Some Thoughts on Imran Khan
By Nadeem Bajwa Although I respect and admire Khan for the cricketing hero he once was, for the philanthropist he still is and for the revolutionary leader he aspires to be, I fail to follow him blindly as many of my fellow countrymen do. But to some extent their actions are justifiable by our political culture and the depths that we have driven our country into. He might be patriotic, untainted by financial corruption and charismatic, but does that make him worthy of leading a nation or a country? The road to revolution is not paved with fundamental contradictions, U-turns and half-baked theories. It is forged, inch by inch, by character, self-sacrifice, unswerving principles and passion for the people. Those close to Imran speak of his hefty ego – the need to be the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Elections, Parliament
Our Educated White Collar Class, Qadri Freak Show and Democracy
Raza Habib Raja I remember watching a standup comedy by Bill Maher who I think is one of the wittiest political satirists. One of his normal practice is to mock Americans, particularly, the Republicans for their dumbness. At one point he said, “ Oh America, I can never leave you, you amuse me.” Well If Mr. Maher was to visit Pakistan, I am sure he would immediately understand that for entertainment purpose, nothing even comes close to Pakistan. Imagine this: A Mullah with dubious credentials materializes out of nowhere and asks his followers to march to Islamabad to force dissolution of all the governments and formation of a caretaker government who would first cleanse the system. He apparently has the financial as well as logistical backing. And he further complicates the situation by presenting … Read entire article »
Filed under: Army, Democracy, Elections, Islamabad, Judiciary, Parliament
The decision to oust Prime Minister Gilani
By Yasser Latif Hamdani A few hours ago the Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled that Yusuf Raza Gilani stands disqualified under 63(1) g of the Constitution. I have written extensively on this in many of my previous blog posts which may be found on this website. However I’d like to state some basic issues with this judgment in clear and unambiguous terms (sadly no one speaks in those in Pakistan: 1. The Supreme Court of Pakistan, in my legal opinion, is NOT vested with the authority under the constitution to dismiss the Prime Minister or over-rule the decisions of the Speaker i.e. Presiding Officer of the National Assembly whose decisions are his or her privilege and are covered by the parliamentary privilege clause. 2. Chief Justice of Pakistan/the entire Supreme Court of Pakistan has no … Read entire article »
Filed under: Judiciary, Justice, Pakistan, Parliament
Is Article 227 indispensable?
By Naeem Sadiq The News, January 28, 2010 If the Taliban were to come to power in Pakistan (which is what their struggle is all about), what would they do to the Constitution? The answer is: they would retain Article 227 and discard the rest of the Constitution. This single article of the Constitution would be sufficient for them to run the country. Their interpretation of this Article would be: “All laws to be brought in conformity with the injunctions of Islam – as perceived by the Taliban.” They could arguably use the article to make laws to kill a barber for a haircut, bomb a school if it was attended by females, gouge the eyes of those who watched television, lash people for wearing shorts and cut off hands for theft, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Democracy, Islamism, Justice, Law, Liberal Democratic Pakistan, liberal Pakistan, minorities, Pakistan, Parliament, Religion, Rights, secular Pakistan, secularism, state, Taliban
Attention Madam Speaker Of The National Assembly Of Pakistan
I received this email and an appended letter to the honorable Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan, Dr. Fahmida Mirza. This is not being posted here for sectarian debate or any other kind of debate but for right of information- any attempts at introducing a theological debate on the issue shall be subject to automatic deletion. Surely the geniuses who believe that the second amendment to the constitution was justified should not have any problem bringing to … Read entire article »
Filed under: Liberal Democratic Pakistan, liberal Pakistan, minorities, Parliament, People's Pakistan, secular Pakistan
And Now About the Own Goal
Pause, sirs, and ponder By I.A. Rehman Dawn 24 Dec, 2009 The fact that in its response to the Supreme Court judgment of Dec 16 the nation is divided cannot be denied, and prudence demands that the causes of this division should not be brushed aside without careful scrutiny. A large section of society believes that Pakistan has become a corruption-free entity and a judicially controlled democracy while a none-too-small section feels deeply hurt. Much can be said for and against both sides. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Democracy, Islamism, Justice, Law, Pakistan, Parliament, state
Going the Wrong Way about Doing the Right Thing
By B. Civilian The full bench of the Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan unanimously declared the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) null and void, ab initio. In view of the unpopularity of the Ordinance, the PPP government had virtually disowned it over the last few weeks. The Federation decided not to defend it in the court, again, regardless of one of its lawyers insinuating that there was a threat to ‘rule of law’ from “CIA and the GHQ” (statements which the lawyer later withdrew as his own rather than his client’s view). Pakistan is in the process of transitioning from being a military dictatorship to becoming a democracy. It’s a difficult transition for any country, let alone for one which has attempted such a transition at least twice before, without much success. But … Read entire article »
Filed under: Benazir Bhutto, Democracy, Justice, Law, lawyers movement, Pakistan, Parliament, Politics, state, Zardari
Another aspect of the judgment
By Asma Jahangir Dawn 19 Dec, 2009 The NRO case, Dr Mubashar Hasan and others versus the federation, has once again stirred a hornet’s nest. There is thunderous applause for bringing the accused plunderers and criminals to justice and widespread speculation on the resignation of the president. Very little analysis is being done on the overall effect of the judgment itself. While, the NRO can never be defended even on the plea of keeping the system intact, the Supreme Court judgment has wider political implications. It may not, in the long run, uproot corruption from Pakistan but will make the apex court highly controversial. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Democracy, Justice, Law, lawyers movement, Pakistan, Parliament, state
NRO- The monster finally caged!
