Fascists strike again in Pakistan: Minorities Minister killed
Raza Rumi Sometimes it feels we are living in stone age where no dissent and no call for a tolerant society is possible. Murder, violence, mayhem are the order of the day. Today, we mourn the death of Shahbaz Bhatti who had been repeatedly threatened, but not intimidated. It is time for Pakistan’s political parties to take stock of this situation and get their own ideological house in order before they are wiped out as well. Pakistani … Read entire article »
Filed under: Democracy, Islamism, secular Pakistan, Taliban, Terrorism
Discoursing Blasphemy (I): Deconstructing the Contemporary Authoritarian Context
by Aasem Bakhshi The materials could be used to construct either the authoritative or the authoritarian. If the authoritarian is constructed, the text is rendered subservient and submerged into its representer and reader. If authoritative is constructed, the text survives unencumbered and unlimited by its representer and reader. – Khaled Abou El Fadl in Conference of the Books Imagine your were born into a middle or lower-middle class Christian family in Islamic Republic of Pakistan. This ironic accident of nature would automatically grant you the deplorable status among approximately one percent ignorant, disbelieving and impure inhabitants of the otherwise land of the pure. Stretch your imagination a little further and assume being grown up to become an individual with religious conviction in line with any of the mainstream Christian denominations. Needless to … Read entire article »
Godless Bullets
Salman Taseer’s killing reflects the fight over Pakistan’s soul (OUTLOOK INDIA) AMIR MIR When Punjab governor Salman Taseer stepped out of the Table Talk restaurant after having lunch with hotelier Sheikh Waqas and walked to his car parked in Islamabad’s Kohsar Market on January 4, he must have been aware of the possibility of religious fanatics lurking around. Where in Pakistan haven’t the sinister, dark forces of militant Islam penetrated? But what Taseer couldn’t have foreseen perhaps is the precise visage of religious fanaticism—that it could come dressed in the uniform of the Elite Force of the Punjab police, one of those very men who were to protect him from the implacable Islamists forever sniffing around for enemies who don’t subscribe to their worldview. As Taseer reached his car, a cry of Allah-o-Akbar … Read entire article »
Filed under: culture, Islamism, Liberal Democratic Pakistan, liberal Pakistan, Pakistan, public policy, Religion
Spectators Never Win!
by Ahmad Nadeem Gehla Stop fooling yourself! You want others to fight for you? That would not happen. You want PPP to fight for a liberal Pakistan. Be a part of that struggle! Not a spectator! Who is most vocal in vicious propaganda campaign against Pakistan’s only political party with liberal and democratic credentials? Not fundamentalists alone. Powerful military establishment, judges, journalists and liberal rights activists were not behind either. Well, military establishment living a utopian dream of controlling the world through ‘children of Zia’ had an agenda to weaken the liberal and secular party. Why did liberal, leftist and secular segments of society including journalists, rights activists, lawyers and laborers participated in that campaign? Had they an alternate? Today a weakened and isolated PPP is trying to survive by making all sorts … Read entire article »
Another blow to Pakistan: Salmaan Taseer killed by extremism
Raza Rumi Salmaan Taseer’s brutal murder at the hands of a security personnel is a cruel reminder of where we have landed ourselves: in a dark morass of irrationality lorded over by pernicious ideologies. He was a brave man and stood for a liberal, tolerant and progressive Pakistan where economic and political freedoms could be upheld. He has paid for his life for his bold stance on the blasphemy law and countering Talibanisation. He was our hope … Read entire article »
Religious Right in Their Own Words; the Concept of an Islamic State
Part 1 By Adnan Syed This two part series revisits one of the pivotal events of the early Pakistani history; the riots by the religious right wing parties to get Ahmadis declared as non-Muslims, and the subsequent Munir-Kiyani inquiry commission report into the causes behind the riots. The report went on to interview the religious leaders of the newly formed state of Pakistan regarding their motives and their ideas of Pakistan as a pure Islamic state. As the interviews revealed the incongruous replies of various leaders, they also showed vague but chilling ideas that the right wing parties harboured to turn the newly formed Muslim nation into a political- Islam-dominated theocratic nation. The interviews reveal the role of democracy, non Muslims, Jihad and punishments like apostasy that would be practiced in an ideal … Read entire article »
Filed under: Constitution, Democracy, Islam, Islamism, Jinnah, Judiciary, Liberal Democratic Pakistan, Pak Tea House, Pakistan, Religion
Denialistan: DAWN's romance with jihadis exposed
Nasima Zehra Awan laments the media romances with sectarian Islamists while the country drowns The August 21st editorial by DAWN is a good example of what is wrong with the media in Pakistan. “Hardliners and Flood Relief” is precisely the kind of vacillating apologia for extremists that is the bane of the local media.A media that has anointed itself as “Independent” for hounding out elected politicians at the behest of a powerful establishment, has failed in informing the public about the various Islamist militant groups and their agendas. In this regard, it is baffling that DAWN’s editorial prefers to maintain an Ostrich-like approach to the exponentially growing existential threat from these sectarian bigots. President Zardari is absolutely correct in pointing out this threat. The exclusive bashing of elected PPP leaders is … Read entire article »
Filed under: Al Qaeda, Democracy, Islamism, Jinnah, minorities, Taliban, Terrorism, violence
What Constitutes a Stable Society?
