Extinguished hope
By Ahsan Kureshi A friend, who shares my ‘liberal’ perspective on almost all things, inquired why I was surprised on what had happened. ‘Shouldn’t we be used to all this?’ His question got me thinking. Are we actually so drowned in the wetsand of fanaticism that the call of an auction of the ‘Holy weapon of Qadri’ was not even a head-turner? Are we bent upon staying fearful and oblivious to all that we deem as absurd? Is a debate on the said topic too much to ask for? Too volatile of a question with a ‘playing-with-a-knife’ consequence? Indeed and sadly yes; atleast, that’s what it seems. What saddens me today the most is the biases of the pioneers of the ‘freedom-of-speech’ manifesto, the media. The morning newspaper (5th Jan) that greeted me today, … Read entire article »
Filed under: liberal Pakistan, Media, Opinion, Terrorism
Mumbai Massacre Part 2
By D. Asghar As these lines are being written, over 20 precious lives are no more in Mumbai. 100 plus people are injured and as reports trickle in, sadly the number of impacted physically, keeps on rising. People of Mumbai have barely recovered from the 2008 terrorist attacks and now this. Many speculations and opinions came to fore almost instantaneously, thanks to electronic media and twitteriti. Some were just down right stupid as usual and some were worth paying attention to. The electronic media reported just yesterday that, India has given a list of most wanted criminals to Pakistan. Mostly people related to terrorism and related senseless acts. Its a pity that we have (supposedly) within our boundaries, responsible for such heinous acts. It is equally damning to hear rebuttals, which are proven … Read entire article »
Filed under: India, Pakistan, Pakistan-India Peace Process, Terrorism, violence, war
The Afghanistan Stalemate
By Saad Hafiz: It is getting very difficult after the Bin Laden episode to explain Pakistan’s doublespeak on terrorism and the Taliban to increasingly skeptical Western friends. The ambiguous Pakistani terrorism strategy of running with the hare and hunting with the hounds is now recognized as official State policy. The Islamabad mantra describes “good” or “moderate” Taliban as those that are engaged in a nationalist struggle against coalition forces in Afghanistan. The good Taliban are expected to … Read entire article »
Filed under: Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, Terrorism
Our silence is audible in their blood
By Kiran Nazish: While I was secretly praying for 31st May to pass without any bad news; the month that broke hell in Pakistan with Osama’s revelation on May 1st and subsequently followed by 8 attacks, most on military and others on US, NATO and Saudi reps and disposals. My wistful thoughts succumbed to a phone call by Anita (Mrs. Saleem Shahzad); complaining he hasn’t returned yet past the given time he was supposed to be … Read entire article »
Saleem Shahzad’s Passing: And The Score Is Despair 3, Hope 0
By D. Asghar Nothing can be more disheartening, than news of someone’s brutal murder. This year started out with a tragic and insane murder of Governor Salman Taseer in Islamabad. That killer who was supposed to be the “bodyguard”, Mumtaz Qadri surrendered on the spot. Or else we would still be looking for Taseer’s assassin. The indifferent attitude of many was appalling. Their callous and cruel display towards his point of view was to say the least, beyond shameful. It was followed by the equally gruesome murder of the Minorities Minister, Shahbaz Bhatti. He was gunned down and till date his killers are perhaps roaming. Of course his life was not such a precious thing to many, perhaps because of his belief. In both of these cases, the cold and crazy … Read entire article »
Filed under: Democracy, journalism, Liberal Democratic Pakistan, Pakistan, secular Pakistan, Terrorism
Our collective psychosis
By Raza Rumi Pakistan’s right wing has flourished on the crutches of a national security doctrine: A world view, which prioritises paranoia and ‘security’ of ideological and geographical frontiers. Never mind if the majority of Pakistanis have no access to water and sanitation or the public education and health systems have virtually collapsed. The events of May 2011 cast a long shadow over the merits of investing in security institutions and fuelling patriotism with conspiracies. First, the poster-Shaikh of anti-Americanism has been ‘eliminated’ when the mighty guardians were asleep. The new round of WikiLeaks cables reveals anecdotal evidence of civil-military acquiescence to the grand designs of ‘evil’ America, including the nasty drones that kill civilians. And now, the latest attack on a well-guarded naval base and destruction of high-value military equipment has jolted us all. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Terrorism
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
Is It America’s War Really?
