Monthly Archive:: February 2011

On Declan Walsh’s latest scoop: ‘Raymond Davis is a CIA spy’: Related articles: LUBP archive on Declan Walsh On the so called ISI-CIA rift on the Raymond Davis issue Foreign journalists in Pakistan: Embedded in the narratives of military establishment Yesterday, Declan Walsh published two stories in the Guardian (20
An open letter to President Obama: People of Bahrain need your help: Related articles: LUBP Archive on Bahrain An open letter to President Obama: If there is any country where the USA can install democracy without a single bullet fired, it is Bahrain Dear Mr. President, In one of your recent
Pakistan-US relations: Even against the odds – A money manager’s view: The aim of this post is to highlight the possible financial impact of the matter of Raymond Davis’ immunity and the worsening of relations between the USA and Pakistan. A leading Investment Bank of Pakistan, InvestCap has come up
Najam Sethi’s shameful role in undermining Benazir Bhutto’s democratic government: Najam Sethi is an interesting character of Pakistani media who has carefully and opportunistically attempted to construct his image as a liberal journalist while not compromising his links with the real stakeholders in Pakistan, i.e., GHQ. Sethi is known
How Pakistani political parties evolve (or otherwise) – by Nadeem F. Paracha: Related articles: Student politics in Pakistan: A history, lament and celebration – by Nadeem F. Paracha Special Report on PPP – by Amir Mateen A review of PML-Q and other factions of PML – by Amir Mateen Special report
Rauf Klasra on Shah Mahmood Qureshi: Rauf Klasra belongs to Southern Punjab from Bhakkar and knows very well the character of leaders coming from the belt. PM Gilani and former FM Qureshi belong to the same belt, however, their power comes from their positions as
Prospects of Democracy in Pakistan – by Naveed Ali: It is strange how the word ‘revolution’ is used by everyone interested in politics or involved in politics, no matter what their ideological inclination is. Everyone simply wants a revolution; perhaps what they mean by revolution is their own
“Protesters have no clear demands”: Fake Civil Society of Bahrain: Related articles: Why are Pakistan’s urban chatterers neglecting the Bahrain uprising? U.S. follows two paths on unrest in Iran and Bahrain – by Mark Landler and David E. Sanger Editor’s note: Recent events in Bahrain (and elsewhere) suggest that
Student politics in Pakistan: A history, lament and celebration – by Nadeem F. Paracha: Part-1: First steps In 1947 the only established student organization in the newly created country of Pakistan was the Muslim Students Federation (MSF), the student wing of the ruling Muslim League. MSF had been formed to assist the Muslim
Clarity in the Raymond Davis Incident – by Rusty Walker: On the face of it, the Raymond Allen Davis incident would appear to be a simple homicide investigation of a double murder, or double shooting, by an American clandestine operative in Pakistan. There would be additional investigation into two
PSF activists support Mumtaz Qadri? Poor reporting by the Daily Times: A plea to Shaheed Taseer’s family – by Shahid Khakwani: It was shocking to read about Peoples Student Federation (PSF), the student wing of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) presenting flowers to Mumtaz Qadri, the assassin of Shaheed Salmaan Taseer in Daily Times owned by Shaheed Governor (now being run
Class, Caste and Marla Housing Scheme in Rural Punjab – by HB Mallah:   The summarized version of this research report is published in the Social Science and Policy Bulletin LUMS Winter 2011. This research project was to examine national policy discussion on poverty and social policy in Pakistan. This study has
Why are Pakistan’s urban (fake) liberals neglecting the Bahrain uprising?: Related articles: Fake Civil Society of Bahrain U.S. follows two paths on unrest in Iran and Bahrain – by Mark Landler and David E. Sanger Editor’s Note: While the Pakistan urban chattering elites were going ga ga over the
Raymond is our booty!: This evil man who is a racist, a point proven by his choosing to serve in Pakistan for many years, is guilty of killing two young men in their prime. Imagine the potential career possibilities the two alleged robbers
How a new film may help popularize fundamentalism in Pakistan: Editor’s Note:  We are cross posting the following article sent to us by one of our valued supporters.  The following article from the Christain Science Monitor highlights the support for Islamofascism in a segment of society that is traditionally
Age relaxation for CSS 2012 exam Part 1 – by Shamoon Qureshi: This post is related to CSS candidates’ age relaxation and I would like to offer some recommendation based on comparative analysis of age limits in our neighboring countries which are also common wealth sovereign states that how they relax
Aabpara phobia: An unedited conversation with Riaz Toori: Related post: Abdul Khaliq Hazara and other ISI’s touts within Shia Muslims Editor’s note: The purpose of this post is to highlight our independence as a blog. While we do not conceal our support for the Pakistan Peoples Party,
U.S. follows two paths on unrest in Iran and Bahrain – by Mark Landler and David E. Sanger: WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has responded quite differently to two embattled governments that have beaten protesters and blocked the Internet in recent days to fend off the kind of popular revolt that brought down Egypt’s government. With Iran — a
Economic Revival is Survival – By Imran Qadir Butt: In the world of business and investment perception plays a vital role in the feasibility of an investment or a business initiative. It is so important a phenomenon that it can transform any given event or change in business
Justice Tariq Mehmood vs Ansar Abbasi on Raymond Davis’s immunity – by Ahmed Iqbalabadi: Related articles: LUBP Archive on Raymond Davis Between March 2007 and March 2009, Justice Tariq Mehmood along with Ali Ahmed Kurd, Asma Jahangir and Athar Minallah plus a few others were the darlings of our right wing media members
