Pak Tea House » Archive
Are We Ready For A Prolonged Middle Eastern Conflict ?
By D. Asghar Life is ever changing, and this is its real beauty. Who would have known, hardly a few months back, that Egyptian and Tunisian regimes would lose their iconic dictatorial leaders. Morocco, Oman and Ye men would head for some major changes. Till these lines are being written, Libya is the battleground central. If Qaddafi thinks that crushing the rebellion will be the end of his woes, then he is sadly mistaken. The spark of change, will ignite again and Qaddafi will depart or meet his fate as a “martyr”, as he said so, in one of his passionate addresses. The change is only thing that remains constant. On the same note, where it all began was Iran. The country which brutally silenced its dissent, a couple of years back. … Read entire article »
History must not lie
By Shahid Javed Burki EVER since gaining independence Pakistan has done a remarkable job of either ignoring its history or simply not telling the truth about it. The first is true for economic history, the second for the part of history that concerns the country`s political evolution. In a well-known work Khursheed Kamal Aziz — or simply KK as he was known to his friends and admirers — wrote about the series of lies and distortions that crept into the writing of history. In , one of his last works, he confessed that he was also guilty of committing this crime. The Making of Pakistan In the officially sponsored which for many years remained the definitive account of the founding of Pakistan as a separate state for the Muslim community of British India, … Read entire article »
Filed under: History
Karachi at the End of the Raj
Karachi as seen by a British soldier sometime between 1942 and 1947: lively … Read entire article »
Bulleh for our times
By Ali Abbas First published in Islamabad Dateline Mystifying is the turn of time, indeed. Refuted by clerics of his time, the same Bulleh Shah who was refused burial in his community graveyard is quoted by contemporary mullahs and holds worldwide reverence today. Same can be said for all mystic poets who lived to challenge the rigid interpretation of religion prevailing in their times. One wonders if he would have been charged for blasphemy and assassinated like Taseer or Bhatti if Bulleh were to say ‘whatever is in the heart’ in our society at present — mou’n aye baat na rehndi aye. … Read entire article »
Nations within a Nation; The Search for a Pakistani Nation – 1
By Adnan Syed “Doubt is uncomfortable, certainty is ridiculous” (Voltaire) Nations within a Nation I write these lines in the year 2011. It is 63 years since my country gained independence. The idea of a separate homeland for Indian Muslims gained momentum during the momentous decade of 1940s. The idea of Pakistan proved so strong and infectious among the Muslim masses of then United India that within 7 years after a resolution was passed by Muslim League, Pakistan was born. From the very beginnings, this idea of Pakistan contained certain vagueness to it. Two Nation Theory stipulated that India primarily consisted of two major nations that were distinct from each other. The primary cause of this difference came from their religions. Nations were derived from their religious identity; even if cultural differences were distinct, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Egalitarian Pakistan, Identity, Islam, Jinnah, Pak Tea House, Religion, Rights, state
Zeal gives religious right in Pakistan the upper hand
By Salman Masood “Then right after prayers end, the Jamaat cadres start organising and leading people out. Even apolitical people then become part and parcel of this larger gathering.” However, liberals have refused to back down. They are trying to develop a more unified approach, forming the umbrella group, Citizens for Democracy, in December. After Bhatti’s murder, the group started the letter campaign “Silence Means More Blood” against violence and vigilante justice. More than 300 prominent individuals, including academics, doctors, lawyers, businessmen and women, endorsed an open letter to the president, Asif Ali Zardari, and the prime minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani, and other high-ranking politicians to protest Bhatti’s murder, said Mohsin Sayeed, a journalist in Karachi. He said a “Day of Resistance” is to be held in Karachi on April 3 at the massive AMC … Read entire article »
Revolutions
By Usman Protests seem to be the order of day. Everyone is at it. If it is not the tea party activists in the United States railing against healthcare reform and President Obama’s supposed efforts to turn the country into a communist dictatorship, it is students in the UK demonstrating against government proposals to raise tuition fees. Even the usually docile Arabs have joined the party and decided that they have had enough of living in servitude under oppressive autocratic regimes. Popular uprisings have toppled the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt, while Colonel Gaddaffi in Libya seems likely to be the next one to fall. Scenes of jubilation across the Middle East have flashed across our television screens and kindled talk of revolution amongst many Pakistanis sick and tired of successive military … Read entire article »
Filed under: Revolution
At Ideological Crossroads
By Yasser Latif Hamdani (writing in Daily Times) Pakistan, as a state, has always been conscious of its Muslim identity but till 1977, at least, this Muslim identity was not at odds with modernity, democracy and human rights. The 1956 and 1962 constitutions significantly did not have a state religion. The 1973 constitution made that concession but, in the pre-Zia form, it was still arguably a liberal Islamic constitution. Bhutto’s compromises notwithstanding, it was General Ziaul Haq who laid the foundations for a rabidly fundamentalist society by confusing Pakistanis about their history. A generation of Pakistanis grew up believing, quite inaccurately, that Pakistan was achieved so that Muslims could establish an Islamic theocracy and be governed by shariah law. It is not uncommon to hear the argument that Pakistan must be an Islamic … Read entire article »
