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
The Balochistan quagmire
by Saad Hafiz : The Balochistan quagmire corroborates Pakistan’s historic struggle to accommodate distinct national groups within the country. The Baloch, like the Bengalis earlier, are demanding political and economic justice they rightly feel has been denied to them by the powerful Punjab-dominated ruling oligarchy. Since the creation of Pakistan, there have been incompatible tensions that could be glossed over in the somewhat rushed production of constitutional arrangements, but these problems could not be resolved in an enduring way without innovation, accommodation and change. Most importantly, the patched together constitutional ‘solutions’ for the areas dominated by other national groups like the Baloch and the Bengalis aggravated existing tensions, by delaying any serious dialogue about how to harmonise never before integrated portions of this territory into a functional nation-state. Pakistan was even less … Read entire article »
Filed under: baluchistan
How Trolls are confounding the Shia Rights Discourse
by Abdul Majeed An article recently published in a notorious blog went on to criticize The Friday Times, Raza Rumi, Saleem Javed, Khaled Ahmad and Ali Chishti,because they dared to use the word “sectarian killings” instead of “Shia genocide” which is the term favored by the author of that post. The article also posited that there is a systemic genocide committed against Shias and that the #DeepState is somehow promoting it. The author did not specify exactly what benefit the #DeepState gets if they are actually complicit, when all it does is to actually compromise and damage its own writ and control. The article wanted us to believe that “Sectarian Violence/Genocide” is being “mis-represented” as a Proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. The article mentioned the plight of the Hazara … Read entire article »
Filed under: Al Qaeda, Army, baluchistan, Citizens, Democracy, Iran, Islam, Media, Pakistan, quetta, Religion, Society, Taliban, Uncategorized, USA
Baloch Separatism is not a liberal cause
We are posting this exclusive article by Yasser Latif Hamdani. It should be noted that this is the personal view of the author and should not be construed as the stance of Pak Tea House, its editors and contributors. PTH Admn It is become some what of trend in chattering classes of Pakistan where causes are fads and the latest fashion. If you disagree with Baloch separatism you are automatically illiberal, Islamist, ISI Stooge, Punjabi elite boys, fakester, Fake Liberal, racist against Baloch people and so on and so forth. Therefore let me state it at the outset- Baloch Separatism is not a liberal cause. In fact it is not much of a cause as much as it is a bunch of political actors fighting over royalty from Gas well heads … Read entire article »
Filed under: baluchistan
Rebuttal to Dr. Taqi’s “Balochistan’s Ho Chi Minh Moment”
By Yasser Latif Hamdani It seems that there is a section within Pakistan’s intelligentsia that equates liberalism with unquestioning loyalty to Baloch separatism. In other words it does not matter if you believe in a separation of church and state, equal rights for women and minorities and other things that would be considered the touchstones of liberalism in most countries of the world – if you do not believe in the righteousness of the cause of Baloch nationalism you cannot be considered a liberal. A corollary of this argument is that a true liberal is by definition anti-Pakistan! A true liberal – according to this definition- is necessarily pro-ethno-nationalism and pro-India. Any deviation from this sanctioned liberalism means you are a product of Pakistan Studies. Consider for example the views of Dr. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Al Qaeda, baluchistan, Citizens, Colonialism, Constitution, Islamabad, Law, Left, Liberal Democratic Pakistan, liberal Pakistan, Marxism, minorities
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
Pakistani media does not report on the brutal realities of Balochistan
Ali Dayan Hasan — Pakistan representative, Human Rights Watch The News on Sunday (TNS) How does HRW view the current state of human rights in Balochistan? Ali Dayan Hasan (ADH) The toxic mix of armed nationalist, sectarian and Taliban actors on the one hand and the trigger-happy military authorities on the other, makes Balochistan one of the most dangerous places in the world today. Illegal detention. torture, disappearances and targeted killings by the military are commonplace. Abuses by nationalist militants are also on the rise. It is an appalling situation and the great losers in this are the long-suffering people of the province. TNS: Your report on attacks on education in Balochistan was criticised by the nationalists as focusing too much on the issues of settlers. What was the reason for highlighting that? … Read entire article »
Filed under: baluchistan, Media
Balochistan: Pushed to the wall
By Raza Rumi There must be something terribly wrong with the state of Pakistan that in its largest province, state schools no longer recite the national anthem and are giving up on the Pakistani flag. Tragic, that such alarming reports flashed in the national newspapers and on the internet are a subject of little debate and introspection across the country. Either that nobody really cares as to what happens to the tribals in the southwest of Pakistan, or that there is soft censorship at play. Such is the level of self-censorship on the issue of Balochistan that the ongoing insurgency finds scant mention in the otherwise, hysterical electronic media of Pakistan. True, there are brave exceptions in the public arena, but the eerie silence on Balochistan is disturbing for any Pakistani … Read entire article »
