Pak Tea House » Archive
Brave or Foolhardy?
by: Hafsa Khawaja There are usually, if not always, a certain set of characteristics and qualities that a people expect their leader to have. Amongst the numerous of honesty, integrity and dignity that Pakistanis seek in a leader, is also bravery. With the elections approaching fast, the idea of bravery seems to have been accorded quite a role with populism at play. A certain notion has been developed in political rhetoric plus social media … Read entire article »
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State of Human Rights in 2012:Highlights
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has prepared a comprehensive list on events relating to Human Rights in Pakistan during the year 2012. Following are some of the salient findings from the report. Laws and law-making The most significant enactments in 2012 included the 20th Constitutional Amendment which was related to electoral matters. The law for the establishment of a National Commission of Human Rights came into force but remained unimplemented. The National Commission on the Status of Women … Read entire article »
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Bangladesh’s Independence Day
For an ordinary student of History, it is puzzling to know that Bangladesh does not celebrate its Independence day on the day that it seceded from Pakistan i.e. 16th December and instead on 25th March. This was the day when Operation Searchlight was started by Pakistan Army against its own citizens and Army’s proxies Al-Shams and Al-Badr played their own ugly part in it. Bengalis chose to commemorate the martyrs of Operation Searchlight and chose March 25th as the Independence … Read entire article »
Filed under: Anniversery, Army, Bangladesh, Elections, History, India, movements, Pakistan
Tale of Musharraf’s Coup in 1999
Parvez Musharraf, ex-Dictator, landed in Karachi today, amid much fanfare(and while wearing a suicide jacket). He was ousted democratically on 18th August, 2008 and left the country. Pakistan has successfully completed transition from an elected government to a caretaker setup without direct intervention of the Military for the first time in its history. This does not mean we forget the history of military interventions and the disastrous consequences. To commemorate the arrival of Musharraf, we … Read entire article »
Filed under: Anniversery, Army, Civil Service, Constitution, Democracy, drama, History, ISI, Islamabad, Pakistan, Politics, Society, state, Uncategorized
Article of the Day: Leave it to Allah
by Muhammad Shehzad [Excerpts] A new trend was noticeable in the recent sectarian attacks in the country. Earlier, the target was primarily the Asna Ashri Shias(followers of the 12 Imams). Now, however, the scope is widening. The Asna Ashris are a powerful community in Pakistan. Like their Deobandi rivals-whose proteges include the now defunct militant Sipah Sahaba Pakistan and the Lashkar e Jhangvi-the Asna Ashri have the Sipah Mohammad. In the late ‘90s and early 2000, the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Army, baluchistan, Citizens, History, human rights, Identity, Iran, ISI, Islam, Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, minorities, Pakistan
Death of a Nation
by Hafsa Khawaja Holding on in the midst of political, social and economic storms, the Pakistan of today is an illustration of an almighty bedlam. Unsurprisingly, death and destruction have now eased into humdrum routinely occurrences for most people; Predictably throwing a cloak of desensitization over them; giving rise to chronic apathy. A common trend that has been nurtured in this environment is the juxtaposition of tragedies for comparisons to exhibit selectivity of people’s reactions and responses. To question … Read entire article »
Filed under: Citizens, culture, drama, History, human rights, Identity, Opinion, Pakistan, Society, violence, war
Article of the Day: Looking Back at Democracy’s five years
What five years of civilian governance in Pakistan looks like Source: (Foreign Policy Magazine Blog) by J. Dana Stuster (Assisstant Editor, FP magazine) For the first time in Pakistan’s history, a democratically elected civilian government has successfully finished its five-year term — despite a flurry of anti-government protests. But what does that success look like? Foreign direct investment collapsed after President Asif Ali Zardari’s government came to power in 2008, and has continued declining since, according to the World Bank. Meanwhile, foreign aid from the United … Read entire article »
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Picture of the Day 18.03.2013
Squadron Leader Muhammad Mahmud Alam emerged from 1965 War as Pakistan’s top scoring fighter ace. The painting shows him in his favourite F-86 F-35-NA with the victory tally marked alongside the aircraft. (Nine kills and two probables). Air commodore Muhammad Mahmood Alam passed away in Karachi today due to prolonged illness Source:(http://www.al-nasir.com/www/PVA/Library/AviationArt/awpainting.php?GRP_ID=1958-1967&ITM_ID=AW49) … Read entire article »
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In Memorium: The Bara 15
by Said Nazir Afridi Pakistan army, once the most respected institution in the government, abandoned Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan and is now losing the sympathy and love of tribesmen. It is not because of the military operation against the militants but for the indiscriminate use of force in the war on terror. The recent killing of 15 innocent tribesmen at the hands of the security forces in Alamgudar area of Bara is one of … Read entire article »
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What Happened in DHQ Gujranwala Today?
