Pak Tea House » Archive
Raymond Davis-Immune or not?
By Dr. Niaz Murtaza The Vienna conventions (VC) suggest that he is immune while Pakistan’s own laws suggest that he is not immune as a technical and administrative staff. So which of these laws should apply in this case? As a signatory to the Vienna convention, the answer for Pakistan is clear—once you sign an international treaty, you have to bring your local laws in line with it. So, even if there is a difference between the international law and the local law, then the international law will prevail and we better adhere to international law if we want to remain a member in good standing within the international community. So does this mean that he should be freed? A closer look at the Vienna conventions is necessary (which is … Read entire article »
Filed under: Activism, Islam, Pakistan, Society, Terrorism, USA
Judicial activism and Pakistan’s economy
Economic justice Courts involvement in economic matters has once again triggered a debate over judicial activism versus judicial restraint http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/jan2011-weekly/nos-30-01-2011/dia.htm#6 By Shahzada Irfan Ahmed The recent orders by the Supreme Court for removal of former National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) president Ali Raza and the return of mobilisation advances to the government by the RPPs (Rental Power Projects) have once again triggered the debate over judicial activism versus judicial restraint. There are quarters who laud the apex court’s role in purely economic matters, which they believe are being ruined due to state favouritism and corruption. However, there are those who believe the damage was bigger than the correction intended at. They cite the matters pertaining to fixing of sugar prices, cancellation of Pakistan Steel Mills’ privatisation and so on. … Read entire article »
Taliban suicide bomber dressed as schoolboy kills 31 army cadets
By Andrew Buncombe, Asia Correspondent Pakistan’s army suffered a damaging blow after a suicide bomber believed to be in his teens and dressed in school uniform slipped into a military base yesterday and set off an explosion, killing at least 31 soldiers and cadets. In an incident that triggered fears of a renewed wave of attacks and highlighted the nation’s continued vulnerability to militants, the device was detonated inside a military recruitment camp as cadets were exercising … Read entire article »
Raymond Davis and the Vienna Convention
By Raza Rumi Yet another crisis has erupted in Pakistan. Raymond Davis, an American national driving on the busiest corner of Lahore, Pakistan’s second largest city, shot at two Pakistani nationals on January 27, 2011. Soon he was arrested by the provincial authorities and is now being tried under the Pakistani laws. Many questions have emerged: was Davis a diplomat; why was he in Pakistan and if he enjoys diplomatic immunity or not. Recent developments suggest that … Read entire article »
Who is a diplomat? Vienna Convention (Article 1)
Following a discussion on Twitter, I asked Lahore based lawyer Asad Jamal to comment on what I understood from the Vienna convention. Asad Jamal was kind enough to send this note which I am posting with his permission here. Readers can see that Vienna Convention[s] are pretty clear on the controversy surrounding the alleged spy Raymond Davis’ case. Raza Rumi The word diplomatic has been used in the definitions in Article 1 of Vienna Convention. The following table captures the definitions of various categories of diplomatic officers. Category as in 1961 Convention Relevant article How described/defined “Diplomatic agent” Article 1 (e) (a) the head of the mission [such as the ambassador], or (b) a member of the diplomatic staff of the mission “Member of the diplomatic staff of the mission” 1 … Read entire article »
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The ideology is the same
By Khamosh nahi Protectors of Islam: Indonesia vs Pakistan It’s the same glint. From Afghanistan to Pakistan, Bangladesh to Somalia and now, Indonesia. Slay in the name of the lord, GOD’s army has mobilized. The prophet’s eternal guardians have once again assembled. The louder the adolescent, the teenage, and the aged of the mob shout ALLAH O AKBAR, the harder, the mob leaders strike limp, fallen, naked bodies of the “infidels”. The crowd cheers and raises the slogan again. Oh there is the brother, a golden halo around his Nokia, capturing video he changes angle while the brother with the musk smelling beard, stops hitting the twitching kafir. He is tired and his back hurts from all the work. The boy, youngish, its his first time, nods to his tired comrade, raises up … Read entire article »
Filed under: Democracy, Islam, Pakistan, Politics, Terrorism
Tic-tac-toe
By Ali Suleman January 4, 2011 “We are giving a three-day deadline to the government to respond on our nine-point agenda. If it agrees to these points it would have to implement this agenda in the next 45 days otherwise it will not remain in the Punjab government,” former prime minister Nawaz Sharif said after presiding a meeting of the central organising committee of the PML-N. (Express Tribune) Point 6 of the above mentioned 9-point agenda: “Government should reduce its expenses up to 30% and Ministerial cabinet may be down sized.” February 4, 2011 The top decision-making body of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) decided on Friday to dissolve the cabinet. “President Asif Ali Zardari has given the authority to Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani to dissolve the cabinet whenever he wants,” PPP Secretary-General Jahangir … Read entire article »
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No need for despair