The Ghairat Brigades and the truth – by Kamran Shafi: Related articles: LUBP Archive on Raymond Davis THE Ghairat Brigades are in overdrive over the Davis issue. Raucous ‘news’ items are appearing in Ghairatmand newspapers and TV channels over how even the police are convinced that the man is
Islam and Pakistan must be purged of Munawar Hasan and his Jamaat-e-Ghair-Islami – by Asim Hameed: I had fits of laughter when I read a ticker being run by Aaj TV that the Jamat-e-Islami chief Syed Munawar Hasan has demanded that disciplinary action be initated against PPP Information Secretary Fauzia Wahab by the PPP and
Tribal elder falsely reported as Taliban Commander is arrested by Karachi Police – by Saleem Khan Muhmand: Here is an example of how the print and electronic media in Pakistan is busy in breaking the carefully manufactured news without verification. This is an example of a sad alliance between Pakistani military and media. This is the
The human rights community finally notices the Taliban’s war crimes – by Christopher Hitchens:  News Flash: The Taliban Violate Human Rights The human rights community finally notices the Taliban’s war crimes. By Christopher Hitchens Editors Note:  There are many in our elite chattering class whose hatred of the PPP is only matched by
Raymond Davis case: How Pakistan’s right-wing media resulted in Shumaila’s death: The widow of the Faheem Shamshad who was killed by Raymond Davis committed suicide because in her words she had no hope of justice as the Punjab police had kept Raymond Davis as an official guest. Shumaila’s family believes
Blasphemy case against Sherry Rehman: Will Chief Justice provide justice to her? – by Barrister Waseem Ijaz: Sherry Rehman, the rebel princess of urban civil society and anti-PPP media, has been ordered to be inducted for blasphemy charges by ‘indipendent judiciary’ of Pakistan. Additional Sessions Judge Meher Nasir Hussain in Multan has ordered police to register
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan’s detention in India: The not so melodious surprise – by D. Asghar: Rahat Fateh Ali Khan may have his foes in India. There may be professional rivalry and prejudice and what have you, but his recent detention at New Dehli’s airport for allegedly carrying $124,000 in cash is sure another egg
Full Court Reference recommends Khalil Ramday for one more year – Azad Adliya Zindabad: Related articles: LUBP Archive on Justice Khalil Ramday In a latest news relayed by Dawn News and Geo News at 9.30 pm PST, a full court reference was held under the stewardship of CJP, Iftikhar Chaudhry that has “recommended through
In defense of Shah Mahmood Qureshi – by Javed Fazal: Related article: Shah Mahmood Qureshi: Jang Group’s new found hero – by M Usama Kabbir I am not very happy with the recent reshuffling in the cabinet by the Prime Minister. Not because it is a bad move, but
Asif Zardari’s silent revolution in Pakistan – by Hamid Akhtar: In the following article, veteran writer and columnist Hamid Akthar explains how Asif Zardari and the current government of the PPP are responsible for a silent revolution in Pakistan which is based on tolerance, reconciliation and democracy. While traits
Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan: Pakistan’s new minister of information – by Tanveer Qaiser Shahid: While the Fake Civil Society (FCS) and right wingers of Pakistan are busy in ridiculing Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan attacking her accent, gender and non-urban background, here is an excellent article by Tanvir Qaiser Shahid which offers a balanced
Pakistan’s populist judges: Is this a sign of changing times? Has the west begun to see the man’s motive? This seems to be the most scathing commentary on Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry in the last many months. This appeared in the current
Pakistan’s Top 5 Liberal Fascists – by Razzak Memon: Editor’s Note: Our contributer, Razzak Memon, has provided us a list of 5 whom he defines as “liberal fascist”. Please bear in mind that while we support his right to express his views, we do not agree with the
Deconstructing Al Jazeera and its paymasters: Related post: The collapse of Al-Jazeera’s credibility Aim The aim of this post is to identify some key issues and concerns about the claimed independence and objectivity of Al Jazeera and to highlight various forces and factors which currently
Freedom of hate speech? – by Nadeem F. Paracha: Loose cannons In countries where democracy hasn’t had the time to strike root in political institutions and the social psyche, there is always the danger of it becoming a backdoor sanctuary for mobs of intolerant thugs who are the
A survey of Pakistani journalists’ beliefs and priorities – by Lawrence Pintak and Syed Javed Nazir: Inside the Muslim (Journalist’s) Mind The Pakistani public, long skeptical of American goals in Afghanistan and the Muslim world, is now outraged over Washington’s insistence that the authorities release a former United States Special Forces soldier charged with killing
Raymond Davis – by Shoaib Adil: Related articles: In Pakistan, everybody hates Raymond? – by Brandon Wallace Lahore shooting by a US national and “the legal issues to settle”: Some questions for Ejaz Haider Curious case of Raymond Davis – by Sindhyar Talpur Civil society
On the 100th birthday of Faiz, can we promise him? – by Naveed Ali: 13 February 2011 is Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s 100th birthday. A lot has been written on him and a lot will be written. Generations have been inspired by his words and he has been widely read in the world. We
Shah Mahmood Qureshi: Jang Group’s new found hero – by M Usama Kabbir: Related article: In defense of Shah Mahmood Qureshi – by Javed Fazal Pakistan’s (military establishment-free) media has found an overnight ‘HERO’ roughly a month after they found ‘Ghazi’ Mumtaz Qadri. Surprisingly, this time around he is from the ‘krupt’
Pakistan Democracy Review 2010: Related article: Pakistan Democracy Review 2009 – by Humza Ikram JANUARY 2010 NFC Award The 7th National Finance Commission (NFC) award was signed in January . A consensus was reached among Center and provinces ,and between four provinces. Center decided to