by Abdul Majeed Today, on 2nd January 2013, there was a scuffle in District Head Quarter Hospital(DHQ), Gujranwala between doctors and Medical Superintendent, the administrative In-charge of the Hospital. Later on, there was a fight between doctors and Media personnel as well. As a result of this brouhaha, Medical Superintendent, Dr Anwar Amanullah got injured. This news has been highlighted throughout the day by Pakistan’s electronic media and some of the twitterati have taken to criticizing … Read entire article »
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Thumbs Down Part II
by Abdul Majeed (Read Part I Here) I was in the United States for one month on an exchange program for youth leaders from Pakistan. Apart from innumerable things that I liked while I was there, some aspects of American life did not appeal to me as much as the rest of them. Following are some of those snippets of Daily American Life that I noticed and was not too pleased about. Cart food,the other side I discovered on … Read entire article »
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Thumbs Down Part I
I was in the United States for one month on an exchange program for youth leaders from Pakistan. Apart from innumerable things that I liked while I was there, some aspects of American life did not appeal to me as much as the rest of them. Following are some of those snippets of Daily American Life that I noticed and was not too pleased about. Extravagance United States, unlike Pakistan, has abundance of many things, including food … Read entire article »
Filed under: Blogroll, Citizens, culture, Economy, Education, History, Imperialism, Multinational Corporations, USA
Report: Meetup with Dr Ayesha Jalal
‘Young people in Pakistan need to wrest back their perspective from people like Hakimullah Mehsud’ said Dr. Ayesha Jalal in a session with bloggers at Nairang Gallery, Lahore on 22nd August. It was attended by 20 bloggers and media personnel from Lahore including Cheif Editor Pak Tea House, Raza Rumi, Saroop Ijaz, Mehmal Sarfaraz, Yasir Latif Hamdani, Aisha Sarwari, Saadia Gardezi, Zebunnisa Burki, Adnan Rasool, Awais Aftab, Rabia Mahmood, Sabahat Zakriya, Sher Ali,Aun, Samar Ataullah,Ali Sethi, Rab Nawaz and Abdul Majeed. The purpose for which this meet-up was organized as to discuss How bloggers can make a difference in the political narrative of the country and how should they work to bring back the narrative of Pakistanis. Dr. Jalal initiated the session by pointing out that Pakistan’s perspective is not the … Read entire article »
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A Battle of Ideas
by Abdul Majeed Abid “When I knew that they were burning our schools, I thought they were burning education, they were burning books. I have to be educated. I’ll be educated no matter what the odds.” Malala Yousafzai Last Week’s attack on Malala Yousafzai, a 14 year old beacon of hope from Swat, garnered all sorts of reactions. Most people were shocked by the brutality of the perpetrators. The timing of that attack, in my opinion, was an extremely unfortunate one as it co-incided with the ending of PTI’s “Peace March” towards Waziristan. Attack on Malala has been construed as a stepping stone to military operation in Waziristan, a primer that turns public opinion towards a certain tilt. Conspiracy theories have been spun at an alarming pace about involvement of various Intelligence Agencies … Read entire article »
Filed under: Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, Army, Democracy, Education, FATA, Islam, Islamism, Pakistan, Religion, Society, Taliban, Terrorism, USA, violence, Women
Indo Pak Agreement: A Great Leap Forward
Pak Tea House welcomes the visit of Indian Foreign Minister S M Krishna and the agreements regarding Trade and a relaxed Visa Regime. It was a step in the right direction, towards Making South Asia a peaceful place. Trade between the two countries and frequent contacts between ordinary folk from both sides will pave the way for a gradual end to the belligerency and Jingoistic narrative adopted by Hawks on both sides of the border. Express … Read entire article »
Filed under: Democracy, History, Identity, India, Lahore, Pakistan, Pakistan-India Peace Process, Partition, Society, south asia, Uncategorized
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