Author Archive

  From Facebook statuses to Twitter tweets and from online blogs to statements by secessionists Baloch leaders published in Pakistani newspapers, I am perturbed to see the comparison of Balochistan to Kashmir. The innuendos of familiarity of the word plebiscite and self determination and how every Pakistani knows it well due to its [...]

I understand when tableeghis and Tahriris speak up against democracy and I understand when sons and daughters of military men do so, and I do get it when a significant educated yet politically indifferent middle class voices its opinion against democracy. But when those politically mature people fighting for civil rights and liberties, woman [...]

Mr. Nawaz Sharif has a plan. Well, he has always had a plan but this time he believes his plan will succeed. The PPP led government will indeed topple. His plan seems fool proof. And though he may want to sugarcoat the fact all he wants, it will be through another band of uniformed men. Substitute the boot for the black coat, and there you go, [...]

According to the latest figures released by Transparency International, Pakistan has improved its score there by becoming a 'little less corrupt'. Pakistan improved its score from 2.3 last year to 2.5 this jumping 9 spots from 143 to 134. This year's survey included 183 territories as opposed to 178 surveyed last year. As per the prevalent policy, [...]

I was appalled to see the highlights of the PML-N rally in Lahore today. Shahbaz Sharif was insistent on killing Zardari and derailing democracy. I saw at least two instances which were frankly unacceptable. Firstly, the threat in unequivocal terms that 'hum tumhein aur tumhare hawariyon ko issi chowk mein ulta latka de ge' and Secondly, [...]

With many in Pakistan still wooing for Taliban victory in Afghanistan, let's glance through the decrees issued under this short yet 'glorious' rule. Here are some of the laws issued by the Taliban government in Afghanistan. ■The government declared: “A denier of veil is an infidel and an unveiled woman is lewd.” ■The veil must [...]

  Pakistan’s embassies and high commissions all over the world should be transformed from being bureaucratic and didactic operations into proactive and innovative sales and marketing outlets for Pakistani textiles and other produce When the Bolsheviks came to power in November 1917, electrification of the newly born Soviet Union [...]

This morning I woke up to find the news of masked men entering a school in Rawalpindi and thrashing students and teachers for dressing inappropriately. The absence of the news from electronic media evidences the lack of freedom and an apparent ideological bias that plagues the Pakistani media. With such direct and indirect pressure one must salute [...]

With a mix of horror and disbelief I watched the footage from Mattani where a school van was ambushed by militants. Even for senses numbed by scores of bombings every year, this came as a shock because the victims were children (aged between 8 to 14 years), and were deliberately targeted. One would think that even the most shameless of villains [...]

پیش لفظ: بی بی سی اردو  پر شائع ہونے والے اس آرٹیکل کا خلاصہ لکھنا مقصود تھا لیکن اس جامع مضمون میں کٹوتی کرنا نا انصافی ہوگا۔ پیش ہے ہم پاکستانیوں کا اعمالنامہ جس سے صاف ظاہر ہے کہ آج دہشتگردی [...]

Cross posted from تاریخ نامہ The article was written in response to Mr Ejaz Haider's article It's not just Mr Tharoor! maligning Pakistan's civilian leadership and perpetuating the lies about the 1965 Indo-Pak war that continue to occupy our textbooks. The article originally written on 27 July 2011 has been posted to [...]

حڪمران پاڪستان پيپلز پارٽيءَ جي مرڪزي وزير داخله رحمان ملڪ ۽ سنڌي اتحادي ڌر متحده قومي موومينٽ جي فرمائش تي اڄ کان ڇهه مهينا اڳ ۾ صدر آصف علي زرداريءَ پنهنجي سڀ کان پُراڻي ۽ ويجهي ۾ ويجهي ساٿي [...]

  Cross Posted from Express Tribune Blogs It was only a matter of time anyway. A few days ago, a police officer along with his squad burst into the Nairang Art Gallery and beat up the female curator for wearing a sleeveless dress and interacting with men. The police officer, a SHO, was perturbed by the ‘fahash’ ambience of [...]

Strolling across various Pakistani blogs, I came across a post which very aptly displays one aspect of Pakistani media that is a playing a very significant part in plaguing the Pakistani urban classes with mass depression. The entertainment industry in Pakistani leaves one depressed and saddened leaving one curious as to what in world are they [...]

Ms Khar's elevation to the stature of the Foreign Minister of Pakistan has had a mixed response from the media. The far right found the decision ridiculous, the majority showing indifference taking it as another foolish decision of the incompetent government while the reader's curiosity was satiated by the juicy stories about her. . On the [...]

