Monthly Archive:: February 2010
A man giving birth to a child – by Usama Bhutto: NA55 Elections – Imran Khan’s PTI Contesting – Campaigning and Appearing on 30+ News channels – For 30+ Hours each – STILL – Getting Less than 30 Votes in each Polling Station – Total of 3000 Votes – That
Taliban and Sipah-e-Sahaba’s attack on Eid Milad-un-Nabi rallies: This is not sectarianism, this is terrorism: Rescuers stand near a child injured by a firing, at a local hospital in Dera Ismail, Pakistan on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010. According to police official unidentified gunmen opened fire on a procession celebrate anniversary of the birth of
Asif Zardari – A burden on PPP or a really indispensable leader? – by Nadeem Khan: Asif Zardari – A burden on PPP or a really indispensable leader? A dilemma for PPP loyalists PPP workers and loyalists cannot make moves or comment against Zardari as now by fault (not default) he is heading the party.
Thanks to PML-N, sectarian violence may revisit Punjab: Source: The News, February 27, 2010 Jhang fears return of sectarian violence PML-N sees no harm in seeking banned outfit’s blessing By Khalid Hurral & Babar Dogar JHANG/LAHORE: A defunct sectarian organisation, Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), is rearing its head
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
Strategy to demonize civilian government? – by Anas Abbas: One of the main aims of Pakistan Army and its pro Taliban media sympathizers is to launch campaigns against the civilian government structure in order to justify its controversial interference. The strategy employed here to achieve this objective by
Yet another case of multifaceted fraud by our military saviours – by Aamir Mughal: Today I found Dr Shahid Masood and Shaheen Sehbai spinning more lies on ‘Meray Mutabiq’ (Geo TV) with General (retired) Shahid Aziz. I therefore consider it pertinent to cross-post the following article from my blog to LUBP: One more
Oppressed Mindset: Recently Punjab opposition MP Samina Khawar Hayat gave a disturbing statement while speaking on the issue of rising number of single women in the country who are in their 30’s. She gave the bizarre idea of encouraging married men
Q&A with an ordinary Pakistani – by Nadeem Khan: It has been an honor to have today a simple and honest, I bet, Pakistani with us. Let’s hear him and try to understand the conditions, situations, turmoil, achievements, developments of this unique great nation, now very popular in
The rightward march of Pakistan under the leadership of PML-N – by Nadeem Paracha: The active emergence of a revamped PML-N supplemented by an alarmist new electronic media can be detected as a more vocal arrival of the New Right in Pakistan. The rightward march By Nadeem F. Paracha Saturday, 27 Feb, 2010
JAP lashes out at PML-N leadership over terror links: Jaffaria Alliance Pakistan (JAP) has lashed out the PML-N leadership over their allegedly links with the banned terrorist outfit Sipah-e-Sahaba,which was involved in the killings of thousands of inncoent Shia’s in Pakistan and having the links with outalwed Al-Qaeeda
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
Maulana Azad and Partition: Update: Correction: The following article is considered to be fake, hence readers are advised to post no further comments on a fake article. We have decided not to delete this post in order to preserve the comments in this
The debate of national language: Famous Sindhi writer and Urdu columnist Amar Jaleel who recently appeared on Wussatullah’s show on Dawn News Urdu Service started a debate by saying that Jinnah was dragged or cornered into making the following speech, and somehow told Bengalis
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
Muhammad: A Prophet for Our Time – by Karen Armstrong: Book Review Title: Muhammad – A Prophet for Our Time By: Karen Armstrong 249 pages. $21.95. HarperCollins/Atlas Books. Reviewed by Laurie Goodstein – in The New York Times (International Herald Tribune) The religion with the most adherents on the
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
The shameful role of Geo TV in Rawalpindi by-poll: Our fellow bloggers at Cafe Pyala have recently exposed the shameful role of Geo TV and Hamid Mir in the recent by-elections in NA-55. Nadeem Paracha too has written an article on this topic, an excerpt from which is
Tehzibi Nargasiat – by Mobarak Haider: Mobarak Haider Title: Tehzibi Nargasiat (Cultural Narcissism) Category: Psychology Publisher: Sanjh Publication Year of Publication: 2009 Price: Rs150 Here are some comments and reviews on an excellent, non-fiction book by Mobarak Haider. Ever wondered why a certain kind of
Voters in NA-55 mistakenly gave vote to ‘Lion’ thinking it was Imran Khan? A sneak peek into PTI Forum: Related article: Imran Khan will sweep next elections – by Abdul Nishapuri Here is an overview of unofficial results of NA-55 by-elections announced by the returning officer: 1) 63888 Shakeel Awan (PML-N) 2) 42530 Sheikh Rasheed (AML) 3) 5020
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
An insight into Hizb ut-Tahrir’s theological and political agenda: Contributed by: Sajjad Hussain The Hizbu ut-Tahrir’s strategy can be divided into four stages: 1. Ideology 2. Development of a “rigid theological” personality 3. Progression toward a theo-political state 4. March towards the “whole earth” Ideology: The theme and
As the noose tightens – by Usama Bhutto: Since December last when the Supreme Court of Pakistan started hearing the petitions for NRO, political climate of the country took a revolve. Newspapers were littered with twisted facts about the controversial ordinance and the eletronic Media celebrated an
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
When Sheikh Rashid said about Benazir: “She heats up like a . . . .”: If you go to the NA-55 area of Rawalpindi these days, you will be struck by the billboards which show Sheikh Rashid with Benazir. The impression one will get is that Sheikh Rashid stands for Benazir. He, for his
Did Tareen resign because of the Army’s demand for more money in the forthcoming budget?: Omar Khattab in Islamabad Islamabad is afloat with rumors that the federal minister of finance Shaukat Tareen resign from his post because he did not agree with the Army high command to curb the every-increasing Army budget. Last year,
Politically motived FIR against PPP workers: The Lahore police have lodged an FIR against 250 PPP workers for protesting the Supreme Court ruling against President Zardari’s executive order and for burning effigies of Nawaz Sharif and Iftikhar Chaudhry. PPP Punjab president Rana Aftab Ahmed Khan
The judicial coup and authoritarianism – by H.A. Khan: In one of his recent TV appearances Dr. Lal Khan, a longtime Marxist, explained that in a capitalist state the judiciary will always favour and to protect the vested interests of the ruling class. The current judicial crisis makes it
The Express Festival in Lahore – by H.A. Khan: Lively people and lively nations always celebrate their events and festivals with all the joy and pleasures. Three days ago when the renowned newspaper The Express started the Express Family Festival in Lahore at the Fortress Stadium, our people stormed there and showed
And this is the fact – By Saria Benazir: The words, quoted in my tears – the tears of a supporter of democracy…..these excruciating, but most retarding moments of my life compel me to realize that life is nothing, more than a game of whist – We have
Pakistan’s Most Wanted Terrorists – by Nick Fielding: First published at “Circling the Lion’s Den” Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency has published an updated version of its Red Book of ‘Most Wanted Terrorists‘. Containing 119 names, the list includes some of the most dangerous men in the country,
Development assistance: Impediment or facilitator? – by Junaid Qaiser: Individualland Pakistan, on 20 February, 2010 , organized a seminar on the issue of “Examining Development Assistance”. Representatives from civil society, media and education sector participated in the discussion. In her welcome remarks and context setting address, Individualland’s Director