Newspaper Articles Archive
Wahhabization of Gitmo prisoners: Ex-Gitmo detainee now a Taliban commander * US officials say 20% of released prisoners go back to Taliban LASHKAR GAH: A man who was freed from the Guantanamo Bay after he claimed he only wanted to go home and
Wahhabism and women: Saudi woman jailed for being without male guardian RIYADH: A Saudi woman is to be lashed 300 times and jailed for 18 months for filing complaints against court officials and appearing in court without a male guardian, a human
Filthy rich Khadim-e-Aala – by Shafiq Awan: Shahbaz Sharif is ‘very rich’, but where did the money come from? By Shafiq Awan Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif is the richest member of the Punjab Assembly, with multi-million pounds of foreign assets mentioned in his declared assets
Taliban kill another Shia: SHO murdered in Quetta QUETTA: Unidentified men on Wednesday shot dead a police official near Bareech Market on Sarki Road in Quetta. According to police sources, attackers opened fire on station house officer Arif Ali Shah’s vehicle, injuring him.
Women in Afghanistan: A tale of Afghan women’s plight —by Miranda Husain The Patience Stone By Atiq Rahimi Other Press; Pp 160 Afghanistan, a nation still on fire, a nation still home to a centre-stage Taliban. An entity that still remains resoundingly
PML-N the Taliban midwife: Sir, the militants have multiplied —Sher Ali Khan The recent admission by Rana Sanaullah about his association with the banned militant group Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) illuminates that Pakistan is a country where a nexus between politicians and militants is
Claims to uphold democracy and constitution – by Abdulkhaliq Azaad: In the name of justice, a few institutions and political factions are proclaiming themselves to be the upholders of constitutional continuity and democracy for some years now. Apparently, they are blowing trumpets against dictatorships, army’s political interference and are
Workers Party Pakistan: Pakistan’s New Left – by Muhammad Ali Siddiqi: The Workers Party Pakistan should refrain from playing the role of a traditional opposition party which considers it obligatory on its part to oppose every government move. Pakistan’s New Left By Muhammad Ali Siddiqi The formation last week of
In order to save Cheif Justice Iftikhar, Nawaz League forces PPP to abandon the Charter of Democracy: As per the Charter, all PCO judges should be kicked out including the Islamofascist Chaudhry Iftikhar Appointment of judges: PPP, PML-N say goodbye to CoD By Amir Wasim and Ahmad Hassan Wednesday, 03 Mar, 2010 ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People’s
Mian, the Bijli Chor: Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif: the Muhammad Shah Rangeela of corruption in Pakistan Squeaky clean? Editorial PML-N president Nawaz Sharif made his usual high-flown remarks at a public rally for NA-123, an electoral hotbed for the impending by-election on March 10.
Nawaz Sharif steals electricity but vows to fight corruption: PML-N Chief Nawaz Sharif addressing a public gathering during by-elections campaign in constituency NA-123. -APP According to the sources, Nawaz Sharif addressed party workers on Grand Trunk Road near University of Engineering and Technology. While Nawaz made a case
A ‘friendly’ Afghanistan? — by Shahid Ilyas: The risk of failure and backfiring are much higher in trying to install a friendly government in a foreign country than in attempts to develop friendly relations with an incumbent government. The failure of Pakistan’s Afghan policy is a
Taliban kill Jaspal Singh and the mullahs keep mum — by Ishtiaq Ahmed: Photo Source: BBC Urdu A time to humanise Islam There is a screaming silence from the custodians of Islam — the ulema — on the execution of Jaspal Singh, probably because he was not a Muslim. The Muslim masses
Pakistani generals’ oath at the Kakul Academy and the bloody civilians – by Kamran Shafi: The ‘happening place’ “PAKISTAN is the most happening place in the world where there is never a dull moment.” So pronounced the Commando to a “packed audience” at Chatham House in London, to much laughter and mirth. ‘Happening place’
In Pakistan we are fighting for our lives – by Asif Ali Zardari: In Pakistan we are fighting for our lives We will defeat the terrorists. Our security is backed up by democracy and a strong economy By Asif Ali Zardari Thanks: The Guardian 1 March 2010 When I was elected president
Holi festival and Pakistani Hindus: Picture Source: BBC Urdu Pakistani Hindus to miss Holi celebrations February 23, 2010, Islamabad: The few Pakistani Hindus, who have made the federal capital their home, will miss splashing colours at each other as they brace up for a
Secularism triumphs? Bangladesh Supreme Court sets an example – by Farooq Sulehria: Secularism triumphs? The Supreme Court of Bangladesh, on January 3, not only bucked an apparently prevalent trend in the Muslim world, but also dismissed a stereotype: Islam’s incompatibility with secular democracy. By ordering a ban on the abuse of
Evaluating democracy – by Ghazia Aslam and Wasim Q. Malik: Thanks: Dawn.com, Monday, 01 Mar, 2010 Advocates of democracy claim that it protects property rights, promoting an environment of collective growth. – File photo A passionate debate comparing and contrasting the performance of Pakistan’s democratic and dictatorial regimes has
The Taliban jihad – by Steve Coll: Don’t Look Back March 1, 2010 The Taliban’s jihad, like rock and roll, has passed from youthful vigor into a maturity marked by the appearance of nostalgic memoirs. Back in the day, Abdul Salam Zaeef belonged to the search
The dauntless heroes of NWFP Police — by Farhat Taj: A police officer and bystanders remove an injured victim of a suicide car bomb in Peshawar. Photograph: A Majeed/AFP/Getty Images The public perceive the police as as much an innocent casualty as the innocent civilians in the state’s pursuit
