Democracy Archive
The judicial coup and authoritarianism – by H.A. Khan: In one of his recent TV appearances Dr. Lal Khan, a longtime Marxist, explained that in a capitalist state the judiciary will always favour and to protect the vested interests of the ruling class. The current judicial crisis makes it
And this is the fact – By Saria Benazir: The words, quoted in my tears – the tears of a supporter of democracy…..these excruciating, but most retarding moments of my life compel me to realize that life is nothing, more than a game of whist – We have
Principles of policy of Pakistan’s constitution – by Mosharraf Zaidi: Principles of policy Part I February 23, 2010 In his column last week, my friend Harris Khalique quotes a small part of Article 38 of the Constitution, which is titled, “Promotion of social and economic well-being of the people”.
Our quasi-feudal political parties — by Babar Ayaz: There is a wide demand and supply gap in the political market. The political parties that are ill-prepared, power-centric, self-seeking and have failed to fathom the change cannot meet this yawning gap. Their change and growth is quintessential for
A brief history of extremism in Pakistan – by Hassan Amin: Ever since the inception of Pakistan, Extremist Mullahs have always been vying to hijack the State. When I refer to the term ‘Extremist Mullahs’, I draw a line to separate, ‘Islamist Fanatics with a Political Agenda’ from the simple
Judicial coup in Pakistan – by David B. Rivkin Jr. and Lee A. Casey: Source: Wall Street Journal- ASIA EDITION When U.S. President Barack Obama sharply challenged a recent Supreme Court decision in his State of the Union address, prompting a soto voce rejoinder from Justice Samuel Alito, nobody was concerned that the contretemps
Two years of democracy and counting – by Raza Rumi: ‘The obvious fallout of the media-government war has been a virtual blackout of what the civilian governments have achieved’, Writes Raza Rumi in his excellent article in The News on Sunday. Two years and counting Given the average shelf
These are the courts, and yes, this is the justice – by Saria Benazir: Today , the democracy is being challenged in the courts. Those cases, which stayed unproved after years of exploration are being opened again, and people, who themselves took illegal steps in the past, this day speak of law and
Democracy, transparency and accountability – by Dr Farrukh Saleem: Transparency is the mother of democracy. Two things: first, there can’t be democracy without transparency. Second, democracy can’t allow the murder of her own mother. No government, therefore, is a democracy unless it ‘implements a set of policies and
In a democratic system, the primacy of the elected institutions and leaders should be respected. – by Dr Hasan-Askari Rizvi: Beyond the executive-judiciary crisis The executive-judiciary crisis has another dimension with implications for the future of democracy in Pakistan. This can also be viewed as an attempt by a non-elected state institution, i.e. the judiciary, to restrict the role
Military judiciary nexus is a threat to parliament – by Junaid Qaiser: Good news for Pakistan’s undemocratic forces and bad news for Pakistan’s Parliament and its supremacy: Government accepts judiciary’s recommendations. We are continuously moving towards judicial dictatorship. Pakistan army has always played an integral role in Pakistan government and politics
Do you see the difference between democratic People’s Party and fascist Muslim League?: By Omar Khattab in Lahore Yesterday Pakistan’s People’s Party once again gave evidence of its unflinching faith in democracy and peaceful co-existence. Despite the fact that egged on by the likes of Nawaz Sharif, the Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry
Three pictures, a column and the mindset of Syed Talat Hussain: The first few paragraphs in Syed Talat Hussain’s op-ed today offer his choice and analysis of three pictures. However, more than anything else, this choice and analysis also betrays his mindset, explaining why this excellent anchor sometimes acts as
Pakistan is heading towards judicial dictatorship – Asma Jahangir: Asma says judicial dictatorship on the cards KARACHI: People will soon witness a judicial dictatorship in the country if the judiciary continuously moves ahead in its present direction and then we would forget military and political dictatorships, HRCP chairperson
The Greater Game of Rightist Establishment: What we are today witnessing is a completely de-politicized youth of Pakistan trying to define Pakistan’s politics in a haste and in black and white. There are many grey areas in politics too. Our youth today needs to understand
Hats off to Prime Minister Gilani – by PPP UK: Those who were hoping that PM Gilani will undermine the President of Pakistan / Co-Chairman PPP Asif Ali Zardari, this is a message to you to shut your mouth and keep playing games if you want to but this
Hijacking Democracy – by Anas Muhammad: Today we live in an increasingly dangerous world, which is filled with people who have their ulterior motives and willingness to harm others to benefit themselves. Our world is filled with criminals, gangsters, murderers, and terrorists. The people who
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
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.
