Featured
A History Lesson for Mr.Sharif
by Abdul Majeed Chinese philosopher Confucius said, ‘Study the Past if you want to define the future’. Mian Nawaz Sharif has come full circle in his political career, starting from the post of Provincial Finance Minister to the Prime Minister of the country for an unprecedented third term. During a span of almost thirty years, Mr. Sharif has seen frequent crests … Read entire article »
Faiz sb on the Dream of Pakistan
By Faiz Ahmed Faiz Almost exactly nine years ago the Muslim people of undivided India adopted Pakistan as their goal of political endeavour. As the late Quaid-e-Azam repeatedly explained, the Muslim declaration for Pakistan was not a declaration of war against the non-Muslim majority in the sub-continent. It was, on the other hand, a declaration of peace. It was merely intended to … Read entire article »
The Psychology of The Internet Troll
This most interesting video by Academic Earth attempts to shed light on the psychology of the internet troll and explains how anonymous trolling contributes to the online “disinhibition effect”. Link below: Click here - http://academicearth.org/electives/psychology-internet-troll/ … Read entire article »
Nuclear Prestige
By Saad Hafiz Pakistan, the world’s only Muslim nuclear power, celebrated Youm-e-Takbir (Day of God’s Greatness) this year with the usual fervor and chest- thumping bravado. The day marks the country’s nuclear tests in 1998, which were a tit-for-tat response to earlier Indian tests. Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program is set-up as a military deterrent against India. It is also regarded as the ultimate guarantor of the country’s survival. The nuclear program has come to play an important role in sustaining purported national self-esteem. “Nuclear nationalism”, or so to say, and anti-Americanism can easily excite Pakistanis, as may well be imagined, and which tends to deflect attention from the ruling elite who have historically done little to solve … Read entire article »
Thoughts on Leaving USA
Raza Habib Raja So finally the time, which I had never wanted to come, has come. I will be leaving USA within a matter of days. We all have tendency to reflect back, whenever some important phase of our lives is ending. I am no exception and the only difference is that I am putting my thoughts on paper. I came here and like many who have come here, fell in love with this arguably the greatest place to live. I was doubly fortunate to have come here as a student and study at one of the best educational institutions. Cornell’s campus is stunning and the city of Ithaca along with its gorges, lakes and waterfalls, is … Read entire article »
Movie Review & Interview: Midnight’s Children
Ras H. Siddiqi For the connoisseurs of south-Asian literature written in English, the book “Midnight’s Children” has to rank near the very top. Keeping such a background in mind and the length of the novel, when this scribe heard that it was being made into a single movie, the first thought that came to mind was “not possible”. Others who have … Read entire article »
Harnessing Women’s Power
By Saad Hafiz Between gushing tributes to the ‘all-weather’ friendship between Pakistan and China, Prime Minister Li Keqiang could have highlighted the contribution of women to China’s rise as a world power to his Pakistani hosts. Pakistan can learn from the great strides that China has made in terms of women empowerment. In sharp contrast to Pakistan, China boasts a high female literacy rate and a rapidly closing gap between estimated female-to-male earned income. Chinese women seem to have overcome the usual obstacles of finding work, getting an education and are being freed of restrictive traditions faced by the women in many developing economies. During the Ming-Qing era when the country witnessed a rapid expansion of … Read entire article »
Delusion Galore
Azhar Ali Atmosphere around him was laden with heaviness due to his morbid mien. Contemplating a lively note was not only impossible, it was blasphemous. All the subordinates instantly switched to sepulchral slant as soon as they found themselves in his company. There was something eerie in the air you shared breathing with him. He smiled very rarely. If at all he did, it was blisteringly tinged with irony. No one ever saw him laughing. Nothing moved, even in the civil sphere without his tacit approval, and a substantial number of notables were always at hand to pay homage to his ‘benign’ lording over the sparsely populated large tract of mountainous terrain, yet the ephemeral distraction did … Read entire article »
Movie Review: The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Ras Siddiqui Every once in a while a story comes along which needed to be told from another perspective. Pakistani writer Mohsin Hamid’s novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist was one such post 9/11 tale. Published in the year 2007, it made its appearance on the American literary scene and earned him recognition here. Little did we envision at the time that his … Read entire article »
An Open Letter to Karen Armstrong (I): Of the Silent Choir
By Aasem Bakhshi In reply to Karen Armstrong’s letter which she wrote in 2011 to the people of Pakistan to discover compassion in their daily lives [1]. In the Name of Allah the Compassionate the Merciful Earlier last year, I was visiting a small bookstall when I discovered your letter. I picked it up, almost offhand, as if it was dropped in my mailbox … Read entire article »
Is there a link between Islam and Authoritarianism?
