Pak Tea House » Archive
Press Trust of India covers our debate on Varun Gandhi
We have off and on pointed out how what we say here resonates around the world, from New York Times and Guardian to Hindustan Times and The Hindu. We have yet again been featured as a story in the Press Trust of India which has been picked up by several regional and national newspapers in India. We present here the full text of the news story by Press Trust of India. -PTH Admin … Read entire article »
Filed under: Pakistan
Shadow of Swat
My valley once echoed with avian songs; Now here, are committed dreadful wrongs. Life itself is trussed with thongs How for freedom, everyone longs! … Read entire article »
Filed under: Pakistan
Happy Pakistan Day to all of you
The finest aspirations of the people of Pakistan have been to see a progressive and egalitarian homeland for all sections of this society regardless of religion, caste or creed, at peace within and without. After spending a long time in the wilderness, we have emerged. Today we must pay a special tribute to the countless poets, musicians and artists who kept the torch burning through the long night of darkness that we have endured. Here we would like share two beautiful songs, first is by Nayyara Noor and the second by Mehdi Hassan. The good thing about these songs and the way these have been filmed is that there is no emphasis on a militant inward-looking nationalism but is rather the songs of belonging, love, courage and humanity -PTH Admin [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-ocMkEjSe4&feature=related] … Read entire article »
Filed under: Pakistan
Saluting Rehman Baba who braved bigots through the ages
Pakistani women hold flower arrive at the shrine of 17th century sufi saint Rehman Baba in Peshawar on March 7, 2009. Multiple bomb explosions on March 5, 2009 badly damaged the mausoleum of Sufi saint Rehman Baba in Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar (Tariq Mahmood/AFP/Getty Images) … Read entire article »
Filed under: Pakistan
Lahore Resolution revisited
By Yasser Latif Hamdani For us 23rd March commemorates two events 1. passing of the Lahore Resolution in 1940 2. the declaration of a republic in Pakistan in 1956. The Lahore Resolution is perhaps the most venerated and yet the most unimplemented document in the state that lays claim to it. Here I reproduce the document in full. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Pakistan
Discarding the Compromises of Necessity
By Fraz Shafique The elections opened the doors and the former opposition marched into the citadels of power. At times they seemed a little dazed, wondering how all the feared attempts at blatant rigging by the previous government failed so miserably. Political maneuvering quickly began and the winners gradually started to step away from their lofty principles and greet some of their lesser brethren. As the election surprises have worn down, we have entered familiar realms with familiar arguments and familiar logic aimed at ensuring the acquisition of power at the expense of correcting the fundamental anomalies in the power structure. … Read entire article »
Mr. Zardari save the PPP and save the Federation
BY Shaheryar Azhar There is one thing that even a dyed-in-the-wool Republican and Democract understands clearly about America: that his country’s strength and prosperity comes from her two-party system. Each wants to win at all costs except at the cost of annhilating the othe party! Sometime towards the end of the Zia rule, it started tentatively and slowly but some muted voices within the Establishment began to refer to PPP as the symbol of Pakistan’s federation, a refrain that has since been acknowledged as true even by those who have deeply disliked the Bhuttos and Zardaris. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Pakistan
Chronicles foretold
Raza Rumi and Asad Sayeed for The Friday Times. This piece was written before the long March and the subsequent developments that include the restoration of deposed judges. The key purpose of this piece was to alert how the right wing was hijacking an otherwise progressive movement. The two years old lawyers’ movement is now entering its decisive phase. It started in March 2007 as a spontaneous, vibrant expression of fatigue with a military dictator, after which the lawyers mobilised Pakistan’s inert middle classes and sections of civil society against the arbitrary ouster of the former Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, and his subsequent maltreatment at the hands of the security agencies. Within weeks, the political parties jumped into the fray and mounted a formidable challenge to an otherwise seemingly well-entrenched military … Read entire article »
Filed under: Pakistan
Mehdi Hassan struggling to foot medical bills
