Notes on Conflict: Political Immunology of Islamic Republic – by Shaheryar Ali: The fundamental confusion in analyzing Pakistan is the neglect of her foundational myth. A country locked in history and geography. Without taking into account the character of Pakistani nationalism, its various shades it is not possible to analyse the

Reforms in economy: now or never – by Shaukat Masood Zafar: No state can exist without taxation. Pakistan is running on empty pockets and is under extreme pressures, internal and external. The state does not have the economic resources to provide even essential services to the masses, leading to disaffection,

Federalism through civil service reforms – by Qudrat Ullah: While the pivotal role of civil service for aptly maintaining statecraft, anywhere in the world, is self-evident, the historical renovation of the institution of bureaucracy proves it the force-multiplier which is quintessentially important for policy formation besides implementing developmental

The wait for a messiah: In Pakistan, ‘Go, Musharraf, go!’ makes a better slogan than ‘Clean drinking water for all!’ – by Irfan Husain: Older readers will recognise this mantra from the past: “South Korea stole our first Five-Year Plan.” According to this urban legend, when a Korean was accused of this petty larceny by a Pakistani, he retorted: “Yes, but we implemented

Pakistan’s tribal area needs social and political reforms – by Jan Assakzai: FATA needs change The more important thing at this point is not whether Pakistan`s tribal region is linked with the failed terrorist plot in New York, but whether their should be speedy reforms in FATA to prevent its causing

Chasing a Mirage: The Tragic lllusion of an Islamic State – by Tarek Fatah: The LUBP is pleased to present for the benefit of our readers a PDF of Tarek Fatah’s book Chasing a Mirage: The Tragic lllusion of an Islamic State (2008). The book is dedicated to Shaheed Benazir Bhutto and Daniel

President Zardari’s Constitutional Reforms – by Anas Muhammad: Monday April 19, 2010 – President Zardari made history by signing the landmark constitutional reforms amendment bill into law. Zardari – after taking office 18 months ago – pledged to reform the constitution. He promised that all the anomalies that were

Inside the constitutional package – by Rauf Klasra: Being the president won’t be fun any more; Minimum age for judges 45; president can’t impose emergency with impunity; PM to appoint services chiefs; judges validating coup to be tried for high treason ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari’s sweeping

PML-N and ANP disagree over renaming the NWFP – by Amir Wasim: New name for NWFP threatens to hit constitutional reforms The blame game between the two parties started a day after the 26-member all-party parliamentary committee on constitutional reforms completed the first reading of the draft of the proposed 18th

Madrassah reforms : Does PPP want to nourish sectarianism?: Here is a well written piece about Madrassah reforms by Saiful Islam Khalid. I found this piece in a weekly newspaper from Islamabad. It was in paper print, which I have composed and edited to post it for LUBP

Rehabilitation of the Taliban: Differentiate between the branch and the root — by Gulmina Bilal Ahmad: Roots Branches Young children were kidnapped by the Taliban and then made to serve as suicide bombers. These young men, and in the latter part of the battle young women, became cannon fodder for the Taliban’s heinous designs. They

Civil service reform revisited – by Sania Nishtar: The International Crisis Group’s Report on Civil Service Reform has sparked conversations around the need and potential avenues for restructuring Pakistan’s civil service. This, however, is not the first time that a report on the subject has been made

For Pakistan, no turning back from reform – by Asif Ali Zardari: When I was elected president more than a year ago, Pakistan was in grave condition, strained by terrorism and a ravaged economy. Countering the effects of a decade of dictatorship requires bold actions, some of which are unpopular. I

$1.5 billion per year – by Dr Farrukh Saleem: Sunday, December 13, 2009 Has the government of Pakistan made a plan as to how it will spend $1.5 billion that will be coming our way courtesy the Treasury Building, 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC? Has any of

Women police station opened in Karachi: KARACHI: The first independent women police station with a 24-hour helpline ‘1213’ established at the Saddar police station was inaugurated by National Assembly Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza on Thursday. Sindh Home Minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza, Information Minister Shazia Marri,

ISI’s political wing closed down? Good news at last…: ‘Political wing of ISI not yet terminated’ * Senior security official says department made ‘inactive’, but staff not moved* Says ISI going through transformation Daily Times Monitor ISLAMABAD: A senior security official has contradicted Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s

FCR in Pakistan’s Tribal Areas: What to do with FCR? Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani had declared last April that he would like to abolish the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) in the Tribal Areas because it was “a barbaric colonial-era law that had ruled

Reform ISI? Not like this: The US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Mr Richard Boucher, said Tuesday that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) needed to be reformed. He did not point to any specific flaw in the conduct of