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POSITION AVAILABLE: JOIN THE CITIZENS ARCHIVE OF PAKISTAN STAFF The Citizens Archive of Pakistan is a place that fuels creativity, ignites minds and provides inspiration. With extraordinary exhibitions, a burgeoning photography archive and Pakistan’s most diverse collection of Oral History, we are dedicated to a conversation between the past and the present. … Read entire article »
Pakistan's conspiracy theories stifle debate
Courtesy BBC: Guest columnist Ahmed Rashid on how the real problems facing Pakistan are being sidelined by a surge of conspiracy theories Switch on any of the dozens of satellite news channels now available in Pakistan. You will be bombarded with talk show hosts who are mostly obsessed with demonising the elected government, trying to convince viewers of global conspiracies against Pakistan led by India and the United States or insisting that the recent campaign of … Read entire article »
Filed under: Pakistan
Political Absolutism
Brigadier Samson Simon Sharaf US Strategic mind is obsessed with dominance. A constant drift from a measured military response to countervailing strategic dominance is visible. At the heart of such thought is the containment and control of Eurasia in which Pakistan constitutes the formidable Southern Front.Past fifty years have witnessed the gradual rise of neo strategists who believe that use of covert violent activities can achieve political objectives both in tandem and whilst bypassing the defence establishment. They reflect aspirations of cartels, energy giants and economic czars riding the technological edge. This primacy of civilian leadership over military affairs ignited a new debate during the Korean and Cold War especially in formulation of evolving nuclear doctrines. The mathematicians and social scientists were the first generation of civilian nuclear strategists. At the … Read entire article »
Imran Khan's Party
No not the Tehreek-e-Insaaf… his real party i.e. Socialites and Who’s who of Pakistan. No doubt it was subdued – when it compared to the Greek Events and annual balls associated with VERVE- but this event at Imran Khan’s home throws some light on the many faces of Imran Khan. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Pakistan
Smokers’ Corner: Beards: a trim history
By Nadeem F. Paracha Sunday, 04 Oct, 2009 (Courtesy Dawn)—Illustration by Abro In his biography, Mirror to the Blind, Abdul Sattar Edhi complains how he detests being called a ‘maulana’. ‘Mine was never a religious beard,’ he says. ‘It was always a revolutionary beard,’ he explains – perhaps inspired by Karl Marx, whom Edhi identifies as an inspiration during his youth. In the book he is quoted as saying that hardly any man in Pakistan used to have a … Read entire article »
Pakistan's Ghairat Lobby and The Indian PM's Visit To The US
By Sadiq Saleem Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s official visit to the United States should have been the major story in Pakistan’s media. But our right-wing anchors and columnists and “get-Zardari” editors are far more focused on the domestic power struggles to realize that the nightmare of Pakistan’s strategic encirclement may already be on the brink of becoming reality. The less attention Pakistanis pay to fighting terrorism and figuring out a way of dealing with the world, the more likely it is that India — the country with which Pakistan has fought four wars in 62 years — will continue to gain ground. India already has better relations with the governments of Afghanistan and Iran, our western neighbours. The more we demonstrate hatred towards the United States, the more we contribute to … Read entire article »
Caveat emptor
Dr Munawar Hassan, Ameer Jamaat e Islami Pakistan, and his verbal acrobatics: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyZtmw0cjy8] After listening to his sermon on the Constitution, lets move on to the military dictator the JI fully supported. For those who say politicians are more corrupt than military dictators, who do not consider the Constitution to be law (let alone the highest law), or even equally corrupt, here is a video clip of the man at the root of many of our problems today: … Read entire article »
A debate derailed
“Oh and please, try to stay a little light hearted about this one” by Asif Akhtar cross-post from Dawn Blog, Nov 20th, 2009 Last week, in a blog titled ‘The Convenient Curtain of Myth‘, I tried to show the dangers of viewing international politics through popular mythological conceptions which produce theories like the India-US-Israel triangulation as a conspiracy to destroy Islam and Pakistan. Little did I know this would turn into a hotly debated topic fueled with national … Read entire article »
Young Minds, Old Hatreds
F S Aijazzuddin, Principal Aitchison College, Lahore, wrote the following in February 2009 after a speech to 500 young Aitchisonians by the then outgoing Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan It was a fitting occasion for a farewell speech. The setting was a 122-year-old college for boys, established in Lahore at a time when the British intended to rule forever and to use the princes of the Punjab to perpetuate that rule. The speaker was the Indian High Commissioner, making his last formal speech in Pakistan before relinquishing charge. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Children, Education, India, Pakistan, Partition, Terrorism
Right Wing Nawai Waqt Group Sells Its Soul To NWFP's ANP Government
By Yasser Latif Hamdani The self styled guardian of Pakistan’s ideology, Nawai Waqt group has showed once again how petty, small minded and corrupt their thinking is. When Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti refused to visit Mr. Jinnah’s mausoleum, I thought of it as a grave folly, partially because this would give Nawai Waqt Group’s rag “The Nation” under the guidance of ultra nationalist ghairat lobby of the likes of Shireen Mazari, who otherwise don’t give two hoots about Jinnah, yet another stick to beat Pakistan’s liberal coalition in power. Thankfully that did not come to pass. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Pakistan
A Letter to the Editor
Here are two fairly commonplace, albeit not random, news items from two leading English dailies, and a letter to the editor: 1. The News November November 19, 2009 Taliban did not attack GHQ: JI chief Rally denounces ‘US interference’ in Pakistan’s affairs By Muhammad Anis ISLAMABAD: The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Central Amir, Syed Munawwar Hasan, on Wednesday claimed that the Taliban had not attacked the GHQ rather India and the United States were behind the attack. … Read entire article »
Shame On You Chief Minister Hoti!
By Yasser Latif Hamdani ANP’s NWFP government is fighting the onslaught of terror and even those who disagree with its politics and its past have rallied behind it all over Pakistan. We at PTH support all steps in the right direction and therefore this morning I wrote an article welcoming ANP’s suggestion of changing Pakistan’s name. Democratic politics requires old configurations, compromises and coalitions re-align themselves along new political realities. Alas I knew that it was too good to be true and by evening ANP sparked off a divisive controversey of a very different nature which revealed the true pettiness of this party and its politicians. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Pakistan
Female squash player from Waziristan defies the odds
By Taimur Sikander Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Sports Pir Aftab Shah Jillani presenting Maria Toor with a cash award as her family looks on during a ceremony to reward top players on the national circuit in Islamabad. -Photo by APP KARACHI: Top Pakistani squash players Aamir Atlas Khan and Maria Toor have been nominated for Professional Squash Association Young Player of the Year and Women’s International Squash Players Association (WISPA) Young Player of the Year, respectively, by … Read entire article »
Filed under: culture, FATA, Islamism, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan, Rights, sport, Women, youth
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