Democracy Archive
The fable of the gold mines -by Saria Benazir: Balochistan is the largest among Pakistan’s four provinces, comprising 43 percent of land area of the country. Balochistan is fundamentally a clannish society possessing its own history, culture, behavior and norms. Balochistan became part of Pakistan as a consequence
Three ways to help Pakistan: President Obama’s Afghan withdrawal plans include working with Pakistan to “root out the cancer of violent extremism.” Bruce Riedel’s three key steps to do it right. By Bruce Riedel On Wednesday evening, President Obama rightly said we “need to
Trust: Military’s biggest challenge—by Shiraz Paracha: The incompetency and dual standards of the some in the Pakistan Armed Forces have shattered the myth of the military might and its manufactured moral superiority. A disaster after disaster has put the military and it’s Chief General Ashfaq Pervez
How the Taliban turned a child into a suicide bomber: By NICK SCHIFRIN A 17-year-old died this week in Afghanistan, hanging from the end of a rope. A prison official fastened it around the boy’s neck in Kabul’s largest jail, tightened the knot, and then, in front of a
My Benazir lives -by Saria Benazir: BENAZIR – I screech out to top of the volume, as much as my larynx could afford. Engraving the name “Benazir” – it fills my eyes with tears & breaks my heart into trillions. I ramble here and there,
Over a coffee: Alcohol is thicker than blood —Dr Haider Shah: The courts should remain defenders of fundamental rights and personal liberties. When the Facebook ban was issued, the court appeared to be playing to the gallery of populist radicals A long time ago, when I was a college student
Extremism thrives under dictatorship -by Saria Benazir: A number of interrogations about the causes of extreme radicalism & terrorism in Pakistan occupy every psyche – from a lay man to the ruler of the state, no one considers his life secure in this country. Indeed, that
The prerequisite after bread, clothing and shelter -by Saria Benazir.: It is difficult to argue with the inference that the purpose behind the creation and development of human life is essentially the march of human society towards high pedestals of civilization, through a continuing process. Human history thus far
Who needs a foreign minister? -by Abdul Samad: How many countries function without a Foreign Minister at a time of diplomatic turbulence, when relations with its main ally, United States, stoop to a new low? Well, Pakistan does. In all the drama that has followed Osama’s execution,
An open letter to General Pasha -by Ejaz Haider: Dear General Pasha, I write this letter to you in the wake of the gruesome and gratuitous murder of Syed Saleem Shahzad, friend to many, including myself. The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Directorate, the agency you head, is being accused of Saleem’s
Pakistan journalists walk razor’s edge: Reporters often put themselves in harm’s way as they try to dig up the truth about Islamic militant groups, shadowy intelligence agencies and the possible links between the two. One reporter recently ended up dead; another has a harrowing
Mission silencing: State bans Saleem Shahzad’s book: The killing of Syed Saleem Shahzad is brutal confirmation that Pakistan is the world’s most hazardous place for journalists, whistle blowers and Independent thinkers. Saleem Shahzad’s kidnapping a week ago and his later brutal murder sparked off speculation that
Imran Khan: Taliban bachao ‘Tehrik’ -by Arshad Mahmood: Originally published in ‘Daily Aajkal’.
Then the ISI came for me -by Babar Sattar: Related article: Can anyone control Pakistan’s ISI spies ? Aamer Ahmed Khan on his own ISI experience Mr. Babar Sattar recalls being called to ISI HQ to “discuss” an Op-Ed he wrote on “reforming khakis”. The pall of gloom,
You can bury a man but not his courage -by Shehrbano Taseer: This article was originally published in the “Daily Express“
Hypocrisy of PML-N: Punjab condemns foreign funds but accepts billions anyway: The government of Punjab, which had recently secured front page coverage by its proclamation about shunning all funding by foreign donors, demanded from Islamabad to increase its borrowing limits and ensure release of development funds to avoid delays in
Pakistan’s tragic flaw -by Khaled Ahmed: One book that many people in Pakistan must be reading is Anatol Lieven’s Pakistan a Hard Country (Allen Lane 1011). Lieven is a sympathetic observer of Pakistan, visits it repeatedly and painstakingly interviews all stakeholders of the state. He
Es ghar ko aag lag gayi , ghar ke chirag se -by Arshad Mahmood: Originally published in the ‘Daily AajKal’.
