Author Archive
Strategic depth for Pakistan lies within Pakistan – by Kamran Shafi: It is within us By Kamran Shafi Tuesday, 09 Feb, 2010 THERE has been a veritable raft of statements from the chief of army staff in the very recent past on ‘strategic depth’ for Pakistan in Afghanistan. Variously: “we
Kharijiites, martyrs and the Pakistani media – by Ahsan Abbas: کیا خارجیوں کے ساتھ میڈیا ثالثی کردار ادا کر رہا ہے یا شہیدوں کے ساتھ سازشی ؟ سال ٢٠١٠کا دوسرا مہینہ شروع ہوگیا، گُذشتہ برسوں کی نسبت آگ و خون کا کھیل ختم ہونے کی کوئی آثار سُجھائی نہیں
The myth of Ghazwa-tul-Hind – by Ale Natiq: Ghazwa-tul-Hind: Pakistani flag hoisted at Red Fort, Delhi, India. This image was created and circulated by the Brasstacks.biz (ISI mouth-piece Zaid Hamid’s organization) team. Religion has quite frequently been used as an excuse for military motives. Talking specifically about
Past present: Is Sufism relevant to our time? – by Mubarak Ali: There are some people who, in view of the present religious extremism, believe that if Sufi teachings are revived, religious intolerance and fundamentalism may be controlled. The attempt to revive the past system and old ideas is not a
Right click for revolution: the laptop revolutionaries of Pakistan – by Nadeem F. Paracha: Right click for revolution Anyone questioning the padded extremism and soft authoritarianism peddled by enlightened moderation is a liberal extremist who is undermining religion and promoting corrupt politicians and violent ethnic thugs. Just what exactly was Pervez Musharraf’s ‘enlightened
At Afghan women’s cost – by Sahar Saba: The US attempts to broker a deal with the Taliban have neither surprised nor upset Afghan women. The Afghan woman is not like naive liberals across the world who are deeply frustrated over this US betrayal. The liberals had
An elite conflict — by Salman Tarik Kureshi: Incompetent or do-nothing or internally divided parliaments, however constitutionally or otherwise appointed, failed to satisfy the people’s demands. They therefore left a vacuum of effectiveness, into which stepped the more action-oriented, better organised institutions: the civil bureaucracy and the
Drone attacks and US reputation — by Farhat Taj: In terms of the drone attacks, the US must not make any distinction between al Qaeda and the Taliban. They both have internalised a global ideology that is anti-civilisation and anti-human There is news coming up in the media
Former corps commander, 2 ISI officials booked: * Case registered in line with orders of Supreme Court over disappearance of Quetta resident Ali Asghar Bangalzai By Malik Siraj Akbar QUETTA: Police in the provincial capital registered a case on Wednesday against former corps commander Gen (r)
What is it to be a ‘true’ Pakistani? — by Zaair Hussain: The new Pakistani In a country where a Senator has stood before the House and declared, with a gall that must surely have blotted out the sun, that the respectable tradition of burying women alive should not be unduly
Qari Hussain, the top trainer of suicide bombers of Sipah-e-Sahaba and Taliban: Qari Hussain, the chief instructor of suicide bombers (Ustad-e-Fidayeen) If the killing of Hakimullah Mehsud in a US drone attack is confirmed, it could set off a new power struggle within the Tehrik-eTaliban Pakistan, which may conclude with the
Selecting the superior judges — by Elf Habib: Giving a final and binding say to the chief justice, despite his sublime office and status and worthy of all respect and reverence, destroys the very spirit and purpose of popular will and sovereignty. It would be an unfortunate
Pakistan Army’s ‘strategic depth’ approach may lead to Pakistan’s strategic death: ‘Strategic death’? Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, in a rare press briefing, said, “We want a strategic depth in Afghanistan but do not want to control it.” These words underlie the fact that the Pakistan
The never-ending exodus of Christians from the Middle East – by Robert Fisk: I have usually found that the closer a religious Christian, Jew or Muslim comes to the Middle East, the madder they become. The most avuncular Shropshire vicar, the kindest Jewish moderate, the most secular Muslim – dump them within
The PPP is its own worst enemy – by Irfan Husain: Power, perceptions and the PPP By Irfan Husain Saturday, 30 Jan, 2010 It isn’t often that I agree with Nawaz Sharif. However, when he said a few weeks ago that the PPP was its own worst enemy, he put
Pakistan Army facing ‘friendly fire’ by the Taliban – by Farhat Taj: Dangerous abyss of perception The Pakistan Army is engaged in ‘friendly fire’ with the jihadi gangs in which the civilians, poor soldiers of the security forces, especially FC soldiers, policemen and foot soldiers of the Taliban are killed. This,
Pakistani media leading to chaos or consensus? – by Junaid Qaiser: Today, democracy and liberal development are interdependent with recognition by media. In an informed democracy, public reasoning based opinion is a vital aide for transparent governance. It is an age of advancement in communication technology where internet, push button
The froth of Imran Khan – by Nadeem Paracha: Related article: Imran Khan will sweep next elections – by Abdul Nishapuri What can one say about Imran Khan? A great former cricketer, a compassionate philanthropist … a sorry excuse for a politician. But his continuing forays into bad
Towards a new phase of irrigation sector reforms in Punjab- a case study of PIDA – by Qudrat Ullah: Keeping in view the changing patterns in water sector, growing needs of water utilization for food crops and the need to involve the farming community in the repairmen and maintenance of colossal irrigation infrastructure, the government of the Punjab
