Democracy at the brink? Dr Hasan-Askari Rizvi: Democracy at the brink? Dr Hasan-Askari Rizvi Daily Times 26th September, 2010 Democracy is a joint exercise of different state institutions and the political class with an emphasis on constitutionalism, the rule of law and respect for democratic principles.

Constitutional amendment and judicial appointments — by Dr Hasan-Askari Rizvi: The long-awaited 18th constitutional amendment represents a rare political phenomenon of consensus among the political parties that are generally known for partisanship and polemics. No member voted against the amendment in both houses of parliament. The major reason that

Dilemmas of counter-terrorism — by Dr Hasan-Askari Rizvi: The perspective of Islamic parties and the political right that expresses varying degrees of sympathy for the Taliban has seeped into other sections of society that either do not blame the Taliban for the violence or attempt to rationalise

Societal perspectives on terrorism — by Dr Hasan-Askari Rizvi: At least one generation has been socialised into a favourable disposition towards Islamic conservatism and militancy. They have a natural sympathy towards the political discourse of the militants even if they do not support their violent methods The terrorist

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

Democracy under siege — by Dr Hasan-Askari Rizvi: The PPP-led federal government, especially President Asif Ali Zardari, faces a siege like situation due to the subtle behind-the-scene moves by the military top brass, the political fallout of the Supreme Court judgement on the NRO, and the off-again,

Speculative stories and the PPP – by Dr Hasan-Askari Rizvi: The increased role of the intelligence agencies, especially the ISI and the MI, in the political domain from the mid-1980s onwards caused distortions in politics and made it easy to float speculative reports about civilian political leaders An interesting

Nawaz Sharif’s morality and democracy in Pakistan: The PML-N adopted a highly moral disposition of not condoning corruption through the NRO and maintained that none of its leaders benefited from the NRO. However, the information available

Get rid of your current cronies, President Zardari.: In the words of Hasan Askari Rizvi, the NRO setback can be attributed to President Asif Ali Zardari and his close associates who failed to understand the ground political realities outside the presidency. They appear to be less inclined

The ISI-Nawaz Sharif alliance: Too old to recall?:

The PMLN, the PMLQ, the Jama’at-e Islami, the JUIF, the Tehreek-e Insaf and a host of Islamist groups take a naïve view of violence in the tribal area: Blind to the threat —Dr Hasan-Askari Rizvi If the Taliban agenda was nothing more than the expulsion of US and NATO troops from Afghanistan their efforts to expand their domain to some of the settled districts of the NWFP

Pakistan has overtaken Iraq and Afghanistan in suicide-bomb deaths in 2008: Courtesy the unholy alliance of ISI, Jihadis, Taliban and sectarian organizations in Pakistan, Pakistan today is the most unsafe place on this planet. Suicide attacks a growing threat in PakistanPakistan has overtaken Iraq and Afghanistan in suicide-bomb deaths this

Was Jinnah a Secularist? – by Amir Mir: Perhaps the most contentious issue in Pakistan since its very inception in 1947 is the nature of the state. Should Pakistan be a sharia based Islamic state or should she be a Modern democratic secular state? The

Understanding the insurgency: Dr Hasan-Askari Rizvi This state of affairs did not develop in a year, but gradually since 2001. The Musharraf regime and the MMA government in the NWFP allowed these elements to entrench themselves and expand their influence The October