Monthly Archive:: May 2010
Rant of the day: The dead parrot: By Dr. Omar Ali Communications from well meaning leftist friends indicate that some of them misunderstand my criticism of Islamism. They seem to think that my objection is primarily moral. That I somehow think orthodox Islam is very uniquely
Insaf – Zehra Nigah: انصاف (اُس اندھی لڑکی کے نام جسے حدود میں سزا سنائ گئ تھی) مَیں اِس چھوٹے سے کمرے میں آزاد بھی ہوں، اور قید بھی ہوں اِس کمرے میں اک کھڑکی ہے جو چھت کے برابر اونچی ہے جب
Who are the Maoists?: Rakesh Mani on India’s Maoist underbelly – despite differences, struck me how much the Naxals share with Pk-based militants (Taliban, Lashkars etc). Change a few words here & tweak a few facts there and this could be about Pakistan’s
Failed New York car bombing : A wake-up call: MCC urges Obama Administration to distance itself from Islamists promoting doctrine of ‘armed jihad’ and Sharia Law TORONTO – The Muslim Canadian Congress (MCC) has condemned the attempted bombing in New York, but has also expressed alarm at the
Curious case of Faisal Shahzad and the infrastructure of jihad – by Cyril Almeida: This undated photo shows Faisal Shahzad, right, and his wife Huma Mian. Shahzad was arrested at a New York airport on charges that he drove a bomb-laden SUV meant to cause a fireball in Times Square, federal authorities said.
MQM: A reverse order party in Pakistani political culture: Since the advent of strong vibrant media, the voice of common man is being heard, loud and clear. Common people desirous for a change, are now speaking for the change. From one corner of the country to another, they
If half-a-million ethnic Punjabis flee Balochistan – by Jan Assakzai: If they flee Balochistan A disturbing fallout of Baloch militants’ estrangement is going to be mass migration from Balochistan of Punjabi- and Urdu-speaking people, who mostly live in Quetta. The professional entrepreneurial middle class composed of the non-indigenous communities
Silence or conditional condemnation of the Times Square bomber — by Dr Mahjabeen Islam: Ours is a nation with many Joseph Goebbels. We rattle on in convoluted, minute details and in the effort to convince others, delude only ourselves, unfortunately so deeply that we lose the beginning of lies and the death of
North Waziristan: the new terrorist epicentre?: The investigations into Faisal Shahzad’s attempted car bombing in New York have shifted focus to his links in Pakistan. While little evidence has so far emerged of his link to one or the other terrorist group, his own admission
Wild boars attack Pakistan’s Supreme Court: Mukafat-e-amal? Wild boars inhabit the thickly-forested areas around Islamabad. The city is located in a valley in the foothills of the Himalayas which provides them with perfect cover. Today was however a strange day in Islamabad’s history. Destiny had
Jinnah: India-Partition-Independence – by Jaswant Singh – Book Review by Iftikhar Ahmad: Book review: Creation of the state of Pakistan —by Iftikhar Ahmad Jinnah: India-Partition-Independence By Jaswant Singh Oxford University Press; Pp 565, Price Rs 995 It is claimed that Jaswant Singh’s book, Jinnah: India-Partition-Independence, attempts an objective evaluation. It is
The grapes are sour for Nisar: Bargain games between PML-N and the Supreme Court – by Saeed Minhas: ISLAMABAD: The civil and military bureaucracy should be scrutinised by the parliamentary public accounts committee, however, the judiciary can opt for whatever it wants and parliamentarians will respect its position, provided it takes a declared position. If this was
Of friends and fire: Taliban’s violence against the JI and Khalid Khwaja – by Nadeem Paracha: On April 19, a Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) rally in Peshawar was attacked by a suicide bomber. The gruesome attack was allegedly engineered and undertaken by members of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The irony is that the JI are one of
Chameleons: Pakistani politicians’ approach towards Taliban – by Farooq Sulehria: The suicide blast in Peshawar on April 19 that claimed 23 lives was a little different, in the sense that instead of targeting the ANP, as usual, the suicide bomber chose a Jamaat-e-Islami demonstration to detonate himself. The Naib
The Scylla of violence: indiscriminate violence against the non-combatant settlers in Balochistan – by Dr Mohammad Taqi: “This is a political war and it calls for discrimination in killing.” — John Paul Vann, US adviser in Vietnam The recent killing of Professor Nazima Talib in Quetta has once again called into question the logic of indiscriminate
Khawaja’s murder: a dark indicator – by Kamila Hyat: The sordid murder of Khalid Khawaja, the former ISI official, squadron leader and a man thought at various times to have negotiated between the US, the Pak Army and militants, exposes the many inter-linkages relating to terrorism. There is,
Khalid Khwaja: Life and death of an intelligence operative – by Nimer Ahmed: Former daily Aajkal columnist and briliant young journalist Nimer Ahmed has written this piece exclusively for the LUBP. We hope Nimer will keep contributing and sharing his valuable thoughts with us. (Ali Arqam Durrani) خالد خواجہ؟ نمراحمد حال ہی
Jang Group’s twist – Chairman FBR’s “decision” to take back leave request – by Ahmed Iqbalabadi: On May 1, 2010, I had written a post on this blog titled “Ansar Abbasi, the undeclared spokesperson of Iftikhar Chaudhry”. That post was in response to Ansar Abbasi’s investigative report on the decision of Sohail Ahmed, Chairman Federal
Mosaic of Anarchy – IA Rehman: Source Dawn: WHILE much is being said about the elite’s perception of anarchy in Pakistan little attention is paid to events and images that constitute the mosaic of anarchy as seen by common citizens. It is the latter version