A tribute to R.I.P Hakim Ali Zardari: Hakim Ali Zardari, father of Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, died yesterday after a protracted illness at the age of 81. He breathed his last at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad where he had been under
Osama’s killing: Is the world safe now? -by Saad Akhter: Osama’s killing has taken world by storm for a small period of time. Frankly I never thought that personalities matter and something like terrorism where people are fighting to get killed and get their names In history. Personalities don’t
Billing Dispute: Washington doubts Pakistan’s sincerity and rejects fake bills: The United States and Pakistan are engaged in a billing dispute, with Washington rejecting over 40% of the claims submitted by Islamabad as expenses to fight al-Qaeda and other terrorists along the Afghanistan border. According to internal Pentagon documents
Dare to hear the facts before you criticize Bilawal -by Sara Benazir: Criticism is not only defined as the judgment of merits and faults of the work or action done by someone but also defined as the study, evaluation and interpretation. Goal of this criticism is to understand thoroughly. Normally when
Pakistan: The narratives come home to roost – By Omar Ali: Editor’s Note: The following post by Omar Ali (cross posted from 3 Quarks Daily) is a timely reminder of how the security establishment has run the country into the ground. Unable to protect their own sensitive installations that are
Roots of our intolerance -by Khaled Ahmed: Pakistan is worried about the rising intolerance in its society. It is a collective version of hate, but is a natural human instinct at the level of the individual. If someone hurts you, it will be your natural response
Are security and intelligence state institutions above the law and beyond accountability? -by Arshad Mahmood: Originally published in ‘Daily Aajkal’
Isolationistan: Pakistani Parliament’s recent sovereignty-obsessed-resolution clearly illustrates power of the establishment in an important arena of domestic and foreign policy making. The resolution also manifests the unwillingness of our real decision makers to permit change in our military dominated, flawed
Is the security establishment ready to abandon its undemocratic policies -by Arshad Mahmood: Originally published in the ‘Daily Aajkal’
Dr Johnson’s Pakistan —by Abbas Zaidi: General Zia — a murderer, tyrant, usurper and a monument of moral bankruptcy — was the greatest patriot during his 11 years of misrule During my time as a student of English Literature at Government College, Lahore, my most
The GHQ has got it wrong! -by Khaled Ahmed: The Pakistan Army has turned Pakistan isolatiaonist on the principle of ghairat (honour). Everyone knows it runs the country’s foreign and security policies. Look closely enough and you will find that it runs practically everything. The TV channels emphasising
Pakistan’s jihadi section of media mourns Osama bin Laden: by Shoaib Adil Originally published in the ‘Daily AajKal’
Obama administration is divided over future of U.S.-Pakistan relationship -by Karen DeYoung and Karin Brulliard: Two weeks after the death of Osama bin Laden, the Obama administration remains uncertain and divided over the future of its relationship with Pakistan, according to senior U.S. officials. The discovery of the al-Qaeda leader in a city near
Press: In chains of another kind -by Waseem Altaf: The first attempt on media and free speech in Pakistan was made by Mr. Liaqat Ali Khan and associates when they tried to black out some passages of the Aug. 11, 1947 speech of Mohammad Ali Jinnah before the
ISI mobilizes fake civil society to defend Pakistani generals: Related posts: General Pasha in Pakistan’s parliament: Jahan panah tusi great ho, tohfa qabul karo! Questions for General Pasha (Part I) To the honourable generals of Pakistan army – by Rashid Aurakzai Nawaz Sharif’s commendable stance on Pakistani generals’
OBL fiasco: the buck stops with the military —by Dr Mohammad Taqi: The key issue is that the security establishment has shown no signs of course correction so far. From the bluster about a befitting response to a future Abbottabad-style attack to the attempted outing of the CIA’s Islamabad station chief,
An independent Commission is imperative to investigate Osama debacle -by Arshad Mahmood: This article was originally published in the ‘Daily AajKal’.
History of security establishments’ blunders -By Arshad Mahmood: This article was originally published in the ‘Daily AajKal’
Pakistan: Osama’s episode -by Inam R Sehri: Yesterday, on 7th May 2011, President Zardari, PM Gilani and COAS Ashfaq Kayani met for the second time at the Presidency since Osama’s operation in Abbotabad and comprehensively reviewed the situation in the perspective of Pakistan’s national security and
Dangerous Liaisons -by Sana Bucha: Jon Stewart is funny. He made me laugh when he asked Musharraf where Osama was. Musharraf’s response of “lead the way, I will follow” comment made me smile. The late Af-Pak Envoy, Richard Holbrooke, in answer to my question