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
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
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
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
Congratulations, General Kayani, on defeating ‘bad’ Taliban and ‘bad’ politicians at the same time – by Cyril Almeida: Coming full circle Friday, 12 Feb, 2010 OUR boys in uniform have a spring in their step again. Domestically, they have taken on two enemies and appear to be winning: the civilian government has been reduced to parroting the
Shame on political parties, especially our own PPP: Women’s disenfranchisement Election observers have reported that thousands of women from Lakki Marwat were denied their right to vote during Wednesday’s by-election for PF-75, which was also marked by procedural irregularities and illegal campaigning. Having visited the majority of
Zardari bashing reaches ABC News blog – by Sarah Khan: It was saddening to see how an engineered video clip defaming President Asif Zardari made its way to ABC News blog. Here is the article which inspired me to write this post particularly because I was in the audience
Reconciliation Is No Silver Bullet – by Anas Muhammad: Two years ago – February 2008 – Pakistan began its transformation to democracy with a general election that brought Benazir Bhutto’s PPP (Pakistan People’s Party) into power. The party decided to continue its policy, introduced by its slain leader
Castigating politicians: A sense of gloom and all-pervasive disillusionment and despair seems to have overtaken the country. Since a civilian elected government is at the head of affairs, the anger and frustration of wide sections of the people is turning on
Independence of judiciary and military boots – by Bawa: عدلیہ کی آزادی اور فوجیوں کے بوٹ عدلیہ کی بحالی سے عدلیہ کی آزادی تک مصنف: باوا ایک طویل جدوجہد کے بعد اٹھارہ سو پینسٹھ میں امریکی آئین میں تیرھویں ترمیم کے ذریعے امریکہ میں غلامی کا خاتمہ کر
An elite conflict — by Salman Tarik Kureshi: Incompetent or do-nothing or internally divided parliaments, however constitutionally or otherwise appointed, failed to satisfy the people’s demands. They therefore left a vacuum of effectiveness, into which stepped the more action-oriented, better organised institutions: the civil bureaucracy and the
A critical perspective on Geo News – by Usama Bhutto: Every one likes the concept of freedom of media. Yes media should be free but at the same time responsible. Jang group is one of the leading group of news papers in Pakistan. But some time they behave in
Uncontested dominance – by Cyril Almeida: What makes the army so contemptuous of civilians is the fact that you can only conquer what you understand: while the army thoroughly understands the ways of the politicians, the opposite is anything but true. What does the military-bureaucratic
Badshah Khan: The unsung champion of federalism and democracy – by Nadir Ali Dirojay Pukhtunyar: The Pashtun homeland in the south and east of Afghanistan and the north-west of Pakistan has become synonymous with terrorism and violence. Certain quarters suggest that the Pashtun region and society is intrinsically violence driven. The Pashtuns have a
Pakistan Peoples Party and Importance of its Founding Documents – by H.A. Khan: The PPP was launched at its founding convention held in Lahore on November 30 – December 01, 1967. At the same meeting, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was elected as its Chairman. Among the express goals for which the party was
Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar vs A.K. Antony – by Kamran Shafi: Well done, Mr Antony By Kamran Shafi Tuesday, 02 Feb, 2010 Three lieutenant generals of the Indian army are to be tried by court martial for their part in an alleged land scam. The orders to try them were