The monstrous crimes committed, to fabricate illogical laws and illegal ordinances, created by these criminals to protect their own self and others who participated in those practises to ruin Pakistan has now finally taken place with Supreme Court’s verdict on 16th December. The looters, plunderers will have to face the consequences of their actions and face those trials which they avoided through any means available to them- through NRO, through political needs of survival in … Read entire article »
Filed under: Activism, Army, Citizens, Civil Service, Democracy, Economy, Education, human rights, Islamabad, Jinnah, journalism, Justice, lawyers movement, Media, movements, Multinational Corporations, Pakistan, Parliament, Politics, poverty, Zardari
For Every Decent Human Being
By Bilal Qureshi Isn’t it time? For every decent human being, it is sickening to see people being butchered the way human beings are slaughtered in Pakistan these days. Human life has no respect or value for barbaric animals responsible for these bombings and suicide attacks. And if the news of bombings and killing was not enough, I was horrified to learn that Lahore’s commissioner (incorrectly) blames India for these attacks while Punjab’s law minister (correctly) believes that the thugs being smoked out from Swat and Wazirstan are actually behind these attacks to force the government to back down. Isn’t it time for Pakistan to get united? Isn’t it time stop obsessing about India? Isn’t it time to be realistic? … Read entire article »
Filed under: Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, Army, baluchistan, Democracy, History, Identity, India, Islamabad, journalism, Pakistan, Parliament, Politics, Terrorism, violence, Yusuf Raza Gillani, Zardari
The Demons that Haunt the Pakistanis
Cross post from New York Times, Published: December 5, 2009 All rights reserved with The New York Times Company By Sabrina Tavernise ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — These are emotional times in Pakistan, particularly since President Obama told its leaders last week to fight harder against Islamist extremists, and expanded a deeply unpopular covert air strike program in Pakistani territory. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Army, Democracy, Islamabad, Pakistan, Parliament, Partition, Religion, Terrorism
The Loan Writeoff Scam; Myth and Reality
by Ahmad Nadeem Gehla The government banks and private financial institutions waived loans worth Rs60 billion during the 8 year from 1999 to 2007. Those who got their loans written off include politicians, bureaucrats, former military officials and various business groups. The finical institutions which got their loans written off include National Bank, Pak-Kuwait Investment, IDBP, Pak-Oman Investment, Agricultural Development Bank, SME Bank, Bank of Khyber, Punjab Provincial Cooperative Bank, Pak-Libya Holding, Saudi-Pak Investment and IDBP. All these institutions are incorporated under ‘Banking Companies Ordinance’ and supervised by State Bank of Pakistan. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Economy, Islamabad, Justice, Pakistan, Parliament
A Tale of two Stories
By Cyril Almeida Cross Post from www.dawn.com and www.cyrilalmeida.com MILITARY men have been up to some very bad things, we’ve learned this week. But the very different reactions to two seemingly unrelated stories in the media tell us at least one thing: things aren’t going to get better any time soon. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Army, Democracy, Islamabad, journalism, Law, Pakistan, Parliament, Zardari
Extracting Political Decisions from the Judiciary in Pakistan
By Ahmed Nadeem Gahla A study of transformation from military dictatorship to democracy around the world would reveal that there are two possible ways. Either it is achieved through a popular revolution or by negotiations between political forces and dictators. The former invariably demolishes the entire system and mostly involves bloodshed putting a new system in place while the later allows the change to happen within the prevailing system based upon certain negotiated terms. These terms might not necessarily meet the international laws and judicial norms as it is always a middle path. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Army, Democracy, Elections, Islamabad, journalism, Pakistan, Parliament, Zardari
Cunning or Wisdom?
Gone with the grin? by Shyema, Dawn Blog, November 6th, 2009 Could it be that President Asif Ali Zardari is finally ready to part with his power? Reports this week state that the president is ready to hand over some of the authority given under Article 58-2b to the parliament – sounds familiar? Perhaps it reminds of you the time Zardari first stated this well over a year ago. Since then Prime Minister Gilani has often spoken about … Read entire article »
Filed under: Democracy, Pakistan, Parliament
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