Who murdered Benazir Bhutto? – Farrukh Khan Pitafi: Source Daily Times: My countrymen and some foreign friends seem to have developed the new hobby of conducting pint-size researches on the assassination of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto. Even before the UN report on her assassination — which mercifully did
Who is Dr. Usman and why is he constantly being released from custody?: The Pakistani people deserve an explanation as to who is Dr. Usman aka Muhammad Aqeel who has been acquitted by a Rawalpindi Anti Terrorism Court today due to “lack of evidence” in the Marriott Bombing case of 2008. According
Not the voice of the creator – By Ardeshir Cowasjee: Day after dreary day it goes on — a professor, a woman, shot and killed in a rickshaw in Quetta, four policemen blown up in Peshawar, five ‘activists’ shot dead in Karachi, and more, much more. This land has
Faisal Shahzad: The Air Marshal’s incompetent bombmaker son: By Dr Omer Ali Someone posted comments about the Times Square bomber and why Pakistan is breeding so many Islamic fanatics (thankfully so many incompetent Islamic fanatics). Someone else posted Dhume’s article from the WSJ today. I wrote a
Ansar Abbasi and Tariq Butt at it again – Fact Finding Commission Report – by Ahmed Iqbalabadi: Our self righteous media’s erstwhile investigative reporters, Ansar Abbasi and Tariq Butt are at it again. In their yet another report cum analysis titled “Confusion prevails over fact-finding committee report- Rehman Malik, Babar Awan to record statements now” with
Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Children’s Hospital and Education Project, D.G.Khan – A welfare project by the LUBP Trust: Photo created by: Maliha Javed Ali. It is to inform all our visitors that Let Us Build Pakistan (LUBP) has taken an initiative towards helping poor masses. This is the very first project of the Team LUBP named as
Terrorists of Sipah-e-Sahaba held, bomb defused – by Faraz Khan: LJ man held, bomb defused By Faraz Khan KARACHI: Police arrested a member of the banned religious outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LJ) on Tuesday on suspicion that he was involved in a bank robbery that took place in the last week
The fascist struggle in Pakistan — by Naveed Afridi: We have seen the fusing of religious symbolism in the narrative of modern Pakistan, the worship of the armed forces and promotion of adventurous militarism from TV personalities as well as in charismatic figures like Zaid Hamid. We have
Investigation of Benazir Bhutto’s murder by a committee and a half – By Kamran Shafi: A committee and a half The committee set up to fix responsibility for the hosing down of the site of Benazir Bhutto’s dastardly assassination is something to behold: a federal secretary, a provincial additional secretary and the vice chief
Kamran Shafi in Dr Shahid Masood’s talkshow: The Jang Group (Geo TV, Jang, The News) is widely known for its pro-establishment and anti-democracy (anti-politicians) style of journalism. In particular, certain yellow journalists of the Jang Group (namely Ansar Abbasi, Dr Shahid Masood, Shakeel Anjum, Muhammad Ahmed
Who is the biggest beneficiary of Benazir Bhutto’s murder: By Humza Ikram Media with all its zeal is currently busy in bashing the UN report. The Ghairat (national honour) brigade has already termed it as a second attack on Pakistan’s military establishment after the Kerry Lugar Bill. Thanks
Thousands of Pukhtuns celebrate the 18th Amendment and provincial autonomy in Clifton, Karachi: From Ali Abbas Inayatullah’s facebook: While Pakistan’s bourgeouise “intelligensia” often falsely paints the Taliban as being part of “Pushtoon Nationalism”, nothing could be further from the truth! After sacrifizing thousands of lives for opposing the Taliban and loosing scores
Banned outfits eye new recruits through jihadi material – by Faraz Khan: KARACHI: Religious organisations outlawed by former president Pervez Musharraf continue promoting terrorism in Karachi by distributing material to convince the youth to enlist themselves in the name of jihad, Daily Times learnt on Monday. Sources revealed that Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan,
Get the militant leadership — by Daud Khattak: In wars, the death of a leader means half the war is won. But, interestingly enough, in the anti-terror war in this region, the leadership is intact despite the use of all air, ground and intelligence resources against them
Plight of Pakistan’s informal workforce — by Syed Mohammad Ali: Given Pakistan’s currently tenuous economic and security situation, coupled with increasing unemployment, more women and children will join home-based work, which is not regulated and where remuneration is extremely low
Understanding the Pakistani mindset on Ajmal Kasab (and other terrorists): Kasab’s home village slams Mumbai conviction Monday, 03 May, 2010 Villagers watch breaking news on the Indian court verdict against Ajmal Kasab at a house in the remote town of Faridkot in Pakistan. — AFP FARIDKOT: Farmers in the
Finally, the Deobandi awakening against Taliban terrorists?: No condemnation Dawn Editorial Monday, 03 May, 2010 There is little doubt that there still exist, across Pakistan, mosques, schools of religious learning and other religious centres that continue to spew hate. Unless that infrastructure of hate is shut
From Charter of Democracy to 18th Amendment – by Nazir Leghari: سکہ بند دانشوروں کی پسینے سے شرابور پیشیانیاں….عرض حال…نذیر لغاری 15/ مئی 2006 کو لندن میں پاکستان پیپلزپارٹی اور پاکستان مسلم لیگ (ن) کے مابین طے پانے والے میثاق جمہوریت میں ججوں کے تقرر کا طریقہ کار اس قدر
Get the militant leadership – Daud Khattak: Source Daily Times: In wars, the death of a leader means half the war is won. But, interestingly enough, in the anti-terror war in this region, the leadership is intact despite the use of all air, ground and intelligence