Monthly Archive:: February 2010
The “FREE” Taliban Apologist Media – by M Ilyas Khan: By M Ilyas Khan BBC News, Islamabad The arrest did not receive extensive coverage The Pakistani media’s response to the arrest of top Afghan Taliban military commander Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar has been surprisingly muted. Mullah Baradar was arrested
PTUDC meeting in Peshawar – by Farhad Kayani: Thanks: www.Marxist.com In an area heavily dominated by the presence of Taliban forces, the Marxists in Pakistan organized a meeting of the PTUDC, with the participation of several important trade union leaders, with guest speaker Lal Khan, the editor
It smells like General Zia – by Ahsan Abbas: مطلع میں آ پڑی ہے سخن گسترانہ بات ‘ججز بحران‘ کی جڑوں کو یہ لکھ کر تن آسان اور سہل پسند عوام کے سامنے لا کھڑا کروں کہ ’اس میں ضیاءالحق کی بو آتی ہے‘۔ یہی وہ نایاب الفاظ
Laiba, a Pakistani victim of the war on terror: Seven year-old disabled Pakistan girl, Laiba adjusts her artificial foot as she sits in a wheelchair in the street outside her house at Hayatabad in Peshawar. – AFP Pakistan’s victims of war struggle to move on PESHAWAR: Laiba is
Dr Aafia’s appeal – By Rafia Zakaria: The explosive mix of appearing to be the obedient Muslim woman clad in burka and a would-be assassin defying the US make Dr Aafia Siddiqui irresistible as a heroine and an icon. But should such defiance be the only
Morality and atheism – by Irfan Husain: Consider this demographic projection for the UK, and ponder its implications for a moment: within five years, the majority of babies will be born to unmarried parents. However, before you put this down to yet another example of Western
Sufi chants and revolutions — by Dr Manzur Ejaz: If one reads Punjabi classical poetry, with no presumption of Sufism, it is just good poetry of a certain period that has withstood the test of time. I do not know anybody who would claim that just reading and
Judicial activism may lead Pakistan towards a military intervention – by Amir Mir: LAHORE, 15 February 2010: A fresh tussle between the Pakistani President Asif Zardari and the Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry over the appointment of the superior court judges has snowballed into a major political crisis which may lead to yet
Political Autonomy for Pashtuns – by Pir Rokhan: Political autonomy is the first pre-requisite for the progress and development of a nation. If we trace back the reasons for the underdevelopment of a nation all of them converge to one root cause and that is – the
Some legal aspects of Aafia Siddiqui’s case: A rebuttal to Babar Sattar – by Usman Ahmad: ‘Blinkered justice’? As a nation we suffer from what can only be described as persecution complex. The knee-jerk reaction of “they are out to get us” has been our response to countless issues ranging from the war on terror
Sexy Islamism – by Khawer Khan: Sexy Islamism |ˈseksē ˈisləˌmizəm; ˈiz-| |ˈseksē ˈɪsləˈmɪzəm| |ˈseksē ˈɪzləˈmɪzəm| noun Like conventional Islamism, Sexy Islamism is a political ideology that holds that Islam is not only a religion but also a political and economic system. In addition to this, Sexy Islamism is also a genre of
Basant: has Elvis left the building? – by Qudrat Ullah: The constitutional head of the largest province of Pakistan Mr Salman Taseer never hides any feeding frenzy when it comes to unreasonably rag the Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif. And, he did not even spare any second to create
Pukhtunkhwa: The Land of Pashtuns – by Mukhtar Ali Abazai: Recent remarks by the PML-N Chief Nawaz Sharif and PML-Q about renaming of the province have once again generated controversy. Abaseen, Khyber and Hazara Pukhtunkhwa? What does it mean? A joke with millions of Pukhtoons? Leaders and workers from
A poem dedicated to all mullahs and Taliban apologists: فرض کر لو کہ ہم مسلماں ہیں یوں سمجھ لو کہ ظلِ یزداں ہیں ہم ہیں توحید اور رسالت مست اہلِ سُنت ہیں، اہلِ قرآں ہیں یہ نہ دیکھو کہ ہم حقیقت میں ننگِ دیں اور ننگِ ایماں ہیں
