesy of www.historyofpia.com/forum High drama in the sky Reviewed by Muhammad Ali Siddiqi Source: Dawn, 07 Mar, 2010 Of the two principal characters involved in the
Peshawar: The tale of an orphan city – by Ismail Khan: The scars of wars went deeper and left an impression not only on the social and cultural fibre but also devastated Peshawar’s infrastructure. — Photo by AP “Give me a place to stand on, and I will move the
The sinking paradise of Gojal in upper Hunza — by Dr Shahid Siddiqui: Borith Lake – Gojal Hunza Photo Source The government needs to act fast. Gojal should be declared a calamity-hit area, extending rightful facilities to its residents. The debris removal work should be expedited by extending the shifts to 24
PPP and the working class: President Zardari has signed the Services Tribunal (Amendment) Bill 2010, repealed the Removal from Service (Special Power) Ordinance 2000 and Section 2A of the Services Tribunal Act 1973, a controversial clause that deprived redress to employees as they were
Sky is the limit for Pakistan’s women fighter pilots: In a country where extended family is important and most middle-class women rely on servants for household work and child-minding, Ambreen and Nadia may be saved some of the problems faced by women in the West. —AFP Photo ISLAMABAD:
Jamaat-e-Islami, Tehreek-e-Insaf and the Realpolitik – by Nadeem Paracha: The JI and PTI’s popularity remains limited to a handful to carefully selected talkshows. Realpolitik The recently concluded by-election in Rawalpindi’s NA-55 constituency, the interest and voter turnout it generated, was a healthy sign for the democratic process. It
Media hype on rickshaw childbirth – by Dr Muhammad Awais Khalil: In the last few days, we have witnessed an extraordinary media hype against President Zardari because of a childbirth in an auto-rickshaw in Quetta. Apparently it seems that a traffic mismanagement during President Zardari’s visit to Quetta lead to