It Got Worse
And then, somehow, it got worse. — Common Russian Joke, when asked to sum up their country’s history. By Zia Ahmad At the fag end of summer this year, it was not uncommon to hear self pitying murmurs bemoaning the spectacular assembly of disasters, both manmade and natural, that has been a fixture on print and TV. The only cause for the indiscriminate body count in Karachi, the dengue outbreak and the devastating flood among other countrywide misfortunes, large and small according to these self pitying murmurs was nothing more than we had it coming since this is only but divine retribution for our misdeeds, the proverbial hamaray amaal ka nateeja. The same mantra was heard in the wake of the 2005 earthquake and a pitch perfect echo from last year’s torrential misfortunes. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Army, Uncategorized
The Apologists Blindly March Forth
By Zia Ahmad The Nation has always been a bit of an oddity amongst the English language in Pakistan. A sister concern of the vehemently conservative Urdu daily Nawa-e-Waqt, The Nation has inherited the responsibility to play the custodian of the Two Nation Theory for the English paper readership in Pakistan. Apparently 1971 never happened In Nawa-e-Waqt’s version of history. … Read entire article »
Will the civilians seize the moment?
It is too early to determine whether Nawaz Sharif is seeking a structural transformation of Pakistan’s governance culture or is merely hankering for acceptability within the power matrix. By Raza Rumi: Pakistan’s civil-military imbalance is now embedded in the very nature of the Pakistani state and the way it works. The “idea” of Pakistan has evolved into a wide-ranging and somewhat irreversible militarisation that has penetrated into the society, economy and the very imagination of Pakistan. Prima facie, there is a Constitution at work with civilian institutions that come and go as side characters on the grand political theatre of Pakistan. However, as they say, societies are dynamic entities and evolve over time. Since the 1971 defeat of the Pakistan Army in East Pakistan, the trajectory of military supremacy was quite consistent. It is a separate matter that the 1971 moment arrived amid a … Read entire article »
The spectre of Islamist infiltration
By Raza Rumi: The recent attacks on the Karachi naval base have once again sparked a debate concerning the much-feared radicalisation within the armed forces. Declan Walsh writing in The Guardian (May 23, 2011) says how the “spectre of Islamist infiltration has haunted the army for decades”. This should be a major concern for Pakistanis. At the same time, Pakistan’s defence forces are well-known for their internal discipline and the overarching ‘unity of command’ that all … Read entire article »
Servants, not masters!
Salman Latif While the wounds of Abbottabad’s ‘imperial insurgency’ were still fresh, a debate was going on in the GHQ. For the first time in the history of Pak Army, the Chief was vociferously questioned by the officials who were briefed by him about the entire operation. Some of them went as far as to suggest resignation for the entire top echelon. The interesting part, however, is that all the questions thrown to the Army Chief General Kayani revolved around the violation of national sovereignty and about the drone attacks. The officers demanded immediate bans on drone attacks and wished to know how could US violate international regulations and launch an attack on our land. Sadly, not one of the officials asked the … Read entire article »
Meet the new apologists on Pakistan TV channels
By Zia Ahmad We are already familiar with the rants and tirades of Taliban apologists on TV screens and Op-ed pieces. Enter the Pak Army apologizers. Since the May 2 Abbottabad incident, this lot has come to fore defending, justifying and making excuses for the khakis. Hasb-e-Haal has been a well received TV show which has enjoyed more than two years of popularity with the masses, owing more to Sohail Ahmed’s alter ego Azizi than the trite … Read entire article »
Letter to Gen Kayani
By AA Khalid “Perverse times have come, I know the mystery of the beloved crows have begun to hunt hawks, and sparrows feed on falcons horses bear the whipping, while donkeys graze on lush green no love is lost between relatives, be they younger or elder uncles There is no accord between fathers and sons, Nor any between mothers and daughters The truthful ones are being pushed about, the tricksters are seated close by The front liners have become wretched, the back benchers sit on carpets Those in tatters have turned into kings, the kings have taken to begging O Bulleh, that which is His command who can alter His decree.” (Bulleh Shah) Dear Mr Kayani, The great Pakistani Army, one of the largest armies in the world which consumes the wealth of this nation more than any other sector has consistently failed in its existence and … Read entire article »
Things More Important than Sovereignty and Honor
Zia Ahmad Two days ago, a motley crew of a handful militants raided and occupied a highly sensitive and supposedly heavily fortified Naval air base in Karachi. The ensuing battle lasted for sixteen plus hours at the cost of ten military personnel, fourteen injuries and two surveillance planes. Bear in mind, these are the official numbers. We can’t really blame the people if they find the official toll of damages suspect and assume a higher count of casualties. It is also said that a contingent of a hundred commandos was deployed to reclaim the naval base. Let’s run the numbers again: … Read entire article »
Filed under: Al Qaeda, Army, Karachi, Taliban, Terrorism, violence, Yusuf Raza Gillani
No more glory, izzat da tukkar please!
By Raza Rumi Pakistan’s only viable and efficient institution has been attacked. Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has accepted the responsibility for intruding into well guarded naval and air force bases; and managed to destroy state of the art equipment – two PC3 Orion aircraft costing millions of dollars – in a long drawn out operation. The nightmare is over now. At least 10 security officials have been martyred in line of their duty and according to the Interior Minister … Read entire article »
Be-Ghairat Brigade
By Amaar Ahmad Shame is honour. Ignorance is knowledge. Darkness is light. Zealotry is rationality. Violence is peace. This is what our ghairat brigade – a misnomer for educated derelicts, delusional anchors and mentally-challenged analysts – would want us to believe. Appending a `be’ before ghairat would explain why they say all that they say. When women and children are blown to smithereens in suicide attacks they consider offering a negotiating table to the terrorists as the solution. The problem will go away, they say, the moment American drones stop hovering over the heads of ghairatmand Pustuns. That the TTP barbarians should exult in an orgy of blood and tears of ordinary people is lost on the ghairat brigade. It has to be imperialist propaganda! When Taliban openly vow war against the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Army
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 »
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
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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