Blogs Cross posted Archive
Chronology of Blasphemy Legislation in Pakistan- by Marvi Sirmed: SOURCE: Marvi Sirmed’s Blog In order to put the record straight on the chronology of Blasphemy Legislation in Pakistan, following Timeline has been compiled using information from annual report of National Commission for Justice and Peace. 1860: The original
Pakistan’s eminent intellectual Dr Pevez Hoodbhoy on drone attacks in Pakistan: A drone – of the kind discussed here – is a programmed killing machine. By definition it is self-propelled, semi-autonomous, and capable of negotiating difficult local environments. Remote handlers guide it towards an assigned target. A drone does not
Drones Debate: Pashtun Nationalists, The Liberals, the Left and the far right: First things first. The USA has no right to stay in Afghanistan let alone drone Pakistan. It is the US military aggression and presence in the region that has fuelled unrest and complicated the matters. The very Taliban and
The Quaid’s address to Pakistani generals and their pseudo-liberal (middle class urban) soldiers – by Hakim Hazik: Related article: Another pseudo-liberal muck-raking of the PPP: So what’s new? – by Qudsia Siddiqui Onward Middle Class Soldiers Dear patriatic jernails af Pakistan, this is your Quaid ispeaking. Dear jernails, we isloot the services that you have undertaken
Shift in Turkey policy worries EU, NATO – By Shiraz Paracha: Keeping Turkey under control and on board is becoming a serious challenge for the United States and the European Union (EU) as the Turkish public and government are frustrated with Western double standards and hypocritical policies. Turkey is transforming
Strategic grandeur – by Raza Rumi: As if Pakistan’s domestic woes were not troubling, the unravelling of the US strategy and its implications are eluding even the best of strategists. Mind you, Pakistan is a place every third person is a ‘strategy’ expert and the term
Money Talks: Jang group to beg American support: Guess who was spotted on November 9 in Washington D.C. at a reception for American and Pakistani media personnel thrown by US AfPak ambassador Richard Holbrooke‘s media assistant Ashley Bommer? Mir Ibrahim Rehman, scion of the house of Jang
No contradiction when it comes to Gen. Kiyani – by Adnan Farooq: One expression of hegemony that in Antonio Gramsci’s view sustains rulers in power, is self-censorship practiced by mainstream media professionals. Here is a case in point: Noted Geo-anchorperson and Jang-columnist, Hamid Mir, in his column last week (November 04)
Remembrance Sunday: From allies to terrorists? – by Jahan Mahmood: In Britain’s hour of need, when she faced the might of the German Army, it was not America that came to her aid but the fighting men of the Indian subcontinent. They came from Bangladesh, India and Pakistan and
The Abbas brothers: A depressing tale – by TLW: More than a year earlier, Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas had been appointed as the military’s spokesman. With several brothers prominent in the media—his brother, Mazhar Abbas, headed the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists for several years and was a
‘Karachi card’ to backstab democracy – by Ali Arqam: Karachi, the economic hub of the country, depicts the complex social, political and economic problems afflicting Pakistan. The failure of the state to accommodate its ethnicities and diverse cultures in a national narrative, has logically resulted in rising political
In criticism of LUBP – by Raza Habib Raja: Previously published as Setting the Record Straight: What it Really Means to be A Critical Supporter, this post is being cross-posted from Pak Tea House, an excellent pro-PPP and pro-secularism blog. We thank the author for his candid criticism
The (misplaced) wrath of the LUBP hardliners – by Yasser Latif Hamdani: Related articles: Much more than a petition: A critical view on the PTH-LUBP differences – by Qudsia Siddiqui Do we need parental guidance on blogging? An open letter to Pak Tea House and Pakistani blogging community – by Ali
Who is responsible for suicide-bomber academies? – by Peter Chamberlin: Contributed by Peter Chamberlin Captured suicide-bombers from Swat In the following report, Yet Another Mosque Suicide-Bombed Near Peshawar, we read all that we can stand to read about the latest suicide-bomber to strike that embattled country. An interesting Pakistani website
What happened in New Delhi conference? – by Malik Siraj Akbar: “I really don’t understand your (Pakistani) people,” regretted this Indian journalist fellow who was also one of the organizers of the recently held India-Pakistan conference: A roadmap towards peace in New Delhi. It was a tea break. Both of
There cannot be justice without freedom – by Dr. Zafar Baloch: Dr. Zaffar Baloch, the president of Baloch Human Rights Council of Canada delivered his speech in a conference called “Mining (in)justice: at home and abroad” organized by Community Solidarity Response Toronto (CSRT), it was held in Toronto-Canada from May
The 1995 Islamic coup attempt against Benazir Bhutto’s government: Cross-posted from Shahid Saeed’s blog This is the first of a non-consecutive series of posts profiling the major coup attempts in Pakistan, both successful and failed. The series would not be chronological for a variety of reasons, primarily because
General Ziauddin’s revelations – by Mohammed Hanif: بٹ اچھا، بدنام برا گزشتہ چند ہفتوں سے آئی ایس آئی کے سابق سربراہ اور بارہ اکتوبر 1999 کو چند گھنٹوں کے لیے اپنے آپ کو پاک فوج کا سپہ سالار سمجھنے والے جنرل خواجہ ضیالدین بٹ شہ سرخیوں
Schizophrenia on women’s rights – by Mahmood Adeel: Two diametrically opposed articles on the status of women’s rights in this country appear in today’s news. They should both be read together, hopefully resulting in an open and honest discussion of one of the great . For all
The Conservatively Hip – by Ayesha Siddiqa: Why are more youth, especially among the relatively affluent segments of society, embracing a greater religious identity and conservatism related to it? Why is it that we find an increasing number of young men and women among the upper-middle