Shazia’s death and the shameful role of the lawyer fraternity: The torture and slaughter of Shazia, a 12-year-old maid, in DHA, Lahore has caused a stir. Here are a few reports which suggest that: 1. Domestic servants in Pakistan, house maids in particular, remain vulunerable and subject to physical, emotional
A crass decision by the Punjab government – Guest post by Sakib Ahmad: The government of the Punjab has made a decision to require all schools in the province to introduce English as the medium of instruction from the beginning of the next school year. I cannot find words strong enough to
Democracy under siege — by Dr Hasan-Askari Rizvi: The PPP-led federal government, especially President Asif Ali Zardari, faces a siege like situation due to the subtle behind-the-scene moves by the military top brass, the political fallout of the Supreme Court judgement on the NRO, and the off-again,
Making sense of the distorted history of Muslims in India – by Nadeem Paracha: “Why do many Pakistanis spend more time celebrating Islamic history of regions outside India (especially Arabian), the ummah, and seem to show more concern in what is happening to their brethren in Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan and Kashmir.” Writes Nadeem
Selective Morality of the Supreme Court of Pakistan – by Harris Azhar: Today I recall the words of the mother of the renowned writer Ms Arundhati Roy while in the Supreme Court of India, that I cannot accept any dictatorship and if you don’t allow me to discuss the Supreme Court’s
Taliban, social emancipators, and political economy – by Ishtiaq Ahmed: The ideas of human dignity and decency as understood by modern people are anathema to the Taliban. Wherever the Taliban juggernaut has run roughshod, it has crushed under its deadweight, writes Ishtiaq Ahmed
Deconstructing Pakistani Generals’ strategic depth theory: Defining ‘strategic depth’ By Kamran Shafi Tuesday, 19 Jan, 2010 Will our army pack its bags and escape into Afghanistan to disengage itself from the fighting, if India goes to war with Pakistan? –writes Kamran Shafi
House of DawnNews correspondent attacked by ISI sleuths: The Islamabad police has registered a case against unknown persons and are investigating the incident. –File Photo ISLAMABAD: In the wee hours of Tuesday, January 19, unknown persons attacked the house of Dawnnews investigative reporter Azaz Syed. They locked
Hussain Haqqani, Mere Mutabiq – by Ahsan Abbas Shah: حسین حقانی میرے مُطابق کل سے میرے ذہن میں ایک بھونچال سا مچا ہُوا ہے،پپلز پارٹی میں اندرونی اِختلافات کو جس طریقے سے میڈیا پیش کر رہا ہے اُس سے شاید یہ تاثر دینے کی کوشش کی جا رہی
Deconstructing Husain Haqqani – by Aamir Mughal and Sarah Khan: From the days of General Zia ul Haq, the Islamofacist dictator of Pakistan, one name never seems to die out. Like a roach, it has survived the test of time and come back to haunt the scene once again
Pakhtun diaspora: irresponsible and insensitive — by Farhat Taj: Rich Arabs in the Middle East are ‘earning’ a place in paradise in the life hereafter through never ending generous donations to the Taliban and the madrassas producing foot soldiers and a jihadi mindset on the Pakhtun land. They
Four-year tenure for assemblies — by Barrister Dr Ehtasham Anwar: By reducing the tenure of assemblies by 20 percent, we can increase the sense of being accountable and consequently the efficiency of elected government by the same ratio, at least in theory
PPP Leadership, Workers and the LUBP – Guest post by Naseer Ahmed (Destiny): PPP has a long history of a long lasting beautiful relationship with its workers. Its leadership did not forget, for a moment that its workers and people have primary importance. This is the reason behind slogans “Long Live Bhutto” and
Putting institutionalized insight in policy planning – Guest post by Qudrat Ullah: Pakistan and India are the two estranged bed fellows destined to live in the close proximity of each other. Both the antagonists share a long and complicated history of conflicts, internecine and protracted wars which further widened the historical
Geo TV hand in glove with a spy agency in derailing the democratic government: In his popular talk show (Najam Sethi Special 5 December 2009), Najam Sethi suggests that Geo TV is being supported by a spy agency (anti-politicians establishment) in order to derail democracy in Pakistan, e.g. the Swiss case documents’ removal
The attack on Kamran Shafi was just a trailer: Related post: LUBP Interview with Kamran Shafi In the following article, veteran columnist Kamran Shafi, one of the very few bold, anti-establishment voices in Pakistani media, provides details of a recent attack on his life in Wah Cantt by
Book Review: Talibanisation of Pakistan – By Amir Mir: Talibanisation Of Pakistan: From 9/11 To 26/11 By Amir Mir Pentagon Press | 422 pages Introduction of the review by Abdul Nishapuri Amir Mir, unlike the pro-Taliban and pro-conspiracy theory tendencies of his brother Hamid Mir, has truly maintained
Why did Taliban-US talks fail? By Amir Mir: LAHORE: The American initiative to hold talks with the Afghan Taliban through Saudi and Pakistani intelligence agencies has failed to produce the desired results so far primarily due to the trust deficit between the two sides and the obstinacy
Blackwater, bloody civilians and our holy cows in uniform: A tale of two stories: While the pro-Taliban and anti-democracy anchors and journalists want the Pakistani nation to believe that the democratic government (President Zardari et al) are responsible for the alleged Blackwater rule in Pakistan, Cyril Almeida offers an alternative, critical perspective highlighting
Why not a civilian head of ISI? An insight into the power struggle between democracy and establishment in Pakistan: Here are two columns, one by Kamran Shafi and the other by Nazir Naji, highlighting the nature of the current power struggle between the democratic government and the civil and military establishment in Pakistan. Democracy? Nahaq hum majbooron per