Muslims in the world of Modern Science – by Muhammad Faisal Younus: Thousands of years ago, it was a golden era of Muslims in terms of science and education. 800 AD to 1100 AD was a time when Baghdad was well-known for its scientific knowledge and inventions. A large number of

Ashura of Muharram, a burden on Pakistani economy? – by Abdul Nishapuri: Related post: What can Pakistan and the entire world learn from Pakistani Shias? In a previous post, I explained why it is important for Shia and Sunni Sufi Muslims to be able to freely practice their annual rituals of

Would you invest here? – by Nadeem Ul Haque:   Whether there is a Dharna, a flood, or a leaky Fawcett, ‘analysts’ are quick to point out economic consequences. When the flood of 2010 happened, the FM would sing this story of how Pakistan has suffered and the

Noam Chomsky: General Zia ul Haq and Saudi Arabia destroyed Pakistan’s public education – by Dr. Abbas Zaidi:   Pakistan’s right wing journalists and educated classes proudly claim that it was because of General Zia ul Haq that Pakistan’s top educational institutions like the Lahore Grammar School and Beacon House came into existence. The argument they give

The Grand Narrative: There are things we observe but we either don’t want to admit them or we don’t know what they are. We all hear big terms such as the establishment, status quo, civil-military bureaucracy & foreign plots to exploit Pakistan. These things have

Rs 82 billion Ogra scam: Sifting myth from reality: Does a person who according to our right wing media and their tail wagging supporters in judiciary has caused the national exchequer a loss of Rs. 82 billion, wears handcuffs and looks haggard? Tauqeer Sadiq, a man who has

Pakistan Continues to Perpetuate Inequalities in Education – by A Z: Pakistan’s education has been woefully underfunded by the state for decades and the new budget does little to change that. Higher Education is very important but how building a pyramid top down makes sense? This is what our new

The white legend of Pakistan’s creation : teaching fake history to children – by A Z: PREFACE: So much has been written by much better people about the fallacy and inaccuracy of the history taught in Pakistan’s curricula that I can hardly add any dimension or wisdom to it. But let’s try and address the

Sow hate, reap terrorism: an appreciation of Shezad Roy’s courage – by A Z: I found it encouraging to see Pakistan’s famous singer, Shehzad Roy, talking publicly against the hate content in the country’s text books. The uproar against Mr Roy from the Islamist and the right wing lobbies, including political parties, is

Bleeding country – by Amjad Abbaj: Since we were kids ,our school book ,Islamic Studies full of Islamic brother hood teachings and Pakistan studies full of nationalism ,chauvinism and presenting Hindu as cunning creature whose only aim in life is to harm Muslims and he

Chal Parha – Shehzad Roy is going to secularize the education system of Pakistan – by Khurshid Khan: Editor’s note: Opinion is not in line with LUBP editorial board. However we respect the right to free speech and respect dissent. Few years back, when I was a school student and a good listener of music, I was a

Water Security in South Asia: Revisiting the Indus Water Treaty – by Abdul Samad:   In what has been predominantly a climate of belligerence and hostility between India and Pakistan over the past six decades, the Indus Water Treaty is one of the few instances where both countries have cooperated in a matter

WEF appraisal of PPP govt’s performance: The World Economic Forum has released its annual Global Competitiveness Report 2012-2013 which assesses the business environment in individual countries and domestic conditions that improve or impede it. “The Global Competitiveness Report 2012-2013 assesses the competitiveness landscape of 144 economies, providing

Transparency International Pakistan’s mindlessness – targeting remittances: Pakistan is a country that refuses to fail despite of all the efforts of those who can’t see it perform, albeit with hiccups.  In last few years, Transparency International Pakistan has become a nuisance in connivance with Jang Group

Misrepresented: Pakistan needs an image makeover -by Ali Wahab: DUBAI: “Ali, why doesn’t Pakistan get any good press? There must be something good happening in Pakistan? After all, it’s a nation of 175 million!” This was the theme of a discussion with a senior colleague after a transaction

Pakistan: Frying Pan and the Fire – by Haris Gazdar: “But if the future of parliamentary democracy in Pakistan seems more certain now than at any time in recent history it is because the centre of political gravity has moved down to the provinces and regions, and at the

The Myth of National Sovereignty: On May 2nd U.S. special forces entered deep inside Pakistan’s territory, effectively killing world’s most wanted terrorist, and leaving undetected. This raid by some is considered a breach of Pakistan’s national sovereignty. Although there are arguments which suggest that

Communist Party’s comeback in Russia – by Shiraz Paracha: Twenty years after the peaceful split of the Soviet Union, the Communist Party of Russia has made significant gains in the Russian parliamentary elections and has doubled the share of its votes. In the Sunday’s elections, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s United

China, Russia flexing muscles: A New World Order, or Cold War? – by Shiraz Paracha: China and Russia are flexing their muscles in the wake of Western actions and policies in the Middle East, Europe and Asia. Days after China issued a warning against the establishment of U.S. military bases in Australia; Russia has

Has the PPP government ruined the economy? – by Khubaib Siddiqui: Rants against the economic performance of the current government have become such a common and recurrent feature of our political discourse that the statement “this PPP government has ruined the economy” has assumed the properties of an axiom or

Tasks of a revolutionary government – Amjad Ayub Mirza:   Pakistan’s embassies and high commissions all over the world should be transformed from being bureaucratic and didactic operations into proactive and innovative sales and marketing outlets for Pakistani textiles and other produce When the Bolsheviks came to power

PML-N’s budget drama – They have succeeded in failing us: On June 3, 2011, the fourth budget of the current government was presented in the National Assembly by Finance Minister, Abdul Hafeez Shaikh. The main opposition party, Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz’s members raised slogans throughout the speech of

Paying your way: Corruption, a necessary evil? by Ali Wahab: Published: Express Tribune, February 28, 2011 From the very outset, let me be very clear that corruption, kickbacks, facilitation money etc are not condonable; however, being realistic, it cannot be done away so easily through either a law or

LUBP Interview with Olaf Kellerhoff, Resident Representative Pakistan at Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom: Related Interviews:   LUBP Exclusive: A critical interview with Nadeem F. Paracha LUBP Interview with Kamran Shafi LUBP Interview with Dr Ayesha Siddiqa (Part I) LUBP Interview with Dr Ayesha Siddiqa (Part II)   Brief Introduction: LUBP is pleased

Sugar Crisis coming forth!: LAHORE: The government will have no other option but to further raise sugar prices at Utility Stores in order to narrow the gap with the open market, to cope with the impending sugar crisis. Industry sources believe that the

Reporting on the Economic Survey of Pakistan: The Economic Survey of Pakistan is available for download on the Ministry of Finance website. The executive summary of the Economic Survey is also available to read online via the Associated Press of Pakistan. Recently there have been a

Free Market Economy. Thud! – by Bahadar Ali Khan: Relax, I am not going to write an obituary of Free Market Economy, at least not for now. It is also not about stock market crashes. Because these crashes are like fore-shocks that precede a big earthquake. But this