Pak Tea House » Archive
After Osama: Time To Get Our Act Together
By D. Asghar Some learn from their mistakes, others only learn to deny their mistakes. We tend to belong in the latter category. When the neighbors used to point fingers at us and accuse us for harboring terrorist, we used to rebut, deny and refute. Our simple comeback was, “good old malicious Bharti propaganda.” We released many hard core and well known terrorists, due to “lack of evidence.” Our political leaders and security establishment categorically denied any information on any “high value” and most wanted targets at many occasions. Amazingly, some very well known names in the global terrorist networks, such as Libbi, Zubaida, and Khalid Sheikh Muhammad were found within our territories. … Read entire article »
Filed under: People's Pakistan
Complicity or Incompetence: Which way the Wind is Blowing Now
By Raza Habib Raja .Ever since killing of Osama Bin Laden, the subsequent analysis has largely been dominated by the following question: Was Pakistani Intelligence apparatus guilty of complicity or incompetence? Now this question has so far been intensely debated in the Media, Western and Local, and various journalists, anchors and analysts have come up with their theories and “verdicts”. However much more interesting are policy and “informal” statements given by the US officials. Immediately after the death of Osama Bin Laden and till the time these sentences are being written, the “art” of diplomacy characterized by giving seemingly conflicting and confusing statements has been in full swing. It is hardly surprising as diplomacy has seldom been an art of “clarity” as it is a tool for ensuring realpolitik concerns … Read entire article »
OBL saga and Pakistan’s crisis of governance
My piece for The News, Pakistan As details of Operation Geronimo unfold, more and more questions are being raised regarding Pakistan’s role in the war on terror. Sadly, millions of Pakistanis are even more confused than the global pundits. Other than the lunatic fringe thriving in the folds of mainstream media, ordinary Pakistanis are dumbfounded at the prospect of the world’s most wanted man living next to the deep state’s power-house, i.e., the Pakistan military academy. If bin Laden was indeed residing in a purpose-built house with extra thick walls and security cameras then how come Pakistan’s most ‘efficient’ institution was unaware of this lethal presence? Furthermore, if they were not involved in the operation then how could a mammoth defence establishment allow such a clandestine operation by a foreign country … Read entire article »
Filed under: Al Qaeda
Ambassador fends off doubts about Pakistan’s role
By Farah Stockman Globe Staff / May 8, 2011 WASHINGTON — “Watch your back,’’ one angry caller warned. “Americans won’t stand for this.’’ Another: “Protecting the world’s most hated man will surely send you to hell, but I can help you get there quicker.’’ But the threatening phone calls that have been pouring into the Pakistani Embassy in Washington are not what concerns Husain Haqqani most since a US raid killed Osama bin Laden in the heart of his nation. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Pakistan
Reason.tv: Bollywood vs. Bin Laden – Why radical Islam fears pop culture
By Hawk Jensen & Paul Detrick Even before Osama Bin Laden was killed by U.S. soldiers, his brand of anti-modern, anti-pleasure Islam was under attack by Bollywood, India’s pop culture juggernaut that boasts a global audience of 3 billion people. … Read entire article »
Was Jinnah the only founder of Pakistan?
Many – both friends and foes of the Quaid-e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah take him to be the sole founder of Pakistan, whereas, a close scrutiny of the research material on the subject reveals that this is not a fact. The title ‘Quaid-e Azam’ [great leader] was at first bestowed on him by one Mian Ferozuddin Ahmed. It became an official title on the 11 August 1947, when Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan moved a resolution … Read entire article »
China-Pakistan: Emerging Strains in the Entente Cordiale
By Isaac B. Kardon Recent reports alleging Chinese military activity in Pakistani-controlledareas of Kashmir call renewed attention to the extraordinaryrelationship between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and theIslamic Republic of Pakistan.1Such activities fuel concerns – especially inWashington and New Delhi – that China enjoys unique privileges andexercises inordinate influence in Pakistan. Despite this perception,however, instances of direct Chinese involvement in Pakistani politicaland security affairs are rare. Even as Chinese economic interests inPakistan multiply, Beijing has shown little inclination to actively involveitself in shaping Pakistani behavior, taking cautious and minimal steps toprotect its narrowly defined interests and repeatedly snubbing thedemocratically-elected civilian regime of Asif Ali Zardari. This hands-offapproach thus also supports a different conclusion, namely that China’sprivileged relationship with Pakistan may be “more apparent than real,”2better characterized as periodic episodes of … Read entire article »
Whither Labour Rights