Has the Charter of Democracy become irrelevant? — by Mohammad Jamil: How can one put highly professional military personnel, dealing with sensitive information, under non-professionals who are not competent enough to do the job? Politics is said to be the art of the possible and some say it is the
Civil service reform revisited – by Sania Nishtar: The International Crisis Group’s Report on Civil Service Reform has sparked conversations around the need and potential avenues for restructuring Pakistan’s civil service. This, however, is not the first time that a report on the subject has been made
The battle of the ‘commons’ and (de)militarizing the Sri Lankan society: This rather long article about presidential elections in Sri Lanka was published in the South Asia Citizens Web (SACW). It seems relevant to the political stuggle for democratization of Pakistan. Sri Lanka had a long fight against organized terrorism,
Taliban Apologist Court bars extradition of Mullah Baradar: By Syed Shoaib Hasan The Afghan Taliban’s top military commander, who was recently detained in Pakistan, is not to be extradited, the Lahore High Court has ruled. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar was arrested in early February. The court also
Reassessing the lawyers’ movement — by Ayesha Ijaz Khan: The judiciary must pick its battles carefully and avoid the type of crescendo that would altogether remove its focus from its primary function of delivering justice. It must be mindful that unless people begin to feel the results of
Remembering Ajmal Khattak – by Harris Khalique: Sunday party In the darkness and apathy that surround us, the passing of another great man, scholar, poet and politician, Ajmal Khattak, was yet another blow to his comrades and disciples who believe in creating a modern, progressive and
Today we wear our religion on our sleeves and shout it from the housetops. – by Ayaz Amir: The misery on our faces Times may be hard but why add to the sum of national misery? Some of our afflictions, like the economic downturn and the war raging along the Afghan frontier, may be beyond anyone’s control.
The psy-ops of conspiracy theories – by Ayesha Siddiqa: Conspiracy theories galore I COULDN’T believe my ears when responsible quarters informed me of an American-Blackwater conspiracy to isolate Pakistan. According to this heinous plan the objective will be achieved by infiltrating the media, specifically through placing people in
Iran gets its most wanted terrorist, Abdulmalik Rigi: This frame grab released February 23, 2010 from Iranian state TV shows Rigi under armed guard following his arrest. – Reuters Iran gets its man By Syed Saleem Shahzad ISLAMABAD – Iran on Tuesday triumphed in the arrest of
The judiciary and the Jamaat-ud-Dawa: An exterior view of the mosque where Hafiz Saeed, leader of Jamaat-ud-Dawa preached every Friday, in Lahore, Pakistan. – AP Jamaat-ud-Dawa easily evades ban Wednesday, 24 Feb, 2010 LAHORE: Long-haired jihadis toting automatic weapons patrolled a mosque last week
Peace Carvan: A journey for peace – by Shujuaddin Qureshi: It was an unusual gathering at Karachi’s Cantt railway station, where over 100 people from civil society organisations, intellectuals, political and trade union workers, and journalists had gathered for a peaceful cause. Sixty of those gathered, including more than
She embraced Islam, came to Pakistan, only to be killed by Taliban: Belinda Khan, 44, originally from Cardiff UK, was one of eight people killed when car bomb exploded in volatile Swat Valley Here is the story of a British woman (Amina Khan, previously Belinda Gardinal) who embraced Islam two years
Zaid Hamid’s conspiracy theories — by Ishtiaq Ahmed: Conspiracy theories and theorists Conspiracy theories and their authors become a cause for concern when they begin to hallucinate and can no longer distinguish between their own flights of imagination and the world around them. When they hijack a
Principles of policy of Pakistan’s constitution – by Mosharraf Zaidi: Principles of policy Part I February 23, 2010 In his column last week, my friend Harris Khalique quotes a small part of Article 38 of the Constitution, which is titled, “Promotion of social and economic well-being of the people”.
Our quasi-feudal political parties — by Babar Ayaz: There is a wide demand and supply gap in the political market. The political parties that are ill-prepared, power-centric, self-seeking and have failed to fathom the change cannot meet this yawning gap. Their change and growth is quintessential for
Judicial coup in Pakistan – by David B. Rivkin Jr. and Lee A. Casey: Source: Wall Street Journal- ASIA EDITION When U.S. President Barack Obama sharply challenged a recent Supreme Court decision in his State of the Union address, prompting a soto voce rejoinder from Justice Samuel Alito, nobody was concerned that the contretemps
Secularism vs Islamism – by Iqbal Akhund: In a recent TV debate on this subject, the applause meter would have given the win to Islamism. The debaters, three on each side, faced a small mixed audience — quite a few girls, many wearing hijabs, also young
Give Pashto official status – PkMAP, PkSO: The PkMAP and the PkSO called upon the government to declare Pushto as the official language in Pakhtun-dominated areas.—Photo by APP QUETTA: The Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party and Pakhtunkhwa Students Organisation called upon the government on Sunday to declare
Back towards tolerance in Pakistani society – by Charles Ferndale and Kamila Hayat: Here are two articles highlighting the importance of re-discovering and re-inculcating the seeds of tolerance in Pakistani society and the region in general. The path to freedom Monday, February 22, 2010 Charles Ferndale Kamila Hyat, in a typically lucid,
Two years of democracy and counting – by Raza Rumi: ‘The obvious fallout of the media-government war has been a virtual blackout of what the civilian governments have achieved’, Writes Raza Rumi in his excellent article in The News on Sunday. Two years and counting Given the average shelf