Yasser Latif Hamdani writing in Daily Times: I find the despair amongst Pakistanis to be more disconcerting than the causes of the despair itself. Contrary to the national suicide being committed every day in the newspapers, the truth is that the mullahs’ reaction being seen these days is simply the last flicker of that flame. … Read entire article »
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The Nature of War
By Feroz Khan The modern worlds’ understanding of the phenomena of war and the role of war in a society has dramatically changed since the tragic days of September 11, 2001. The concept of war is as old as the society itself and the narrative of the human history is an epic tale of the organizational successes and failures to prepare for war on the level of society and the state. The basic principle of the human society, throughout history, has been to prepare itself for organized violence from the efforts of early humans to form hunting parties to villagers protecting themselves from other marauding villagers to the nation-states pursuing their political interests through the instrument of armed conflict. This has not been an easy task and those nation-states and societies … Read entire article »
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Karachi Literature Festival: Too many divides to bridge
By Ali Syed ‘Bridging divides’, as the name suggests, was about a certain disparity within the Pakistani society. KARACHI: ‘Bridging divides’, as the name suggests, was about a certain disparity within the Pakistani society, perhaps religion vs secularism, moderation vs extremism, or even the gaps that have grown between Pakistan and India. However, what could not be deducted for sure was what divide would be talked about. Interestingly, when the session went underway, it became clear that it was … Read entire article »
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Literature Festival ends with homage to Faiz
By Peerzada Salman A befitting and heartfelt tribute to Faiz Ahmed Faiz ended the 2nd Karachi Literature Festival at a local hotel on Sunday. – Photo courtesy: www.karachilitfest.com KARACHI: A befitting and heartfelt tribute to Faiz Ahmed Faiz ended the 2nd Karachi Literature Festival at a local hotel on Sunday. But the day will also be remembered for some quality literary discussions, debates and sessions, along with the fact that a reasonable number of schoolchildren trickled into the venue to attend a storytelling session for children, which is an extremely healthy sign. The day began with a panel discussion on Promising New Writings in English . Muneeza Shamsie pointed out that the various forms of communication (the internet, the media) had now enabled the budding authors to read contemporary books. She said there was … Read entire article »
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Our Hi Fi Anti “Umreekan” Sentiments
By D. Asghar The killings of two individuals at the hand of an American Consulate worker, Mr. Davis are unfortunate and reprehensible. Although, Mr. Davis has indicated and maintained his stance that he acted in self defence, the majority of our nation is simply unwilling to buy his account. The reason is plain and simple, our infinite hate towards his country of citizenship. There were conflicting reports in our media about Mr. Davis’s diplomatic status and whether he did in fact act in self defence. Needless to say, our media and government provided a few confusing accounts and there you had a perfect storm brewing from all sides. Where Mr. Davis’s act should be condemned, but comparing it to Dr. Afia Siddiqui and making it look like the two situations were identical is … Read entire article »
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A Failure of Imagination
By Feroz Khan A visitor strolling through halls of the British Imperial War Museum, in London, might not notice that most of the paintings in the museum depict scenes of British military defeats and not the victory of British arms in battle. This is not an oversight on the part of the museum’s curator, but a poignant commentary on the fallacy of conventional wisdom that exists as a contradiction in the realms of political and military logic. Every military academy in the world prepares its students to fight the wars of the future by refighting and winning the lost battles of the last war and teaches them how the defeats in the previous battles could have been turned into victories. It was due to this view that the French Army in … Read entire article »
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What is ‘Civil Society’ and is it Engaged with Political Society?
By Ahmad Nadeem Gehla There has been a lenghty debate on role and formation of civil society in electronic media of Pakistan. Raza Rumi, a very respected and sightful Pakistani scholar and writer, recently stressed on close cooperation and engagement between ‘Civil Socity’ and moderate political parties. In order to further his thesis, we need to understand the formation and character of ‘Civil Society’ in Pakistan. Civil society is composed of the totality of voluntary civic and social organizations and institutions that form the basis of a functioning society, as distinct from the force-backed structures of a state (regardless of that state’s political system) and commercial institutions of the market (Wikipedia). According to above defination of ‘Civil Society’, we can identify major civic and social organisations in Pakistan, which include but not limited to: 1.Lawyer’s bodies (Bar Councils and Bar Associations), 2.Labour Organisations … Read entire article »
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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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On Pakistani identity and ideological frontiers
February 8th, 2011 | 135 Comments
Raza Rumi participated in this mainstream media show on the subject. We are posting it here for PTH readers to view and comment. … Read entire article »
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