  اڄ 21 جون تي شهيد محترمه بينظير ڀٽو جو جنم ڏينهن آهي، هن 1953ع ۾ اڄوڪي ڏينهن تي جنم ورتو. سندس نالو بينظير معني ”لاثاني“ رکيو ويو ۽ وقت ثابت ڪيو ته واقعي هو لاثاني ۽ بي مثال هئي، جنهن کي دنيا [...]

جڏهن ملڪن تي آفتون اينديون آهن ته ڏکي وقت کي منهن ڏيڻ لاءِ هو تدبر، نماڻائي، خود تنقيد ۽ خود احتسابي کان ڪم وٺندا آهن، پر هن ملڪ ۾ اهي سموريون خاصيتون سياسي ۽ عسڪري قيادت کان بعيد آهن. هر ڪنهن کي [...]

16th May 2011’s imperative news was that US Special Forces have been asked by the Pakistan’s GHQ to wind up and go. Some sources reported that most of the US troops have already left the country. These troops were sent to Pakistan in January 2008, during the initial days of COAS Gen Kayani as well as the civilian PPP government. Pakistani [...]

The President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari embarked on a historic tour of the Russian Federation on 11 May 2011. This was a historic three day state visit, first by a Pakistani head of state or government in over thirty years at a time when Pakistan faces the threat of international isolation. Even without the increased importance due to the OBL [...]

Har nayay din ke saath humaaray munsif-e-aala urf Tunno aik aisa tabsara kertay hain ke ke har jamhooriyat pasand shehri baithay bithhaye bilbila uthta hai. Lagta hai Musharraf ki kitab Kakkoo kay Kaarnamay (jisay baaz loag ghalti se In the Line of Fire bhi kehtay hain) ke baad ab nayi kitab Tunnoo ke Tabsaray bhi jald shaya hogi. ہر نئے [...]

The Lahore High Court Bar Association has passed a resolution condemning the killing of Governor Punjab Salman Taseer and Minister Shahbaz Bhatti. The ever so enthusiastic lawyers community of Lahore have condemned the murder with a carefully worded resolution that diverts all attention and likewise condemnation immediately to a political [...]

While the nation mourns the systematic murder of its minorities, there is another murder taking place in the Supreme Court of Pakistan. A four member bench of Supreme Court has ruled that the Parliamentary Committee's rejection of six additional judges of high court is void and ordered the Executive to issue notifications for appointing the [...]

Oh wow. We've all become so used to the hyperbole of the Western and local language English press around Pakistan Fashion Weeks, that it is sometimes easy to forget how a significant section of society in Pakistan views them. And who better to represent that view than our intrepid Khalifa-ul-Waqt, Ansar Abbasi, who can and will hold forth on [...]

Related article On Syed Talat Hussain, Angelina Jolie and Pakistan’s pseudo-liberals Syed Talat Hussain 'was' an esteemed columnist, television host and journalist of Pakistan, until today when he targeted someone for following their own harmless cultural norms. In his column in the Urdu daily Express News, he targets the famous [...]

The Foot in Mouth award is awarded each year by the Plain English Campaign for a baffling comment in English language by a prominent figure. The comment can be inappropriate for being queer in grammar or content or both. The English proverb after which the award is named, 'foot in the mouth', simply means a distasteful or foul oration. The [...]

The honourable judges of the Lahore High Court continue to leave no stone unturned in disgracing the institution of judiciary in Pakistan. On 11th October 2010 the court granted bail to the PML-N leader Sohail Zia Butt and suspended his three year sentence given in absentia. The verdict is in line with every verdict given in Pakistan and [...]

Related article: What Pakistan did right in response to the massive floods in 2010 – by C. Christine Fair The floods that wreaked havoc in the country were of Biblical proportions, however, they compare nothing to the propaganda unleashed upon the political ruling class of the current setup by the independent media. To the average urban [...]

It becomes clearer by each passing day that the calls for accountability, fairness and sense of social responsibility by media, judiciary and the so-called civil society of Pakistan are nothing but a sham. It became all too clear when media launched an attack on a very carefully worded resolution passed by the Punjab Assembly against the yellow [...]

Badalta hai rung aasmaan kaisay kaisay, is a famous verse of Aatish's couplet that has become a cliche in Urdu political writings. Yet I found out today that cliches are cliches for a reason. The full couplet goes as follows, zameen-e-chamn gul khilati hai kia kia, badalta hai rang aasmaan kaise kaise! A rough translation would [...]