‘White’ authority in Pakistani media – by Mazhar Arif: Most of the decision-makers in North American news and entertainment media are White. Media ownership is mainly concentrated in the hands of White males; White journalists dominate the mainstream media; and White people hold most creative positions in the
Drone strike data analysis: Related articles: A survey of Drone Attacks in Pakistan. What do the people of FATA think? – by Farhat Taj An unethical survey on FATA —Farhat Taj Drone attacks on the Taliban terrorists are permissible in Islamic sharia –
Senator Talha Mehmood’s Media Circus -by Mahmood Adeel: The following article by Mahmood Adeel was originally posted on New Pakistan. This article is an excellent examination of the poor conditions of too much of our right wing political type and is recommended to read.The sentenced of Dr
The feud with Ansar Abbasi that led to Rauf Klasra’s departure from The News, and the role of pkpolitics: Our fellow bloggers at Cafe Pyala have recently posted a story on The News senior investigative journalist Rauf Klasra‘s potential move from the Jang Group to the Express Media Group. But now that the daily Express itself has confirmed it, Cafe
Central Asia, battlefield of powers – By Shiraz Paracha: Energy resources of Central Asia, the containment of Russian and Chinese influence in the region, and the monitoring of Iran are the main motives of the United States and the NATO presence in Afghanistan and in parts of the
Pakistan’s Youth Runs for First Ever Twitter Parliament: Youth on twitter started a new campaign named ‘Pakistan Twitter Parliament’ #PKTP, where polls for Prime Minister are soon to be held. The Prime Minister will then choose his / her cabinet. In this race a young PPP supporter
Pakistani (pro-establishment) media’s war on politicians: Here is a valuable excerpt cross posted from Pakistan Media Watch: Let us review some recent incidents in our own media that have gone without even the slightest reprimand. On 7 October, a reporter for The Nation, Syed Fawad Ali
Greater threat than floods: Pakistan’s judiciary?: The historic flooding that has ravaged Pakistan was considered for a brief period to be a grave threat to the country’s stability. Analysts were unsure if the young democratic government would be able to provide relief and reconstruction services
Mad ‘Sacred Cow’ Disease -by Mahmood Adeel: As I was thinking about the vilification of Marvi Memon for daring to suggest that maybe we should get the facts before we construct a shrine to Dr Aafia, it started to occur to me that part of the reason
Supreme Court is the new GHQ in Pakistan – by Fatima Saleem: History has witnessed FOUR Martial Laws in Pakistan. Pakistanis are well aware, what happens when their politicians get too naughty to handle! But, state of affairs have taken a new course lately never seen before in the history of
Viewpoint Interview: Undemocratic change will not be progressive: Farooq Tariq: Presently the spokesperson of Labour Party Pakistan, Farooq Tariq has long history of struggle against class-based society and fundamentalism. From opposing Ayub Khan’s military dictatorship to struggle for workers and peasants’ rights, he has stood against military dictators and
Sometimes madness is just madness – by Syed Yahya Hussainy: Something is very wrong with the state of US-Pakistani relations at this critical time in the war against extremism and fanaticism. In the midst of this defining moment in the war effort in Afghanistan and in Pakistan, the US
Unpacking the governance debate -by Raza Rumi: If the intent of the unregulated media and a recalcitrant establishment is to dismiss the government to achieve better governance then this is at best a delusional goal Recent weeks have witnessed a supercilious debate on how the current
Secularism Debate: A fallacious binary – by Saqlain Imam: The word secularism seems to be the most contentious one in the Pakistani political culture. Anything that is anti-religion or non-religious is dubbed secular; it is understood as a Western concept with no direct connection with Islam; for example,
Enlightened Moderation, Part 2 – by Hakim Hazik: It is great to see the best and the brightest in Pakistan assembled for this historic occasion. I welcome Mr Sher Afgan Niazi, the foremost public intellectual of the Eastern hemisphere; Dr Naseem Ashraf, physician, philosopher and toad eater
Are times a-changin’ in Pakistan? – By Daud Khattak: Two and a half years of fragile democracy, war against terror, devastating floods, economic slow-downs, millions of displaced people, and now calls from the self-exiled leader of Urdu-speaking community in Karachi, Altaf Hussain, for a French-style “revolution.” Meanwhile, some
Viewpoint Interview with Wajahat Masood: Mullah-military nexus has subverted public opinion: Al-Qaeda, Taliban, jihadis, sectarian groups, and so-called parliamentary Islamic groups have a global agenda and as such are natural allies. Pakistan’s religious/missionary parties and the Taliban constitute “an archipelago of evil”, says Wajahat Massod. Presently working as Editor Coordination
The ardent messiah seekers -by Raza Rumi: A natural disaster, largely unavoidable, has provided a glorious opportunity to all those who have been hankering to reverse Pakistan’s fragile transition from an authoritarian to quasi-democratic rule. There is hardly a new script for the much-touted change and
The Taliban is NOT an expression of Pushtun Nationalism – By Qudsia Siddiqi: One of the biggest lies that have been spun by our establishment, which is the arbiter of our national narrative, is that the Taliban are an expression of “Pushtun Nationalism”. This lie has been repeated ad infinitum by reactionary
Ministers in Waiting: My goodness the names keep changing but the song remains the same. Minus-One Formula became Bangladesh Model which became Caretaker Government which became Midterm Elections which became Patriotic Generals which became French Revolution which has now become Technocrats. Why