Filed under: baluchistan
Floods and the Existential Threat
By Adnan Syed The existential threat comes from disowning the democratic structure, giving up on it and looking yet again for another instant messiah in face of tremendous adversity and hopelessness. We were wrong in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and 1990s when the elected governments were overthrown. And if we continue with our mindless obsession with artificial stability, we would be wrong in 2010 yet again. (AZW) … Read entire article »
Filed under: Army, baluchistan, Constitution, Democracy, Judiciary, Pak Tea House, Pakistan, Politics, poverty, public policy, Rights
Pakistan's disaster could lead to a systemic collapse
Raza Rumi The colossal humanitarian tragedy and the imminent economic meltdown, will now shape a new Pakistan or rather, exacerbate its predicament in the months and years to come. Pakistan’s chronic political instability, structural economic constraints and a warped national security policy are all going to be affected by the unfolding drama of the national disaster, perhaps the severest, in the country’s history. Whilst the challenges have snowballed within a short duration of ten days, the … Read entire article »
Filed under: baluchistan, Pakistan, strategy, Terrorism, violence, Zardari
Habib Jalib's tragic murder – a blow to national integrity
PTH strongly condemns this act of barbarity and tragic persecution of Balochi leadership. We cannot afford to let this continue. About time, the Balochistan package is fully implemented and widened in its scope. We have to redress all genuine grievances of this troubled province and instead of looking for a foreign hand, analyse where we went wrong. If the Balochis are with Pakistan, no foreign hand can be successful. This would the beginning of a new chapter in our federal history. We are posting a press release by Human Rights Commission of Pakistan that makes pertinent points and gives a way forward for the rulers. We cannot allow the elimination of representative voices. Raza Rumi Jalib’s murder a blow to national integrity: HRCP … Read entire article »
Filed under: baluchistan, Liberal Democratic Pakistan, Pakistan, quetta, Terrorism, violence
…On the Birth of Balochistan Liberation Army
The Stunning Investigative Story on the Birth of Balochistan Liberation Army By Tariq Saeedi in Ashgabat, Sergi Pyatakov in Moscow, Ali Nasimzadeh in Zahidan, Qasim Jan in Kandahar and SM Kasi in Quetta MARCH 1: Deception and treachery. Live and let die. The ultimate zero sum game. Repetition of bloody history: Call it what you may, something is happening in the Pakistani province of Balochistan that defies comprehension on any conventional scale. Four correspondents and dozens of associates who collectively logged more than 5000 kilometers during the past seven weeks in pursuit of a single question – What is happening in Balochistan? – have only been able to uncover small parts of the entire picture. However, if the parts have any proportional resemblance to the whole, it is a frightening and mind-boggling picture. … Read entire article »
Filed under: baluchistan, Islamabad, Pakistan, Pakistan-India Peace Process, quetta, Religion, Taliban, Terrorism, violence, war, Zardari
We Shall Overrun: The Young, Urban, Middle Class Pakistani Manifesto
By Nadeem F. Paracha http://blog.dawn.com/2010/03/20/we-shall-overrun/ 1. Asif Ali Zardari is the devil incarnate. 2. The Pakistan Army is the saviour. 3. The Taliban are resisting American imperialism. 4. We hate American foreign policy unless it suits us. We are against American imperialism if it means we have to ditch the Taliban as that would be against the aspirations of our founding father, Mohammed Bin Qasim. We will no longer shop at Marks and Spencer because they are somehow connected to Israel. However, that does not mean we will switch off our computers and cell phones whose chip technology has been made possible due to major contributions from Israeli scientists. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Al Qaeda, Army, baluchistan, Benazir Bhutto, Democracy, FATA, Humor, India, Iran, Islam, Islamabad, Pakistan, Punjab, Punjabi, Religion, Taliban, USA, Writers, Yusuf Raza Gillani, Zardari
The More Things Change…
…the more they remain the same The ISI – a proxy for the Army, since Z.A.Bhutto’s creation of ISI’s infamous Political Cell – seems to be making it clear that it (too) is beyond accountability. After Malik Qayyum tried to show he still had some nuisance value by declaring to Hamid Mir that ‘a former head of a powerful intelligence agency had confirmed to him that (the missing person) Mr Janjua was dead’, there were news items about the police (possibly) investigating a handful of former and serving intelligence and army officers in relation to missing persons. Mrs Amina Janjua promptly responded to the possible muddying of the intelligence agency’s name by writing to The News. She declares in this letter that she does not seek investigation against any ‘valuable’ national agency … Read entire article »
Filed under: Activism, Al Qaeda, Army, baluchistan, Citizens, Democracy, human rights, journalism, Judiciary, Justice, Pakistan, Taliban, USA
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