Raza Habib Raja Why there is apparently a link between Islam and authoritarianism? A substantial amount of literature has tried to study the empirical relationship which apparently exists between Islam and authoritarianism. In fact predominance of authoritarian regimes in Middle East and North African (MENA) countries was attributed directly to Islam by some scholars. Kramer (1996) in his famous essay “Islam vs Democracy” remarked, “ In an era of democratization, these lands of Islam remain an anomaly — a zone of resistance to the ideals that have toppled authoritarian regimes of the Left and the Right”. Kramer was of the opinion that Islam is fundamentally contradictory to democratic values and although some of the “reformist” scholars … Read entire article »
Elections: some observations
Prof Farakh A Khan (24.5.13) I was appalled to see Imran Khan ‘carried’ to a truck by four people. Unfortunately none of the doctors or any one else highlighted basic requirement for shifting of the injured during their TV interviews. Anywhere else the people who were rushing him to a hospital would have been taken to the court. It is well known that shifting of the injured has to be done by professionals with proper gear. The way Imran was dragged could have converted his injuries into permanent paraplegia a dreadful complication in spinal injury patient. Imran was then taken to a private hospital to have his scalp wound stitched without investigation of more important injuries. … Read entire article »
Nawaz Sharif, Army and India
Raza Habib Raja Nawaz Sharif, the Prime Minister elect, is considered a conservative by most of the Pakistani liberals. Yet, in some areas his point of view has been strikingly divergent from the mainstream conservative thought, particularly that which one continues to hear from the TV anchors all the time. The two areas which make Nawaz Sharif stand out are: his continued emphasis on need to have better ties with India; and his hard stance towards Pakistan Army. Any fair assessment ( even if conducted by “liberals”) has to acknowledge, Nawaz Sharif’s bold and in fact anti mainstream conservative approach in these two interrelated areas. These two are intricately intertwined because Pakistan’s security doctrine has always been … Read entire article »
Strengthening governance in FATA
I am generally skeptical about foreign funded programs as our history shows that aid has often been mismanaged or misappropriated. This is why I always take ambitious sounding development programs with a pinch of salt. The other day I stumbled upon this website (http://www.aitebaar.org/), and inquired details from Raza Rumi, who gave me further information about this program. He also sounded a little cynical as always, but was still hopeful that due to the renewed focus on good governance and peace building in FATA by the major political parties of the country, perhaps there was room to contribute through this project. “AITEBAAR is a Peacebuilding Support to the Post Crisis Needs Assessment (PCNA) Programme, which is … Read entire article »
culture
The Flowers’ Stalks: selling books on Lahore’s streets
By Behzad Taimur The Sun is mellow and the early Sunday morning birdsong comes drifting down slowing through … Read more »
Death of a Nation
by Hafsa Khawaja Holding on in the midst of political, social and economic storms, the Pakistan of today … Read more »
Music
Mehdi Hasan’s Top 20
Raza Rumi Mehdi Hasan died today. There are no words to capture his influence on my generation and … Read more »
Strings of hope
By: Dr. Zehra Saqlain I would like to congratulate the whole nation that we still have visionaries and … Read more »
Opinion
Death of a Nation
by Hafsa Khawaja Holding on in the midst of political, social and economic storms, the Pakistan of today … Read more »
Hasta Siempre, Comandante Hugo Chavez: a great leader
By Asif Jehangir Naqshbandi-Haqqani Hugo Chavez died yesterday to the predictable gloating of the right-wing press both in the USA and also, sadly, here in the United Kingdom. I say sadly because here … Read more »
Arts and Crafts
The Flowers’ Stalks: selling books on Lahore’s streets
By Behzad Taimur The Sun is mellow and the early Sunday morning birdsong comes drifting down slowing through … Read more »
In Which Telling Your Real Age is Taboo
By Soniah Kamal: Who has not sat through a movie where a perfectly lovely heroine has been maligned with comments such as ‘boori ho gayee hai, thakhi wee lag rahee hai, uus kee … Read more »
Technology
Rising power?
By Yusra Askari Connecting With the World In Their Own Voice: Bridging the Mainstream Media Gap from PeaceNiche on Vimeo. I was asked to moderate a panel discussion at the ‘Social Media Mela 2012’. … Read more »
Global Voices Summit 2012 – A Life-Changing Experience
Imagine having some 160 people from 60 countries around the globe, comprising of bloggers, journalists, photographers, film-makers, … Read more »
Humor
SOS! Save Our Shalwars!
By Ghazala Akbar: For the past few years, a silent revolution has been in progress in Pakistan of which our security agencies, political parties, the religious right, Ghairat Brigades, Difa- e- Pakistan Council … Read more »
Everything is More Fun in Pakistan!
“This is just a off shoot of the new “More Fun in Philippines” campaign by the Philippines … Read more »
Politics
Tale of Musharraf’s Coup in 1999
Parvez Musharraf, ex-Dictator, landed in Karachi today, amid much fanfare(and while wearing a suicide jacket). He was … Read more »
Jennifer Ali- A great shining star of Pakistan passed away!
Syed Mahmood Kazmi How would one describe a young person full of energy, social activist, trainer, a person … Read more »
Popular
Are Ahmadis Non-Muslims?
By Yasser Latif Hamdani (Written exclusively for PakTeaHouse. Please give credit when crossposting) The poison of ignorance and extremism that Bhutto and General Zia jointly fathered during their dictatorial regimes has fully indoctrinated even … Read more »
Hamid Mir, Nasim Yousaf and distorting the image of the founding father
By Yasser Latif Hamdani Pakistanis like to claim a lot of nonsense about Jinnah. Most recently Hamid Mir of Geo has claimed that Jinnah had willed that Shabbir Ahmed Usmani would lead his … Read more »
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