Monthly Archive:: April 2010
Faiz on Iqbal – by Farooq Sulehria: Few students of Pakistani literature know that Faiz Ahmed Faiz translated Allama Iqbal’s Payam-e-Mashriq into Urdu. An equally little-known fact is Iqbal’s presence at the founding conference of the Progressive Writers Association. While Iqbal, being the national poet of
Constitutional amendments can’t be challenged in Supreme Court: Aitzaz Ahsan: Former president of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan has said amending the constitution is the right of the parliament and the constitutional amendment can not be challenged in a court. People of Pakistan are currently witnessing
Paradox republic – by Nadeem Paracha: Pakistan has been in the news for quite some time now. A country that (until about the early 1980s) was little known and usually mistaken for being a province of India in Europe and the United States, has rapidly
سندھ کا ’سیکیولر‘ مدرسہ: ریاض سہیل بی بی سی اردو ڈاٹ کام کراچی ترقی اور تیزی کے ساتھ بدلتی سیاسی، سماجی اور معاشی صورتحال نے کراچی کے روشن ماضی کو دھندلا دیا ہے۔ برطانوی راج کے خلاف جب بھی تحریک چلیں، چاہے وہ
Dr Shahid Masood as Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry’s Jan-Nisar: Dangerous portents – by Kamran Shafi: Dangerous portents I was horrified to see recently a private TV channel advertising one of their talk shows with the blurb ‘Chief teray jan nisar…’ and then the names A.H. Pirzada, Akram Sheikh and one other that I do
Religious political organisations and parties — by Ishtiaq Ahmed: It is important that the open, secular parties make specific arrangements for representation of religious and ethnic minorities in parliament and in sharing public office. Under all circumstances, a clear distinction must be maintained between the private religious beliefs
Rana Sanaullah, Abid Sher Ali named in fresh financial scam: * PML-N leaders accused of embezzling Rs 65m in commissions against bogus development schemes in Faisalabad Aaj Kal Report LAHORE: Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah and Faisalabad parliamentarian Abid Sher Ali have been named in a financial scam regarding
UN Report & Conspiracy Theories – Munizae Jahangir: Source Express Tribune Is it not strange that there are so many conspiracy theories around the murder of a leader who before she was killed clearly named those she suspected of being a threat to her security? Certainly the
Commenters expose Talat Hussain’s hypocrisy!: Recently Talat Hussain wrote a melodramatic article called “10 things I hate about foreign media and reporters”. It contained Talat Hussain’s usual hypernationalist rants against foreign journalists in Pakistan. Examples from his article: The incessant complaining. Living in outsized
Text of President’s Speech (Signing of the 18th Amendment Bill): BISMILLAH IR RAHMAN-IR- RAHIM Signing Ceremony of Eighteenth Constitutional Amendment Bill 19.04.2010 Mr. Prime Minister Speaker National Assembly Chairman Senate Members of Parliament Leaders of Political Parties Excellencies Distinguished Guests Ladies and Gentlemen Assalam-o-Alaikum My head bows in gratitude
The Zia-ul-Haq group stages kidnap drama or wants to dispose of used cartridges? Two ex-ISI officials and a dubious journo “abducted” by the Taliban: Have they been ditched and bitten by one of their own? Or the General Zia-ul-Haq group of Pakistan’s ISI has staged an interesting drama by claiming that two of its visible assets Squadron Leader (retired) Khalid Khwaja and Colonel
The Shia holocuast continues: Editorial: Tragedy in Kohat Kohat was struck with tragedy on Saturday as two suicide bombers attacked an IDP camp as a group of internally displaced persons (IDP) were waiting to get themselves registered and receive aid handouts. More than
Interview with Abdul Baseer, a suicide bomber, an ex-student of Islamabad’s Lal Masjid madrassah: In this photo taken on Feb 18, 2010, alleged Pakistani militant Mohi-ud-Din, talks to the Associated Press while in police custody in Lahore, Pakistan. – AP Financed by Saudi Arabia, planned by the ISI, and executed by the Taliban
Religious minorities in an intolerant nation: Consequences of promoting Islamofascism: An intolerant nation Dawn Editorial Monday, 19 Apr, 2010 The site of the suicide attack outside an emergency ward at a local hospital in Quetta. A suicide bomber attacked a hospital emergency room where Shiite Muslims were mourning a
Ajoka’s Dara Shikoh: a story about the disputes between the Salafi and Sufi forms of Islam – by Taha S Siddiqui: Ajoka’s Dara – an ancient story of modern day proportions People say Lahore is rich with cultural treasures and that if one starts digging into the past, every street, lane and neighbourhood in this city contains in it a
Govt initiates action over UN report on Benazir Bhutto’s assassination: Officials named in UN report suspended By Syed Irfan Raza ISLAMABAD: Four days after the release of the UN Commission’s report on Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, the federal government went into action and suspended eight officials, including former City Police
How gay is being ‘gay’ in city? – by Andaleeb Rizvi: As Karachi continues to resonate with sparring political parties, sanctimonious religious outfits and bloodcurdling acts of terrorism in the post-Zia Pakistan, there is only one place where those who are ‘different’ could really be their own selves and get
Religious overtones of Pakistani media: It fell from the heavens – by Nadeem Paracha: It fell from the heavens “With the emergence and success of new, more modern sounding, albeit equally conservative and traditionalist preachers in various urban drawing rooms from 1995 onwards, the new trend was picked up by various TV channels
Govt Silence Sounds Death Knell for Faisalabad Ahmadis – Nasir Jamal: Source Dawn: LAHORE, April 16: It is no longer just a doorbell for Mohammad Iqbal and his family; instead it has a ring of alarm about it. As a boy goes to answer the call the other inhabitants form
Madly in hatred for Pakistan’s constitution!: Premature warning Dawn Editorial, 18 Apr, 2010 Taken at face value, the comments made by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry on Friday simply restate a known legal approach: “Judiciary supervises a regime of the rule of law and not the rule
Unrest among Sindhis on 18th amendment: HYDERABAD: A group of civil society leaders has made quite a critical evaluation of 18th constitutional amendment bill and said that Sindh remained the major loser once again because neither the issue of provincial autonomy nor of natural resources
Accountability of Pakistan’s judiciary – by Saeed Khurshid: Justice begins from me The ‘National Judicial Conference 2010’ – which is in the last day of its session – began with the objective to come up with a plan to make the dispensation of justice possible for all.