Filed under: Jinnah
Pakistan: failure of leadership
By Saad Hafiz From Mr. Jinnah to Mr. Zardari, Pakistan has witnessed a progressive and serious decline in leadership. Pakistanis continue to blame the dire straits that the country is in today on a systematic leadership failure. The sardonic quote “every country has the government it deserves” could be applied to Pakistan if the masses had control of the country’s political process. This is clearly not the case. The venal Pakistani elite that has always controlled the levers of power has a lot to answer for! Other major countries in critical periods have seen deterioration in the quality of leadership with deleterious consequences; examples like F.D. Roosevelt to G.W. Bush, Churchill to Blair and De Gaulle to Sarkozy come to mind. India has been better served by its leadership during the period … Read entire article »
Filed under: Pakistan
PAKISTAN: Journalists have been deprived of minimum wage for 15 years due to court delays
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that working journalists and newspapers employees of Pakistan have been denied an increase in minimum wages since 1996. Due to the ongoing litigation in the higher courts the owners of the media houses are enjoying the benefits of the delay in justice. The 7th wage board award, binding on the owners of media houses by the law, was announced in the year 2000 but since then the implementation has been delayed through the interventions and stays from the courts. The Sindh provincial high court has reserved its judgment since September 2010 and even after almost seven months could not announce the date when the decision will be communicated. During the period of more than ten years, since the announcement of the wage … Read entire article »
Witch hunt grips Pakistan as bloody political assassinations deplete liberal ranks
By Amanda Hodge IT says much about Pakistan’s McCarthyist atmosphere that the television presenter whom many accuse of inciting the political assassinations rocking the country is being promoted as “Pakistan’s most dangerous anchor”. Her now infamous interview was recorded weeks before the assassination, in January, of Punjab governor Salman Taseer. Meher Bokhari – one of Pakistan’s new breed of firebrand, ratings-driven anchors – accused the moderate politician of being anti-Islam for trying to reform the country’s blasphemy laws. She wasn’t alone, but in Pakistan one such accusation can be a death sentence and so it proved to be. On the day of Taseer’s funeral she once again made headlines by posing the question of whether Taseer’s killer was hero or villain. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Liberal Democratic Pakistan, Politics
Pakistan: Not quite a ‘deathly silence’
We are posting Beena Sarwar’s Email to Gwynne Dyer, dated March 10, 2011: Dear Mr Dyer: Regarding your article ‘Deathly Silence Prevails in Pakistan’ published in several newspapers and reproduced by NewAgeIslam website (http://bit.ly/h3QzeT) where I saw it – you make some valid comments but to say that there is a deathly silence is untrue and unfair. Many people in Pakistan have been raising a voice, fighting for their rights and against vigilante violence and unjust laws even before the murder of Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer. The murder of Federal Minister Shahbaz Bhatti was a huge blow, but they are still speaking out. Here are some instances: Please visit the Citizens for Democracy (CFD) blog http://www.citizensfordemocracy.wordpress.com to get an idea of some of the public statements and rallies that have been made over the last two … Read entire article »
INDONESIA/PAKISTAN: Pakistanization of Indonesia?
An article from Jakarta Post forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission By Moh Yasir Alimi, Canberra Jakarta Post, March 07, 2011-The anti-Ahmadiyah decrees in Pandeglang West Java and most recently in East Java have incited fears among many hearts that the country is heading towards “Pakistanization”. Pakistan is “a laboratory of abuse in the name of religion” and Pakistan’s path of intense religious violence began with an anti-Ahmadiyah ordinance. In 1984, president Zia ul Haq adopted Ordinance XX to criminalize the activities of Ahmadiyah followers. Pakistan used to argue that banning Ahmadiyah or declaring Ahmadiyah as non-Muslims would eliminate violence against Ahmadiyah and would stabilize the country. The argument, now commonly used by Islamic hardliners and certain state officials in Indonesia, is nonsense, however. The reality in Pakistan demonstrates this. A country built upon egalitarian … Read entire article »
Filed under: human rights, Pakistan
PAKISTAN: Situation analysis on trafficking of persons with disability for forced begging
By Salam Dharejo Keeping in view police operation against the gang of human traffickers involved in trafficking of disabled persons including with children to Iran. SPARC conducted a situation analysis in Khairpur and Shikarpur district to assess the nature and magnitude of crime. In this regard, fact find was carried out through conducting interviews with the victims and families, persons involved in the crime and police officers. The purpose of the fact finding was to investigate the case of trafficking of persons with disability including with children for forced beggary. A fact finding visit of Khairpur was held from February 14 to 16, 2011. Following are the fact and figures: On February 10: Khairpur Police responding to the call, immediately rushed to the spot and saved Sajad Chadar a 20 years old disable … Read entire article »
Filed under: Pakistan
Tahrir square eastward?
February 2011 saw the iron fist of Hosni Mubarak being wrenched open after three decades of repressive rule. During this period, the Egyptian secret service – the Mukhabarat – and the country’s powerful military appeared to have imposed an unbreakable hold on Egyptian society and the polity. However, the revolution at Tahrir Square, in central Cairo, took not only the indigenous power elite by … Read entire article »
Filed under: Regulatory Affairs
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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