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Anatol Lieven speaks about his new book on Pakistan at the LSE
Pakistan: A Hard Country Speaker: Professor Anatol Lieven Chair: Professor Athar Hussain This event was recorded on 9 May 2011 in Old Theatre, Old Building In this talk on the subject of his new book, Pakistan: A Hard Country, Professor Anatol Lieven will analyse the Pakistani state and political system, and explain how those factors which give the state its surprising resilience in the face of revolution also hold it back in terms of economic and social development. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Pakistan
Abbotabad Operation and our chance to redeem ourselves
By Yasser Latif Hamdani The Abbotabad Operation and the accompanying humiliation has given Pakistan another opportunity to redeem itself. … Read entire article »
I am an anti state actor
By Ibrahim Khalil It all started with a single Daily Beast article which I posted on my Facebook page and excerpted the following: Pakistan’s bin Laden Scapegoat Pakistani officials tell The Daily Beast that the head of Pakistan’s notorious intelligence service may step down, as the government looks for a fall guy for the bin Laden debacle. “The senior Pakistani sources say that Pasha was never keen on the ISI job in the first place. He had no background in intelligence and was an infantry and armor officer in previous commands. He was, however, very close to Kayani, who insisted he take the job when he was nominated in 2008.” Based on the above I commented: This shows NEPOTISM at the highest level in military. Nothing less than Kyani’s head should roll. … Read entire article »
Curse of God on the Mullahs
By Bin Ismail A while ago an Ahmadi said “assalamo alaikum”, meaning ‘peace be unto you’ to the mulla of his neighborhood. Though courteous, this was obviously not a very wise act on the part of the Ahmadi gentleman. The mulla returned the courtesy by lodging a complaint against the Ahmadi, claiming that the Ahmadi had violated the Anti-Ahmadi Ordinance XX, now a part of the constitution of Pakistan, by using an Islamic greeting, thus “posing to be a Muslim”. The accused was summoned to the Police Station. The not-so-wise Ahmadi was fortunately received by a wise police officer, who asked him why he said “salam” to the mulla. The Ahmadi innocently replied, “I only intended to send peace to the cleric.” The wise policeman said to the Ahmadi, “I’m letting you go … Read entire article »
Filed under: Islam
Headline:The Hard Knock Life of an Internet Troll
Source: http://chzdailywhat.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/9f50499e-33c1-4be6-aa6b-aef9300b96b5.jpg … Read entire article »
Filed under: Science
Western Liberals going about it the wrong way
By Yasser Latif Hamdani (First published in the Daily Times) Clive Stafford Smith, the highly celebrated defence attorney and opponent of the death penalty was in town last week to speak to Pakistani lawyers about techniques that can be utilised by lawyers when defending clients on death row. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Labour
Social media and Pakistan – prospects and possibilities
By Raza Rumi In a picture taken on May 27, 2010 Pakistani IT professionals Omer Zaheer (L) and Arslan Chaudhry browse their newly created networking site in Lahore. Pakistanis outraged with Facebook over “blasphemous” caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed have created a spin off networking site that they dream can connect the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims. A group of six young IT professionals from Lahore, the cultural and entertainment capital of Pakistan, launched www.millatfacebook.com for Muslims to interact online and protest against blasphemy. – AFP Photo When I started to blog, almost by accident, a few Pakistani bloggers were found in cyberspace. Within half a decade the number has multiplied beyond belief. From the senior writers to young students, blogging is now an avenue that allows forunfettered self-expression and also puts the mostly … Read entire article »
Lawyers of Lahore High Court Offer ” Namaz-e-Janaza” of OBL
The Lahore High Court lawyers show their true fanatic and reactionary colors by actually offering funeral prayers for the recently killed Al Qaida leader, Osama Bin Laden. Hundreds of lawyers attended this “funeral” and immediately afterwards there were several speeches in which the speakers vehemently condemned the US action and termed it as a clear violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty. Several speakers hailed the dead leader as a “hero” of the Muslim world and sternly warned … Read entire article »
Filed under: Law, lawyers movement
Pakistan PM Gilani defends military, intelligence in wake of bin Laden raid
By Issam Ahmed Analysts see the Pakistan prime minister’s speech as an attempt to counter popular anger and outflank the political opposition regarding the US raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound. Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani speaks during parliament session in Islamabad, on May 9. Gilani on Monday strongly defended his military and intelligence agencies, calling allegations of complicity in sheltering Osama bin Laden ‘absurd’ and vowing to launch an investigation. Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani strongly … Read entire article »
Filed under: Army, ISI, Yusuf Raza Gillani
Re-igniting the debate
By Yasser Latif Hamdani (First published in The Friday Times) 1968 saw two major assassinations in the United States of America within two months of each other. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr was gunned down in April. In June Robert Kennedy was assassinated. Their murderers managed to silence these voices of sanity but they could not stop an idea whose time had come. The US was a different country then. Pakistan is that country today. In a recorded video message released to the international media, Shahbaz Bhatti, the slain federal minister for minorities, reaffirmed his faith in Jesus Christ as a true Catholic Christian and his mission as a Pakistani. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Reviews
What are we teaching our children?
