What are Imran Khan’s Chances?
Raza Habib Raja I will be lying, if I underestimate the PTI show in Lahore. No matter, how cynical you are, grand rallies like these never fail to impress. Imran Khan is back and with a bang. In an eerily similar way to 30th October 2011 ( when he came out of age and announced himself as a potential political force), I once again witnessed an inspiring display of patriotism and passion. I have differed with … Read entire article »
Pakistan, the Lost Generation
http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/pakistan901/video_index.html It’s morning in Lahore, the capital of Pakistan’s biggest province, and the country’s next generation is headed to school. But what children are finding when they get there is of increasing concern for those who want peace in Pakistan’s future. For 12-year-old Fatma, school is an abandoned brickyard. “I study at the Government Primary School in Lahore,” she explains. “I study English language, and I like it. There are no chairs. We have to sit on the ground. It’s a problem in the winter. When it rains, there is nowhere to sit.” … Read entire article »
Filed under: Economy, Education, Lahore, Pakistan, poverty, Punjab, Religion, Rural, Taliban, USA, youth
PAKISTAN: Constant violence against women in 2009
An Article by the Asian Human Rights Commission Physical and sexual violence, honor killings, forced marriages and structural inequalities within the society are constant violations of women’s fundamental rights. The cases in this article were provided by Mister Mohammed Nafees from Karachi, based on news from Daily Dawn. By Julia Lemétayer 2009 has been another tragic year for women rights in Pakistan. Many cases have been reported, in which women were abducted, assaulted, raped, murdered, forced to marriage or traded to resolve disputes. According to Aurat Foundation, a non-governmental organization working for women empowerment in Pakistan, between January and June last year, a total of 4,514 incidents of violence against women were reported. Victims, if they dare reporting these facts, have to face police obstruction and societal pressure. If some of these facts … Read entire article »
Filed under: human rights, Justice, Pakistan, poverty, Religion, Rights, Rural, Society, state, violence, Women
The Text of Balochistan Package, presented to the Joint Session of the Parliament
http://dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\11\25\story_25-11-2009_pg7_29 Islamabad: The government on Tuesday presented the Aghaaz-e-Huqook Balochistan to a joint sitting of parliament. The landmark package contains several initiatives to address the problems of the Baloch people and bring them into mainstream. Following is the text of the Aghaaz-e-Huqook package presented by Senator Raza Rabbani. Preamble “Conscious, that the provinces have a sense of deprivation, in political and economic structures of the federation; Recalling, that the provisions of the 1973 constitution in particular relating to the federation-province relationship have been circumvented; … Read entire article »
Filed under: Army, baluchistan, Economy, Islamabad, Pakistan, Politics, Rural
Caught Between Yaghistan and Talibanistan
Defeating the Taliban in Pakistan By Mehreen Farooq and Waleed Ziad – from The Hill It’s the strategy, stupid. Once again, we’re hoping that Pakistan’s latest offensive in the tribal belt will solve the Taliban problem. Our military-centric strategy, which has cost us eight years and $10 billion tax dollars, is incomplete. What’s missing is the complementary soft-power component necessary to secure the pivotal conflict zone in the war on terror. … Read entire article »
Filed under: FATA, Law, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan, poverty, Rural, Taliban, USA
Bollywood,Reality TV and Indian secularism
Bradistan Calling Indian TV has seen numerous Bollywood reality shows, competition where common boys (and occasionally girls) have won places on movies by top directors. The Show that I want to talk about is Bollywood, blind-date and arranged (and staged) marriage all rolled into one big media circus. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Activism, Arts and Crafts, Cinema, Citizens, culture, Dance, drama, Heritage, History, human rights, Humor, Identity, Images, India, Islamism, Kashmir, magazines, Media, men, minorities, Music, Pakistan, Partition, Politics, poverty, Punjabi, Religion, Rights, Rural, sex, south asia, Terrorism, Theatre, Women, youth
Obituary:Kashmir Broadcasting Corporation