By Adnan Syed Pakistan is passing through a vicious negative feedback loop that is beginning to gather momentum. The vicious circle is a result of country’s inability to provide for the basic individual rights of its citizens. Combine that with a burgeoning population, and the rampant nationalist tensions within the society that have been suppressed in the name of religious identity, Pakistan is staring at a nightmarish scenario in the coming decade. Pakistan needs to realize that the existential threat is coming from the failure of its society and not due to the external influences that consume majority of the resources of our nation. Unless we start spending on providing for the four basic rights to our citizens, the chaos will just feed on itself in the years to come. This is … Read entire article »
Filed under: Democracy, human rights, Identity, India, Islamabad, Islamism, musings, Pak Tea House, Pakistan, Religion, Rights, violence
Good luck, General Kayani
Raza Rumi http://tribune.com.pk/story/30713/good-luck-general-kayani/ In a hurried non-speech, the prime minister has confirmed that the incumbent army chief will stay on for three years. Unprecedented as the decision might be, it is perhaps the best option under the current circumstances. Pakistan is battling against domestic and external terrorism. Given how the army works, it is clear that the military establishment wants a continuation of national security policy. Lack of policy continuity has been the hallmark of Pakistan’s governance. At least with General Kayani’s extension, the military operations in the northwest and approach to the Afghanistan imbroglio will also remain unchanged. This is good for Pakistan for three reasons. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Afghanistan, Islamabad, Islamism, Pakistan, Politics, public policy, secular Pakistan, Taliban, Terrorism, USA, violence, war
Daily Times: Nationalism: inclusive versus exclusive — III
Cross Post from Daily Times Published July 13, 2010 By Ishtiaq Ahmed Rather than hate India, we should learn from India. It has five times a greater population, far greater ethnic and linguistic variation and myriads of religious faiths and cults. It is not a democracy in the social sense but it is a sophisticated democracy in the political sense I have presented, mainly, the exclusive model of nationalism and state-nationalism that I have argued emerged in Pakistan, notwithstanding the very bold attempt of Jinnah to supplant it with inclusive nationalism. Exclusive nationalism — whether based on race or religion or some other cultural factor — discriminates, constitutionally, people who do not qualify as members of the community because they do not share the specific cultural ties that have been chosen to define the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Democracy, Identity, India, Islam, Islamabad, Islamism, Jinnah, Liberal Democratic Pakistan, minorities, Pakistan, Religion, secular Pakistan
Daily Times: Nationalism: inclusive versus exclusive — II —
By Ishtiaq Ahmed When the Hindu members of the Pakistan Constituent Assembly expressed their worries about ‘sovereignty over the entire universe belonging to God’, Liaquat Ali Khan assured them that a Muslim state should have no problem in having a non-Muslim as prime minister. However, this was not true Jinnah wanted to establish a Muslim-majority state, but not a Muslim-majoritarian state that would privilege Muslims over non-Muslims in their status and rights as citizens; hence he spoke of Pakistani nationalism and not Muslim nationalism when on August 11, 1947 he addressed the Pakistan Constituent Assembly: “You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place or worship in this state of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion … Read entire article »
Filed under: Democracy, Egalitarian Pakistan, History, Identity, Islam, Islamism, Jinnah, Liberal Democratic Pakistan, minorities, Pak Tea House, Pakistan
Daily Times – Nationalism: inclusive versus exclusive — I
At PTH, we have argued for the partition as a nuanced set of events that were characterized by extreme mistrust between the two major political forces of that time. These major parties harboured deep distrust against each other. The Muslim League politics increasingly focused on the idea of Pakistan as a bargaining chip to win the rights for the sizeable Muslim majority within the United India. The British hurry to leave the United India, emergence of Muslim League as the sole spokesman for the Muslims, and Congress unwillingness to recognize the Muslim nation demands within the United India resulted in a bloody and messy partition. We still live with the scars of the partition that resulted in one of the largest uprooting and human migration of modern times. … Read entire article »
Filed under: culture, Democracy, Egalitarian Pakistan, History, Identity, Islam, Islamabad, Islamism, Jinnah, minorities, Pak Tea House, Pakistan, Religion, secular Pakistan
Fear and silence
By Mohsin Hamid Dawn, 27 Jun, 2010 Why are Ahmadis persecuted so ferociously in Pakistan? A victim of attack on Jinnah Hospital, Lahore The reason can’t be that their large numbers pose some sort of ‘threat from within’. After all, Ahmadis are a relatively small minority in Pakistan. They make up somewhere between 0.25 per cent (according to the last census) and 2.5 per cent (according to the Economist) of our population. Nor can the reason be that Ahmadis … Read entire article »
Filed under: Citizens, Constitution, human rights, Islamism, minorities, Pakistan, Religion, Rights, secularism, state, Terrorism, violence
Terrible news from Lahore- extremists are back in action
Raza Rumi Two horrific incidents took place in Lahore today. First, the blasts in the busiest of streets – Hall Road frequented by thousands of people. The moral brigade had been objecting to and threatening the shop-owners against selling CDs, DVDs as they somehow lead to decline in morals and of course challenge puritanical worldview held by the Islamists. Now, a warning was sent through two low intensity blasts which left many injured. Lahore’s Talibanisation nightmare … Read entire article »
Filed under: Islamism, Lahore, minorities, Taliban, Terrorism, violence
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