By Raza Rumi The overwhelming response to my earlier piece on the subject of jaundiced Pakistani textbooks has prompted me to continue with this theme. A large number of Pakistanis are aware of ideological twists given to basic learning materials in Pakistan. Of course, there are many who continue to be in denial and who insist that raising this issue is akin to defaming Pakistan. This strange logic — of accepting the ills of a society in the name of patriotism is simply incomprehensible. Perhaps ‘operation brainwashing’ has succeeded at many levels. Sceptical readers ask for examples. There is no point in repeating what the seminal study on the University of Vermont website already says. However, a key problem is locating Pakistan’s creation in a battle for Islam. Jinnah was ready to give up the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Children
Understanding Qisas and Diyat
By Yasser Latif Hamdani (First published in The Friday Times) When all the heirs of those murdered by Davis pardoned him for badl-i-sulh , the religious right cried foul. Technically there was nothing wrong procedurally and legally with the way Davis’ alleged crime was pardoned under law. The religious right claims that (i) that the heirs of the two victims were pressured into accepting badl-i-sulh , (ii) that Davis should have been convicted for fasad fil arz and (iii) the judge’s decision to impose a fine of Rs.20,000 and time served under Section 13 of the Arms Ordinance of 1965 was far too lenient under the circumstances. For the first contention, no heir of the deceased has come forward to declare that they were pressured into … Read entire article »
The trajectory of peace
By Raza Rumi The dramatic events of the past few days have far-reaching repercussions on the future of global terrorism and US policy in Afghanistan and West Asia. Osama bin Laden may have been removed from the scene, but Al Qaeda lives as a hybrid conglomerate with formidable allies in Pakistan and elsewhere. Whilst a plethora of questions on Bin Laden’s capture and death remains unanswered, Pakistan has, once again, come under global scrutiny admittedly for the right reasons. Most Pakistanis are dumbfounded by the sudden discovery of Bin Laden virtually under the nose of the military and the mysterious way in which Operation Geronimo was carried out by the United States. Despite the hard talk, it is clear that the US-Pakistan relationship is not going to be majorly affected by the recent turn of … Read entire article »
Selective Freedoms
By Yasser Latif Hamdani (First published in the Daily Times) Right across the street from the Lahore High Court, that seat from which justice flows, is a bookseller who is disseminating hate literature against Shias and non-Muslim minorities, including that poor and unfortunate community deprecatingly referred to as Mirzais. Lord Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court, Ijaz Chaudhry, has shown no real indication that he has any soft corner for or concern to allow religious and sectarian minorities in Pakistan to live freely as promised to them repeatedly by Pakistan’s leaders, the Objectives Resolution and all constitutions promulgated in the land. Meanwhile, according to the bookseller — in all earnestness — “those damned Mirzais are not even human, they are actually ‘satanic jinns’”. … Read entire article »
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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