Pak Tea House » Entries tagged with "Military"
Pakistan’s Nuclear Program and Environmental Safety
By Behzad Taimur There is no other way to begin an article on Pakistan’s nuclear program and environmental safety than to begin directly, with no tamheed, as it is called in Urdu: whereas public discourse about Pakistan’s nuclear program has focused on its growing capabilities and the possibility of some of its elements falling into terrorists’ hands, discourse on the nuclear program and its possible negative impact on Pakistan’s environment has remained largely absent from public … Read entire article »
Filed under: Army, Environment, Regulatory Affairs
Tale of Musharraf’s Coup in 1999
Parvez Musharraf, ex-Dictator, landed in Karachi today, amid much fanfare(and while wearing a suicide jacket). He was ousted democratically on 18th August, 2008 and left the country. Pakistan has successfully completed transition from an elected government to a caretaker setup without direct intervention of the Military for the first time in its history. This does not mean we forget the history of military interventions and the disastrous consequences. To commemorate the arrival of Musharraf, we … Read entire article »
Filed under: Anniversery, Army, Civil Service, Constitution, Democracy, drama, History, ISI, Islamabad, Pakistan, Politics, Society, state, Uncategorized
PAKISTAN EIK NAZUK MORH PAR KARHA HAY………
by Dr Tariq Khan: Sounds familiar? To me, very much so. I have heard nothing else but, as I grew up from a beardless boy in the 50’s and 60’s, to the present. This is what each set of corrupt and incompetent “rulers” , whether Military or Civilian, have been telling us by way of a soother, while they picked our pockets with increasing brazenness. And not too much finesse. We seem to have got stuck on this Nazuk Morh, while others have surged on. Our arch enemy India is now way up there rubbing shoulders with the elite nations of this planet. But even Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh et al have all long overtaken us, while we are languishing on the Nazuk Morh with our 1950’s mindset and narrow Military … Read entire article »
Filed under: Pakistan
Nuclear Arsenal, Military and the Bruised Pakistani Identity
Raza Habib Raja. A few days ago, Pakistan ( or at least some Pakistanis) “celebrated” 14th anniversary of Nuclear blasts. Although over the years, I have become used to weird things being hailed and celebrated ( after all it is Pakistan) but this one has always baffled me and continues to baffle me. One of the biggest ironies of the nuclear arsenal is that I keep on hearing that it is protecting Pakistan from a US or … Read entire article »
Filed under: Uncategorized
Zardari: Made of tougher mettle
By Saria Benazir The rumors of an impending coup further perforate into the already adverse political situation in the country, following the memo gate issue. This is another incredible issue, much like the incredible memo-an unsigned paper seemingly no importance to the White House has subjugated the whole country to a farce played out by our very laudable Supreme Court and the establishment. And now this new addition furthers the attack on Pakistani democracy. The likelihood of President Asif Ali Zardari’s resignation, as stated by the American Foreign Policy blog has created a hullabaloo throughout the country, and people seem to have unquestioningly placed their convictions in that blog. The army and ISI already own Pakistan, what about the Head of State? Does the US decide the resignations of Pakistani officials as … Read entire article »
PTH Exclusive: Statement on Saleem Shahzad by Human Rights Watch
An PTH contributor has managed to obtain a copy of the statement given by Human Rights Watch (HRW) statement submitted at the Syed Saleem Shahzad Commission set up by the Government of Pakistan. This statement was made by Ali Dayan, Director Human Rights Watch. We are posting it without prejudice. Pakistan’s journalists and writers need protection and PTH fully supports all efforts to this effect. It should be noted that this statement is one of the many submissions and the final verdict is yet to come. Full statement as a pdf document is here: Ali Dayan Hasan HRW statement to SSS Commission An excerpt from the full statement below: Syed Saleem Shahzad was a reporter for the Hong Kong-based Asia Times Online and for Adnkronos International, the Italian news agency. My dealings with Shahzad were entirely … Read entire article »
Filed under: human rights, journalism, Pakistan
Pakistan and principle of Hegelian ‘contradiction’
Feroz Khan’s exclusive and provocative post for PTH which argues that “a country that was created in conflict, bred on the idea of conflict and sustained on the logic of conflict, it has to exist in a state of conflict”- comments and feedback vital I had meant to write an article for Pakistan Tea House in response to a request by Raza Rumi, but there seemed to be nothing left to write. There are fragments of other articles, few scattered paragraphs here and there, but there was simply no commitment on my part to see them to a finish. Friends kept asking me to write and offered ideas, but the first blush of an effort always seemed to fade with a glass of wine and some old blues guitar … Read entire article »
Filed under: Pakistan
2010: A roller coaster year
Raza Rumi Nearly three years after the restoration of civilian rule, the most pertinent question would be the fate of Pakistan’s democratisation and how far has it progressed. There can be no simple answers to this question given that Pakistan is in the midst of a war next door and battling against homegrown extremists. The conflict and 2010’s natural disaster in the shape of floods have adversely impacted the economy. Whilst the passage of 18th and 19th Amendment to the much mutilated Constitution have heralded political reforms, sadly, a comprehensive institutional reform agenda is nowhere in sight. At the end of 2010, we find ourselves facing the prospect of political instability due to a weak and opportunistic coalition and unresolved issues of civil-military imbalance. Democratisation scuttled?: The year started with increased pressure by … Read entire article »
Filed under: Democracy, Pakistan, public policy
The ardent messiah seekers