Why is Governor Salman Taseer blocking appointment of new judges in Lahore High Court?: Apparently, a very valid question, and according to Justice (retired) Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim, the real bone of contention. Thus, there are valid reasons for us to scratch this issue a bit further. If one is to believe Senior Adviser
Islamists campaigning against Basant: (Photo taken from this excellent blog post) This year, like before, self-righteous individuals and organizations have taken it upon themselves to cleanse and purify Pakistani society of pernicious and Satanic influences of Western and Hindu culture. This movement has
The Rightist Judicio-Politico Mafia – by Anas Muhammad: Saturday February 13 – The Chief Justice of Pakistan defied Presidential orders through a suo moto action against the Presidential notification for appointment of certain judges. Chief Justice, in a rare nightly emergency session, formed a three members
The latest troika of Pakistan: judges, jihadis and generals – by Shoaib Mir: The question, “Why is Iftikhar Chaudhry destroying Pakistan?” is worryingly valid. A short answer could be because he’s not a politician, so the CJP is making a mess of mixing politics, which he doesn’t know, with his so-called constitutionalism.
Sifarish udooli ka haq – by Anwar Sin Rai: سفارش ‘عدولی’ کا حق انور سِن رائے اگرچہ ابھی یہ واضح نہیں ہے کہ پاکستان کے چیف جسٹس صاحب، لاہور ہائی کورٹ اور سپریم کورٹ میں تقرریاں روایت کے برخلاف کیوں چاہتے ہیں اور حکومت یا صدر کو ان
Unprecedented in legal history: Punjabi judges boycott their own courts: By Omar Khattab in Islambad Yesterday (15 February 2010) all the judges of the Lahore High Court boycotted their own courts in condemnation of President Zardari’s assertion of his legal right of appointing Saqib Nisar as the Chief Justice
Clashing egos and the so-called clash between the judiciary and the executive – by Nadeem F. Paracha: Clashing egos The day President Asif Zardari supposedly unleashed yet another round of the so-called clash between the judiciary and the executive – nay, an ‘independent judiciary’ and a ‘tainted, corrupt executive’ – I rushed home to catch the
Traitor in court: An account of Iftikhar Cuaudhry’s brilliant career: Judge Iftikhar Chaudhry is a traitor to Pakistan’s constitution. He must go. نا انصافی نا منظور جو آئین کا غدار ہے اک پی سی او کی مار ہے جو فوج کا خدمتگار ہے اور مللاؤں کا یار ہے جو
PPP protesters torch effigy of controversial judge Iftikhar Chaudhry, express solidarity with President Zardari in rallies across country: Rejecting the apex court’s decision, the PPP leaders in their fiery speeches said “We want an ‘independent judiciary’ and not the ‘ruling judiciary’.” * PPP leaders say party has always adhered to ‘law of the land’, never violated constitution
Amir-ul-Momineen Nawaz Sharif declares Persident Zardari as the biggest threat to democracy – by Mehmal Sarfraz: Mian Nawaz Sharif, a leader reincarnated, did not like being overshadowed by President Zardari. Ah, the mind boggles at this political ‘brotherhood’. Reminds one of the ‘brotherly rivalry’ between the Mian brothers themselves. The elder Mian sahib must not
Defeating militancy in Musharraf style? – by Talat Masood: Defeating militancy Gen Musharraf spoke ad nauseam on fighting extremism and terrorism. And the West and many of our fellow citizens, especially amongst the elite, mistakenly believed that he was the leader who could really steer the country from
Lawyers’ struggle: another view – by Kaiser Bengali: In light of the current situation, we consider it pertinent to re-print the following article written by Kaiser Bengali. Reprinted from Dawn, 30 March 2009. THE successful movement for the reinstatement of Iftikhar Chaudhry is being billed as a
Why is Iftikhar Chaudhry destroying Pakistan? – by Bilal Qureshi: Every objective analyst who follows Pakistan has come to the same conclusion – Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry is becoming a serious threat not only to the country, but also to the entire democratic system that is already under tremendous