Moving beyond a clientelism model of democracy – by Luv Puri: The cross-party consensus on Pakistan’s constitutional reforms is a shot in the arm of the parliament and strengthens the process of democratisation in the country. Democratisation is an answer to the country’s many contemporary challenges, including the fight against
Tariq Ramadan and his ties to the Muslim Brotherhood – by Tarek Fatah: The Montreal Gazette Tariq Ramadan, the darling of the world Islamist establishment is back in Montreal. This time however, the Swiss scholar who usually camouflages his Islamist agenda under the niqab of ambivalent doublespeak, is going to do away
Deconstructing Dr Ijaz Shafi Gilani’s Gallup Pakistan: It is not uncommon to read results of various opinion surveys and polls on political issues and choices in Pakistani (and international) media. What however remains usually hidden is the real motive behind such polls and results. More often
Balochistan’s depressed Press – Baloch Hal Editorial: Source The Baloch Hal Daily Asaap. Abid Amin. Khuzdar Press Club. Malik Arif. All these tags lead to divergent but equally disheartening conclusions which narrate an abysmal state of the press freedom in Balochistan. These tags help us to
The rise of Mehran man (urban middle class) in Pakistan – by Irfan Husain: Pakistan’s power elite will increasingly come from the cities and not from the rural hinterland. This will have a profound impact not just on politics, but on society as a whole. Writes Irfan Hussain.
After the UN Report, General Musharraf cannot think of returning to Pakistan – by Muhammad Amjad Rashid: The report of the UN Commission on the murder of the ex chairperson of PAKISTAN PEOPLE’S PARTY is the most unbiased and professional report on Benazir Bhutto’s murder. The report has declared the MUSHARRAF GOVERNMENT (1999 – 2008) as responsible
Punjabi Taliban (Sipah-e-Sahaba) slaughter Pakhtun Shias in Kohat refugee camp. Burqa clad suicide bombers kill at least 40 people: After yesterday’s brutal attack on Shias in a hospital in Quetta, terrorists of Taliban and Sipah-e-Sahaba have struck Shias once again, this time in a refugee camp in Kohat, killing more than 40 persons. Two suicide bombings at a
Bhuttos’ Rendezvous With Death: Shahnawaz, Benazir, Murtaza, Sanam, Nusrat and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in northern Pakistan I Have A Rendezvous With Death — by Alan Seeger I have a rendezvous with Death At some disputed barricade, When Spring comes back with rustling shade
Paranoid about Pakhtun ethnic identity — by Farhat Taj: “The people of Hazara have the right to demand a separate province in their area, but they have no right to dictate a name of their choice on the overwhelming majority of the Pakhtun”, writes Farhat Taj
Pakistani democracy delivers — by Wajid Shamsul Hasan: Why Pakistan needs strong institutions is amply demonstrated in recent events of monumental importance. However, these events did not get enough attention either because of indifference from analysts or their lack of comprehension about these issues. It is a
Ex-MI Chief Nadeem Ijaz Ordered CPO to Wash Benazir Murder Scene – By Tariq Butt: Source The News: ISLAMABAD: The report of the UN fact-finding commission says the then Rawalpindi City Police Officer (CPO), Saud Aziz, had ordered to hose down the scene of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination at the Liaquat Bagh on the order
U.N. Probe of Bhutto Killing Faults Pakistan Military – Time Magazine: By Omar Waraich: Pakistani authorities not only failed to provide former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto the security that could have saved her life, but elements within the powerful military establishment may even have played a role in her December
Ideology of Pakistan – this is what we are teaching our kids.: Photo Comments from Ali K Chishti FB Profile Some selected Comments on this by Pakistani and Indian friends Vj Shiraz ; damn wth is ths :s Ideology is set of ideas not a science of ideas :s Rakshi Rath
More Provinces debate…: Dangerous games Dawn Editorial Friday, 16 Apr, 2010 Tempers in Hazara appear to be cooling after several days of violence. A general strike was called off recently, businesses are reopening and leading politicians have visited the area, ostensibly to
Amina Masood Janjua has changed her mind: Despite Justice Muhammad Sair Ali’s rhetoric on January that the missing persons case was more serious than the NRO, since the three member bench of the current Supreme Court was formed to decide the missing persons case we have
Taliban / Sipah-e-Sahaba’s attack on Shias in Quetta: At least 10 killed in suicide blast at Civil Hospital: A suicide bomber on Friday (16 April 2010) blew himself up in a hospital in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta, killing at least ten persons, including a TV journalist (Samaa TV), a DSP, an MNA, and injuring over