Raza Rumi A natural disaster, largely unavoidable, has provided a glorious opportunity to all those who have been hankering to reverse Pakistan’s fragile transition from an authoritarian to quasi-democratic rule. There is hardly a new script for the much-touted change and its proponents are using the same old tricks out of their worn out hats to prepare for a rollback of the democratic process. Therefore, the intense rumour-mongering, which has gripped Pakistani psyche over the last fortnight, is a tried and tested success formula: create the perception of change and then turn it into reality. Even though Pakistan’s military remains unwilling to intervene, regime-change seems to be the flavour of the month. Ironically, this time large sections of the electronic media are hyperactive participants in the process, which is most likely going … Read entire article »
Filed under: Pakistan, Politics, public policy
Devising a new framework for Indo-Pak peace
Raza Rumi Today the foreign ministers of Pakistan and India will meet. This major development should be welcomed. Sceptical noises of distrust in both countries have been heard and the Kashmiri leaders have issued rejectionist statements. Subcontinental leaderships have time and again floundered peace. Sometimes it is the recklessness on the Pakistani side and at other times the Indian officialdom chants the trust-deficit mantra. But this must end. Media wisdom about the BJP and the Pakistan … Read entire article »
Filed under: India, Pakistan, Pakistan-India Peace Process, strategy
Blowback in Lahore
We have posted Omar Ali`s previous post titled “The Dead Parrot” a few weeks back. Below we reproduce his comment on the Lahore massacre. Dr. Ali discusses compelling reasons why we are here and where we are heading towards from here. We did not get into this mess overnight and we will not get out of it soon enough. Too many innocent Pakistanis are losing their lives as Pakistan struggles to overcome its previous policy errors. PTH may not necessarily agree with all points raised in the following post (AZW) Blowback In Lahore By Omar Ali http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?265617 Terrorists (Punjabi Taliban) simultaneously attacked two Ahmedi sect mosques in Lahore during Friday prayers and killed over 80 people. First thoughts on this evil attack: The choice of target is easy to understand. Ahmedis are a persecuted and vilified minority in Pakistan … Read entire article »
Filed under: Al Qaeda, Army, FATA, History, Identity, India, Islam, Islamabad, Islamism, minorities, Pakistan, Religion, Rights, state, strategy, Taliban, USA, violence, war
Our Internal Demons
By Adnan Syed It has been 30 years since Pakistan took the fateful steps of sponsoring the Jihad on a state level. The fight against the Russian aggression in Afghanistan was probably justified. It was a blatant attack on a sovereign nation by a teetering super power. However when Pakistan went on to label the fight as a state sponsored Jihad, flock of die hard Islamists started congregating in Pakistan to fight the godless communists. This was precisely the turning point in Pakistani history when all the internal confusion of Pakistan’s relationship with Islam translated into a thoughtless action by the state that still haunts us to this day. We can blame General Zia-ul-Haq or Jamaat-e-Islami, or our dreaded indescribable “establishment” for pointing out the path of state sponsored armed Jihad. General … Read entire article »
Filed under: Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, Army, Benazir Bhutto, Constitution, Democracy, FATA, Islamabad, Jinnah, Justice, Liberal Democratic Pakistan, Pakistan, psychology, Religion, secular Pakistan, state, strategy, Taliban, Terrorism
Pakistan Weighs Attack on Militant Lair
By SABRINA TAVERNISE, CARLOTTA GALL and ISMAIL KHAN Published in The New York Times: April 29, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/world/asia/30pstan.html?hp ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The Pakistani military, long reluctant to heed American urging that it attack Pakistani militant groups in their main base in North Waziristan, is coming around to the idea that it must do so, in its own interests. Western officials have long believed that North Waziristan is the single most important haven for militants with Al Qaeda and the Taliban fighting American and NATO forces in Afghanistan. Pakistan has nurtured militant groups in the area for years in order to exert influence beyond its borders. The developing shift in thinking — described in recent interviews with Western diplomats and Pakistani security officials — represents a significant change for Pakistan’s military, which has moved against Taliban … Read entire article »
Filed under: Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, Army, FATA, India, Islamabad, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan, Taliban, Terrorism, USA
Giving credit where it is due
Published in the Daily Times Giving Credit Where it’s Due (Daily Times 04/26) By Agha Haidar Raza Pakistan recently had two major delegations visiting the US. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi led the first contingent under the auspices of a new ‘Strategic Dialogue’ with the US. In the second trip, Prime Minister Gilani led his team to President Obama’s first Nuclear Summit. Attended by over 47 heads of state, the summit was the largest gathering of world leaders to descend upon the US soil since the 1940s. Recognised as one of the world’s safe-keepers of a nuclear stockpile, Pakistan gained a nod of approval from the world’s seven nuclear bomb carriers. I am unaware if many journalists or citizens in Pakistan read foreign newspapers, magazines or even blogs, but over the course of the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Army, Benazir Bhutto, Constitution, Democracy, Economy, Egalitarian Pakistan, India, Islamabad, Judiciary, Liberal Democratic Pakistan, Pakistan, public policy, state, Taliban, Terrorism, USA, Yusuf Raza Gillani, Zardari
Whither civilian governance?
Raza Rumi While the gurus of security and international affairs continue to unpack and make sense of the high-profile and much-hyped Pak-US ‘strategic dialogue’, the people of Pakistan continue to ask questions about its direct relevance to their lives. If increased US investment in the energy sector and other poverty alleviation programmes would be outcomes of this exercise, perhaps there may be some hope for an ordinary Pakistani. However, it appears that the process of dialogue has harped on familiar tunes, adding to the sound and fury that defines Pak-US relations. If anything, the re-emergence of the Pakistan Army’s ascendancy over national affairs has been a direct result of the much touted “strategic” dialogue. The Pakistan Army and its leadership have already taken over the foreign policy and recent developments suggest that … Read entire article »
Filed under: Pakistan
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