Stop Press: Kashmir Broadcasting Corporation suddenly suspended its satellite transmissions globally after one year of success broadcasting.This incident is most unfortunate and shows a lack of financial backing for independent TV in a climate of global recession.There was no official confirmation of this interruption. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Activism, culture, Democracy, drama, Education, Elections, Europe, History, human rights, Identity, Images, Imperialism, India, Islam, journalism, Justice, Kashmir, land, Languages, Left, Media, minorities, movements, Multinational Corporations, Music, Northern Areas, Pakistan, Partition, Philosophy, Politics, poverty, Punjabi, Religion, Reviews, Rights, Rural, Society, south asia, Taliban, Terrorism, Theatre, Travel, Urdu, video, violence, war, Women, Writers, youth
Miri or Piri.Reclaiming Punjabi Identity
The Miri(Warrior) or the Piri(Saint), Reclaiming the Punjabi Identity: Bradistan Calling The Sikh religion is based on three important pillar The Guru (Teacher), The Garanth(Holy Book) and the Khalsa (Brotherhood of the Pure).It all seems so familiar because of similarity with the religion of Islam. Nowadays one cannot objectively analyse Islam, without provoking Fatwa of One kind or the other. The debate, discussion and Ijtehad (innovation and development) have effectively been killed in the Muslim world. If you make Peaceful Reformation Impossible, you make Bloody Revolution Inevitable. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Activism, Citizens, Colonialism, culture, Democracy, Economy, Education, Elections, Europe, Heritage, History, human rights, Identity, Imperialism, India, Islam, Islamism, Jinnah, Justice, Kashmir, Languages, Left, Media, minorities, movements, Pakistan, Politics, poverty, Punjabi, Religion, Rights, Rural, Society, south asia, Sufism, Taliban, Terrorism, Urdu, USA, violence, Women, youth
Poem: Waris Shah Vs Aitzaz Ahsan
by Bradistan Waris Shah Vs. Aitzaz Ahsan (In the Court of Supreme Judge ALLAH The Almighty) A Tribute to Late Amrita Pritam aaj aakhaaN Aitzaz nuuN aaj aakhaN AITZAZ AHSAN nuuN, kitoN Chamber vichchoN bol, te aaj kitab-e -Knoon daa koii aglaa varkaa phol ik Uthyaa sii Wada Kanoon Daan, tuuN likh likh maare Byaan, aaj SWAT DE Dhiyaan rondiaa, tainuN Aitzaz Ahsan nuN kahen Jaag dardmandaaN diaa dardiaa, Jaag Pakistani Jaag … Read entire article »
Filed under: Activism, ancient civilisations, Arts and Crafts, Citizens, culture, Democracy, Europe, Fiction, Heritage, History, human rights, Identity, India, Islam, Islamism, journalism, Justice, Languages, lawyers movement, Left, Literature, Love, Media, minorities, movements, Music, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan, Philosophy, poetry, Politics, Punjabi, Religion, Rights, Rural, Society, south asia, Sufism, Taliban, Terrorism, youth
Ah, the deal – more confusion
by Raza Rumi Much has been made of this NYT article on the class inequalities in NWFP that are fuelling the Taliban movement. However, I would like to ask where in Pakistan class inequalities do NOT exist. They are everywhere. By using this argument then the Taliban takeover becomes a natural conclusion as a social revolution is required everywhere to correct the exploitative structures and provide ‘speedy justice’. Therefore, our political class has to rise to the occasion and provide the kind of leadership, delivery against their manifestos and restore the fading writ of the state. On another forum this deal was being termed as a popular demand of Swatis and here is what I wrote for those who are interested: With due respect to the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Al Qaeda, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan, Peshawar, public policy, Rural, Terrorism, violence, war
The neglected landless of Pakistan
The neglected landless Dr. Zafar Altaf Pakistan has as much as 44 percent landless in the country and the number is growing because the ability of the agriculture sector to absorb them in gainful employment is limited. Percentage terms create an illusion that is not necessary and, therefore, I will be discussing absolute numbers. The number of landless by provinces would indicate where poverty is rampant and where the numbers are less. But that by itself may not be correct because the number of landless may be indicated as not so severe in Balochistan whereas the fact is that it is the most seriously affected province and the severely handicapped province has been made to suffer even more because the current fight against terror has severely affected the trading possibilities that were … Read entire article »
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