By D. Asghar Is it “America’s War” really? If so then why is Pakistan facing the worst of it. Why is Pakistan taking so many casualties on a daily basis? How many more “conspiracies” do we need to wake us up from our deep slumber? If anything PNS Mehran incident should be an eye opener for those who are in delusion about the real enemy. Throngs of “patriots” gathered barely 24 hours ago, prior to this horrific incident, sending a strong message to their perceived enemy, “No more drones” and “No more violation of our sovereignty.” Whether it was Peshawar or Karachi, the right wingers were spewing their same old anti US rhetoric. Yet completely ignoring the real enemy, actually dismissing any such impression as a malicious propaganda. Those in denial … Read entire article »
There’s a Pakistan beyond the ISI and terror; wish it was stronger
By Anshul Chaturvedi General VP Malik’s book, “Kargil – From Surprise To Victory” is not quite what I expected to see on the shelf at the bookstore in the Sheraton lobby in Karachi; but then, after Katrina staring at me from hoardings extolling the virtues of Lux body wash and Veet hair remover, and an improbably rosy-cheeked Kareena pitching in for Head and Shoulder from her billboards, after seeing skimpily dressed babes walking the ramp on a … Read entire article »
Osama bin Laden didn’t win, but he was ‘enormously successful’
By Ezra Klein Did Osama bin Laden win? No. Did he succeed? Well, America is still standing, and he isn’t. So why, when I called Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, a counterterrorism expert who specializes in al-Qaeda, did he tell me that “bin Laden has been enormously successful”? There’s no caliphate. There’s no sweeping sharia law. Didn’t we win this one in a clean knockout? Apparently not. Bin Laden, according to Gartenstein-Ross, had a strategy that we never bothered to understand, and thus that we never bothered to defend against. What he really wanted to do — and, more to the point, what he thought he could do — was bankrupt the United States of America. After all, he’d done the bankrupt-a-superpower thing before. And though it didn’t quite work out this time, it worked a … Read entire article »
Amid vows of revenge, cries of indignation, young men hold funeral prayers for Bin Laden
By Saba Imtiaz Supporters of the banned Islamic organisation Jamaatud Dawa hold up their hands while shouting anti-American slogans before a symbolic funeral prayer for Osama bin Laden. PHOTO: REUTERS KARACHI: “I will go fight jihad too,” said a madrassa student proudly. But when asked how he planned to do this with a ‘scholarly education’, not one in handling arms, he remarked, “I am being given training. I will go.” … Read entire article »
Pakistan’s Deep State – After OBL
By AA Khalid America Gets Closure The Deep State in Pakistan received a shock and a major blow with the death of Bin Laden. Under the noses of the Army and Intelligence services the world’s most wanted man resided in idyllic tranquillity, whilst the streets of Iraq and Afghanistan burnt at the hands of an angry and wounded United States. The US constructed its foreign policy based on anger after 9/11, but it should have heeded the words of Benjamin Franklin, that, ‘‘Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame’’. Iraq and Afghanistan will end in shame; America gave up on its own values of liberty and freedom to pursue senseless wars, corrupting its very soul in front of the world’s eyes. But with the death of the man who can only be … Read entire article »
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 »
Notes on the Death of Osama bin Laden
By Steve Coll No doubt there will be time to reflect more deeply about the news announced by President Obama last night. For now, I thought it might be useful to annotate some of the initial headlines. On where he was found: Abbottabad is essentially a military-cantonment city in Pakistan, in the hills to the north of the capital of Islamabad, in an area where much of the land is controlled or owned by the Pakistani Army and retired … Read entire article »
PTH biweekly Cartoon
Picture of the Week
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Sunrise at the Arabian Sea, Charna Island
24 Dec 2011
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