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
Fallacies that befuddle the ‘educated’ Pakistani mind
by Abdul Majeed Wise people always say, Do not try to present complex matters in black and white terms as it will defeat the purpose. To quote Paul Valery: “That which is simple is always false; that which is not simple is always unusable”. Kala Kawa, a widely read blogger, recently wrote, “Something I Wrote On Pakistan Day”. In that particular blogpost, the blogger expressed his opinion about “confronting your own biases or assumptions” and “middle class … Read entire article »
Filed under: Al Qaeda, Conservation, Islam, Islamism, Pakistan, Politics, Society, Taliban, Terrorism, Women
The Curious Case of Difa e Pakistan Council
Difa-e-Pakistan is an Urdu word meaning Defense of Pakistan. Difa-e-Pakistan Council means a council willing to/responsible for defending Pakistan. The semantics dictate that the said council should comprise of representatives of the armed forces, the para-military forces, domestic law enforcement agencies, defense ministry and foreign ministry. In fact, the esteemed council that has come to the fore recently consists of none of the above. In the words of the journalist Ejaz Haider, it’s a “circus”. Much … Read entire article »
Filed under: Democracy, Islam, Pakistan, Politics, Society, Taliban, Terrorism, Uncategorized
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 »
Five Myths About Pakistan
We are cross posting this short but insightful post by Anatol Lieven where he discusses the five popular myths about Pakistan. In our view, these myths as much of a must-read for non-Pakistanis as they are for the Pakistani nation. (Editors, PTH) … Read entire article »
Filed under: Islam, Islamism, Pakistan, Religion, state, Taliban
The evil in our midst
By Saad Hafiz: “The Taliban are trying to purify our culture, they are trying to re-establish a purist Islamic culture and tradition,” a young middle class IT professional explained to me in Toronto in 1996. What worried me then was that this person was not a Taliban madrasah graduate living in Pakistan but a professional living in and enjoying the fruits of the “decadent” West. I remembered an earlier ideology based on purification … Read entire article »
Filed under: Taliban
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
The Empire strikes back
By Saad Hafiz “I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden” a resolute looking President Obama announced to the world. America had violently dealt with another Public Enemy ala Billy the Kid, Bonnie and Clyde and John Dillinger. The moment smacks of frontier justice, but it was the only choice given the alternative of a long, drawn out trial and probable execution. Once the hoopla dies down, America must go back to addressing its growing 14 trillion dollar national debt and chronic 9% unemployment rate. Progress on cutting the debt and reducing unemployment will count more towards Obama’s reelection prospects than a dead Bin Laden. That Bin Laden had to be a US kill was a … Read entire article »
Legality of the Drone Attacks
By Yasser Latif Hamdani (First published in The Friday Times) The question of legality of American drone strikes in Pakistan’s tribal areas is one that hits at the core of the laws of war and international law. Two questions need to be asked for us to better understand this debate. 1) Is the use of American drones on Pakistani soil to kill insurgents illegal? 2) Is the use of drone technology to target specific members of the Al Qaeda or Taliban permissible under international and American law? … Read entire article »
Filed under: Taliban
Release Osama’s Final Photo President Obama!
By D. Asghar President Obama’s decision not to release Osama’s final photo will not sit well with many. Personally, I wanted him to do that, as he is underestimating the backlash. If he is afraid of the “Jihadis” going bonkers, then he is trying to reason with the wrong guys, isn’t he? For them it doesn’t matter, they see and thrive on such images, perhaps all day long. Remember, such people behead people and blow dissenters or unsuspecting people into smithereens. The signal President Obama is sending that, yes we are trying to be thoughtful of your sensitivities. It is not going to sit well with skeptics (my self included), the victims and for the rest of the inquisitive world. There will be this cloud of mystery surrounding this whole event. … Read entire article »
Sohaib Athar’s Tweets from the attack on Osama bin Laden – read them all below
By Melissa Bell According to his Twitter stream @reallyvirtual, Sohaib Athar moved from Lahore, Pakistan to the resort town of Abbottabad to take a break from the rat race. It seems he didn’t move far enough. On Sunday, Athar found himself smack in the center of one of the year’s biggest news events. Scroll down to see his Twitter stream. (Sohaib Athar’s Twitter profile photo) A 33-year-old IT consultant, Athar was on Twitter when the sound of a … Read entire article »
Taliban Using CDs for radicalizing Masses
This video from BBC is a real eye opener as it shows that Taliban are increasingly and unfortunately effectively using tools of mass media to reach out to masses. The video shows that CDs which advocate Jihad are easily available in the leading markets of the Peshawar city and at dirt cheap prices. Due to persistent military action against the Taliban, their military prowess may have been reduced but they have more than compensated military setbacks with very effective propaganda warfare. The short documentary highlights the importance of stricter action by the Government as these propaganda tools are achieving success in radicalizing the impressionable section population. Taliban do not need mass popularity as they do not aspire to come into power through the ballot box. All they need is a … Read entire article »
Imran Khan: a Taliban Goebbels?
By Dr Mohammad Taqi The PTI and its leader are perhaps politically insignificant, but conceding space to such Ziaist propaganda has the potential to radicalise the nation, especially our youth. Fortunately, Mr Khan is not perceived as an American stooge — he is seen as a Taliban apologist “The lowest form of popular culture — lack of information, misinformation, disinformation, and a contempt for the truth or the reality of most people’s lives — has overrun real journalism. Today, ordinary Americans are being stuffed with garbage” — Carl Bernstein, US journalist. Perhaps ordinary Pakistanis are not much better off either. But it is not just the journalists embedded with the jihadists who are peddling nonsense. Among the politicians, Mr Imran Khan keeps outdoing himself in the craft of black propaganda. He has been stuffing … Read entire article »
Imran Khan in Taliban peace spotlight
By Syed Saleem Shahzad Imran Khan, the former Pakistan cricket captain turned politician, is in the spotlight as Pakistan develops a roadmap for reconciliation with the Taliban that aims to close down the war theater inside its borders. Khan, who leads the opposition Tehrik-e-Insaaf party, has emerged as a potential prime minister after the country’s military oligarchs built a consensus that peace is unlikely in the absence of out-of-the-box thinking and that an internationally credible person is needed to lead the process. Serving and retired military officers and academics, businessmen and politicians sense that neither the current Pakistan military and political leadership, norAfghan President Hamid Karzai, has the ability to deliver a result. They believe the best hope lies in a person who can be trusted in all quarters – by the … Read entire article »
Terror’s Training Ground
By Ayesha Siddiqa A few years ago, I met some young boys from my village near Bahawalpur who were preparing to go on jihad. They smirked politely when I asked them to close their eyes and imagine their future. “We can tell you without closing our eyes that we don’t see anything.” It was not entirely surprising. South Punjab is a region mired in poverty and underdevelopment. There are few job prospects for the youth. While the government … Read entire article »
Filed under: Pakistan, Punjabi, Religion, Taliban, Terrorism
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