by Irfan Zafar We, all of us, are as contended and conceited as we are when we pray for the soul of someone who has passed away. We feel contended because we are still alive, our fingers firm on the rosary beads or the date-stones we use to keep a count of our prayers for the dead; we are content because, at least for the time being, instead of lying wrapped in a white shroud made … Read entire article »

By Ejaz Haider The situation in Balochistan is throwing up lies and half-truths. While partisans can’t be trusted with truth, what about some so-called libs whose favourite pastime is to find fault with the state without offering viable policy solutions? … Read entire article »

—Yasser Latif Hamdani From Daily Times: Obama’s warming up to India has not gone down well with our super patriots, and rightly so. Despite 40 odd years of service to the US and now a decade-long alliance that has cost Pakistan many a life and limb, the US has now established a long-term strategic paradigm in South Asia, which sees India as a close ally and Pakistan as a nuisance at best. … Read entire article »

by Kiran Nazish Just moment before; over a cup of tea in the outside porch at Press Club, we were discussing the dilemma the city is in, with all those target killings and shit that’s going on in Karachi. There are so many dimension of a news that its gets confusing really to figure out who the real culprits are. Hassan a senior journalist and a very old friend of mine, sounded as confused as I were. The confusion is very frustrating, we wondered aloud while stepping out. Without a warning the earth started to shake. Literally! A sudden rush of fear ran up and down our system while we saw a couple of dozen glass break down from the building right in front of us… The Lakson … Read entire article »

Dr. Niaz Murtaza Of all the frequent and embarrassing appearances that Pakistan presently makes on various lists of malfunctioning countries, none has rankled national pride more than its appearance on the Failed State Index of the US-based Fund for Peace. Since 2006, Pakistan has regularly ranked around no. 10 among 40-odd ‘critically failed ‘countries. Giving Pakistan regular company near the bottom are countries like Somalia, Afghanistan, Congo and Zimbabwe. Is Pakistan really a failed state and can it be redeemed? A state’s essential functions include maintaining security, collecting taxes, managing the economy, providing infrastructure and social services, dealing with external entities and legislating. Of these, maintaining security is the most critical function. Poor performance on others and some weakness on the security function results in being designated a weak state, as are … Read entire article »

Raza Habib Raja Right now, the news of a Christian woman being convicted and sentenced to death by a lower court, are making headlines in some of the liberal segments of society. The kind of sick society we are, I am not surprised that it is not inviting the outrage at a broader level. The Urdu newspapers have hardly given it the coverage but what is most regrettable is the overall virtual absence of large scale condemnation. The newspapers in Pakistan are commercial entities and cater to the “tastes” of their mostly rightwing conservative customers. Heck, even Talat Hussain has to transform into Ansar Abbassi when he writes in our “national” language.  In that small liberal segment, actually a fringe in our society, the blasphemy law is under criticism with calls to … Read entire article »

    (Love the Ranade portrait behind Obama-YLH) From The Hindu Ejaz Haider President Obama’s visit did nothing for peaceful relations between India and Pakistan.   - PHOTO: AFP ADDRESS AND CLARITY: U.S. President Barack Obama bows after delivering his speech at Parliament House in New Delhi. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is on the left.   Let us assume, in a simple model, that the U.S. President Barack Obama wants Pakistan and India to talk and make peace because, in a broader sense, … Read entire article »

By Yasser Latif Hamdani (This article represents my personal view alone and PTH as a body does not own or disown it. Unlike some other self styled “liberal” websites which excel in Mcarthyite Neo-jiyalism, we like to present all points of view on this website.) The violence that erupted in Karachi recently has once again prompted all and sundry to point fingers at MQM. Enough has been written against MQM and I am sure for good reason but there are always two sides to a story and it was that other side that I discovered on a recent trip to Karachi. I am not an MQM apologist. My attempt is simply to present the other side of the story to balance out what I feel is a one-sided representation. As a lawyer I … Read entire article »

A press release by AFP published in the Sydney Morning Herald forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission A Pakistani court has sentenced to death a Christian mother of five for blasphemy, the first such conviction of a woman and sparking protests from rights groups. Asia Bibi, 45, was sentenced on Monday by a local court in Nankana district in Pakistan’s central province Punjab, about 75km west of the country’s cultural capital of Lahore. Pakistan has yet to execute anyone for blasphemy, but the case spotlights the Muslim country’s controversial laws on the subject which rights activists say encourages Islamist extremism in a nation wracked by Taliban attacks. Ms Bibi’s case dates back to June 2009 when she was asked to fetch water while out working in the fields. But a group of Muslim women … Read entire article »

Do you honestly think the world is not justified in thinking us as a buncha crazies?-YLH From Dawn: woman sentenced to death in blasphemy case From the Newspaper (7 hours ago) Today Human rights activists want the controversial legislation repealed, saying it was exploited for personal enmity and encourages extremism. – File Photo LAHORE: A Christian mother of five has been sentenced to death for blasphemy, the first such conviction of a woman, sparking protests from rights groups on Thursday. Asia Bibi, 45, was handed down the death sentence by a court in Nankana district in central Punjab on Monday. Pakistan has yet to execute anyone for blasphemy. Ms Asia’s case dates back to June 2009 when she was asked to fetch water while out working in the fields. But a group of Muslim women labourers objected, saying … Read entire article »

By Aisha Fayyazi Sarwari Serious surgical precision is needed in fixing the identity crisis of the state. The state has no business interfering in the affairs of a free man, or what mosques, temples or whatever places of worship he may visit. The state is there to provide protection to its citizens and enable them to guard their lives, liberty and their pursuit of happiness Being elected to the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) has made Asma Jahangir the bearer of great expectations for all progressives and liberals in the country who, until now, were holding their breath, looking at events unfold in the judiciary. Watching and waiting for some relief from human rights abuses — rounding up of political workers, little boys being framed under the draconian Blasphemy Law and … Read entire article »