Mukhtar Alam of DAWN reports: The ailing ‘Shahenshah-i-Ghazal’ Mehdi Hassan, who may be discharged from a private university hospital soon, will need monetary assistance for the rest of his life if he is to survive at home. The man who began his career as a radio singer and captivated audiences with his renditions of Urdu poetry, including ghazals, geets and national and military songs, had to cut back on performances about 20 years ago due to illness. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Pakistan
Book Review: Premier Gillani’s Urdu Memoirs
by Bradistan Published biographies on the book shelves while the writer is still in Political office is a risky strategy. In case of Obama it paid huge dividends financially and politically and in case of Musharraf it caused embarrassment and innuendos. Premier Gillani’s book is like the gossip from an old friend who has attained position of authority and pays you a surprise visit. I revisited the idea of writing this review after the imposition of governor rule in Punjab and disqualification of Sharif bothers known to be personal friends of Premier Gillani and political rivals of President Zardari. Now Premier Gillani is again flying too close to the wind for reports of his alleged differences with his party chairman, fellow ex-prisoner and current President of Pakistan Mr Asif Ali Zardari. The Background of the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Activism, Army, Benazir Bhutto, Books, Democracy, dynasties, India, Islam, Islamabad, journalism, Media, New Writers, Politics, south asia, Taliban, Terrorism, Urdu
Yes, Varun Gandhi is a scary bigot
Raza Rumi PTH’s post and the subsequent sharp comments have attracted some ire among the readers as to what is Varun Gandhi issue doing here? Indeed, the question merits some deliberation. We in Pakistan are constantly being demonised by the Indian mainstream media as a ‘terrorist’ country and that we are a great threat to the ‘secular’, shining India. Varun gandhi’s remarks as the saner elements of Indian media and commentators are saying only show that … Read entire article »
Filed under: Pakistan
"It will cut off Muslims' heads- Jai Shri Ram": Nehru's grandson
By Yasser Latif Hamdani If Nehru could see this, he would probably not be as blind to the religion and caste-based ugliness of his constituents as he was when he refused to recognize that there was some logic to Muslim grievances. If the scion of the supposedly secular Nehru-Gandhi family could use such language what should one say of others? Varun Gandhi reminds one of our own Mr. Aamir Liaqat Hussain. One suspects that both had sheltered upbringing as is obvious from the copious amounts of baby fat on their faces and one also suspects that there might be greater issues pyschologically, mentally and indeed self image that are at play. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKPKXv7PFxg] … Read entire article »
Filed under: India
Mukul Kesavan's India and Pakistan
Mukul Kesavan has always impressed me. His novel “Looking Through the Glass” for example has an interesting fictional discussion between the main protaganist who is a waiter at Cecil Hotel in New Delhi, and Mahomed Ali Jinnah, the leader of the Muslim League. Though fictional the discussion between two is based on Ayesha Jalal and H M Seervai’s view of Jinnah and his demand for Pakistan: a semi autonomous or even completely automonous Muslim majority part of an over all India whole, standing on equal footing with Hindustan through a confederation or common arrangements. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Pakistan
Saving Pakistan
Washington Post Editorial PAKISTAN’S LATEST crisis has eased, after President Asif Ali Zardari capitulated to protesters who threatened to march on the capital, Islamabad. But for the Obama administration, the challenge of political dysfunction in this nuclear-armed state has hardly diminished. As they showed during the past week, Pakistan’s civilian and secular political leaders are more concerned with destroying each other than with fighting the Islamic extremists who are rapidly gaining strength in the country. The Pakistani army, for its part, remains more focused on the perceived threat from India than on the Taliban and al-Qaeda. These problems are deeply rooted — but the new U.S. administration will have to take them on if it is to successfully combat the terrorist threat to the United States. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Pakistan
Imagine!
By Sarwar Sukhera A friend of mine of Pakistani origin is well settled in USA. He lives in a nice part of Atlanta, away from ghetto-style Pakistani immigrant communities. During his recent visit to Pakistan with his family, I asked his eight-year-old American-born son what he thought of the country. The kid’s reply was quite interesting. He said, “It’s alright, except that there are too many Pakistanis here!” … Read entire article »
Filed under: Pakistan
PTH biweekly Cartoon
Picture of the Week
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Sunrise at the Arabian Sea, Charna Island
24 Dec 2011
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