[First published in The Friday Times] By Yasser Latif Hamdani The 18th Amendment to the constitution was welcomed by all who want to see Pakistan a truly federal, progressive and democratic state where the federating units and the centre are balanced in terms of power and rights. Pakistan vests residuary powers in constituent units but the net thrown by the federation – federal and concurrent legislative lists – was so wide that residuary powers amounted to very little. The abolition of the concurrent list devolves real powers to the provinces. … Read entire article »
Filed under: human rights, Labour
PAKISTAN: Child slavery — 20,000 children with small heads are run by the shrines for beggary
By Malik Ayub Sumbal No one knows about the reality and sad saga of these greenish veiled and shaved head individuals carried by their masters with a chain about their necks to get the sympathies of the masses for the sake of begging. The worst form of slavery in the name of religious tradition has become a common practice in Pakistan as no law and authority is ready to save these enforced mentally retarded slaves from their cruel masters and the beggar’s mafia. In Pakistan where such kind of examples of the worst inhuman attitude and behaviours is a routine matter no one dares to shed their tears on these issues. Slavery has been banned the world over but still in Pakistan human beings are made to be slaves for the shameful acts … Read entire article »
Unpacking the Mukhtaran Mai Judgment
By Yasser Latif Hamdani (First published in The Friday Times) The 2-1 Mukhtaran Mai Supreme Court verdict that has rocked the nation was extraordinary given the wide gulf in the approach of the majority and minority opinions to evidence. The issue turned on the following points: 1. Was there enough evidence to convict the accused of gang rape? Justice Saqib Nisar’s majority view held that the prosecution had failed to make its case beyond reasonable doubt, and in particular, the lack of semen and DNA testing was negligence because it could decisively prove or disprove the gang rape allegation. The sole testimony of the prosecutrix was considered insufficient without corroboration. … Read entire article »
Filed under: human rights, Justice
Legality of the Drone Attacks
By Yasser Latif Hamdani (First published in The Friday Times) The question of legality of American drone strikes in Pakistan’s tribal areas is one that hits at the core of the laws of war and international law. Two questions need to be asked for us to better understand this debate. 1) Is the use of American drones on Pakistani soil to kill insurgents illegal? 2) Is the use of drone technology to target specific members of the Al Qaeda or Taliban permissible under international and American law? … Read entire article »
Filed under: Taliban
There’s a Pakistan beyond the ISI and terror; wish it was stronger
By Anshul Chaturvedi General VP Malik’s book, “Kargil – From Surprise To Victory” is not quite what I expected to see on the shelf at the bookstore in the Sheraton lobby in Karachi; but then, after Katrina staring at me from hoardings extolling the virtues of Lux body wash and Veet hair remover, and an improbably rosy-cheeked Kareena pitching in for Head and Shoulder from her billboards, after seeing skimpily dressed babes walking the ramp on a … Read entire article »
Legal Lessons from Mukhtaran Mai Judgment
By Yasser Latif Hamdani (First published in the Daily Times) The acquittals of five of the six men charged with raping Mukhtaran Mai have once again underscored the need for genuine reform in Pakistan’s criminal legal system. Pakistan’s criminal procedure and laws have not been updated to improve efficacy for a very long time. The main obsession in the last 30 years has been on blending in sharia with the legal system and, in the process, we have completely ignored the real issues of our legal system, which require constant evolution to meet the needs of the modern day. … Read entire article »
Filed under: human rights, Judiciary
A case for 20 provinces
By Yasser Latif Hamdani How many provinces should Pakistan have and are the current provinces and provincial identities sacrosanct? There is no good reason to assume so. Identity is always imagined and subjective. Administrative redistribution should not affect ethnic identity because there are Punjabis, Pushtoons, Sindhis, Baloch, Urdu speaking and other ethnicities living everywhere in Pakistan. However for the marginalised peoples of this multi-ethnic multi-cultural state of ours, administrative redistribution of provinces might actually be the best check against a tyrannical majority. … Read entire article »
Filed under: baluchistan, Pakistan
Pakistan’s Nuclear Doctrine
By Taylor Dinerman Although US policymakers have long been concerned about the possibility that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons might fall into the hands of terrorists such as the Taliban or Al Qa’eda, a related question has not gotten quite as much attention: What is Pakistan’s doctrine for using these weapons in any possible future war with India? An article by Commander Muhammad Azam Khan (ret.) of the Pakistani Navy, in the March issue of the US Naval Institute’s magazine,Proceeding, gives us a small, but frightening, look at the way Pakistan’s military thinks about using its nuclear force. Entitled “India’s Cold Start is Too Hot,” the piece is ostensibly a critique of the Indian “Cold Start” strategic concept, which would allow India’s armored units to launch a limited offensive into Pakistan with little or no … 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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