Iftikhar Chaudhry’s appointment was void ab initio – by Yousuf Nazar: SOURCE: Forget about the fact that Mr. Zaradri is , like it or nor, the President and is bound by the advice of only the Prime Minister and no one else, although he should consult regarding the appointment of
The Speech of Mr Sri Chandra Chattopadhyay in Opposition to Objectives Resolution, Constitutent Assembly of Pakistan, 12 March 1949: This is a historic speech and a document that posterity will re-examine because of its ever increasing influence on the amalgamation of religion and politics in Pakistan. Seldom has one piece of legislation caused so much trepidation. Here is
Lahore’s traffic: Jam anyone? – by Masood Hasan: To describe Lahore traffic – or for that matter any other urban city here – as an eternal traffic jam would do no justice to the ground reality. The stage of rough-cut orange marmalade or strawberry conserve is long
Two Provinces: Different Local Government Bills: After a lot of confusion and campaigning against the fate of local government bodies, the Punjab Government finally brought the local government amendment bill in the parliament this month. The new bill was passed by PML-N with majority votes
Urban middle-class activists of Pakistan: A herd of sheep? – by Nadeem F. Paracha: A herd of sheep? Nadeem F. Paracha Sunday, 14 Feb, 2010 What we have at hand as urban middle-class ‘activists’ are actually figurative sheep: NFP. There have been three major occasions when the Pakistani middle-class has broken away from
Pakistan’s Supreme Court declares war on the democratic government – by Abdul Nishapuri: In a (not so) surprise move, top judicial bureaucrats sitting in Pakistan’s Supreme Court and Lahore High Court have declared war against a fragile democracy in Pakistan. The (right-wing) establishment has taken its dagger out for a final attack
Shazia murder case: Accused Naeem advocate granted bail by Islamofacist judiciary in Lahore: Family members of Shazia Masih, including, from left, her sister; her mother, Nasreen Bibi; and her aunt and brother. The girl died while working as a maid. Photo: NY Times Lahore: February 13, 2010. (PCP) Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz
Peshawar romantics defy Taliban for Valentine’s: Thanks: Dawn, 13 Feb 2010 This picture taken on February 11, 2010, shows a woman choosing Valentine’s Day gifts at a shop in Peshawar. — AFP PESHAWAR: Hip young romantics in Pakistan’s most dangerous city are splashing out on
A media academy for the PPP — by Elf Habib: The objective at the academy should be to groom a team with the cutting edge expertise to expose the extent and inanity of the propaganda against the party leaders and their policies and emphasise the need and effectiveness of
The discreet charm of the bourgeoisie — by Salman Tarik Kureshi: Our captains of industry can justifiably blame inconsistent government policies, bureaucratic corruption, Bhutto’s nationalisations, political instability, bad law and order, infrastructural limitations, the power crisis and so on. But the fact of a powerless and politically inert big bourgeoisie
Zaid Hamid and strategic depth — by Farhat Taj: FATA continues to be used and abused as a strategic space by the security establishment of Pakistan in violent pursuit of strategic depth in Afghanistan. In short, strategic depth means Pakistan must have a pro-Pakistan government in Afghanistan by
Pakistani Taliban apologists – by Gulmina Bilal Ahmad: It is baffling to note how anyone can support and justify the TTP while at the same time proclaim to be champions of democracy, rule of law, equality before the law and most of all justice. Or do they
The (misdirected) yearning for Zardari’s removal from office – by Ayaz Amir: The (misdirected) yearning for change Ayaz Amir The Pakistani non-voting middle class represents a strange phenomenon, a category waiting to be defined in some seminal work on the social sciences. This class will not be bothered to vote. It