‘Featured’ Archives

Not unlike other areas of Pakistan, Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) has  suffered numerous incidents of anti-Shia violence in the last few months. In the recent wave of anti-Shia violence by Jihadi-Deobandi militant group Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaast (ASWJ), so far at least 26 lives have been lost, most of them Shias abut also a few ASWJ-SSP militants, and [...]

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto is a known political phenomenon. Bhutto, not only a political leader, is someone who created new kind of politics in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, first state to be created in the name of Islam. He blessed the country with a constitution that had never been gifted in 26 years, a formal declaration of a country that came [...]

Justice delayed is justice denied. On 30th March, 2012, the Supreme Court of Pakistan declared the Rental Power projects as illegal. A two-member bench comprising of the Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain was hearing the suo motu case whose verdict had been reserved on 14th December, 2011. Oh, what was that? [...]

Related post: Two important speeches on ZAB’s 33rd death anniversary We applaud PPP chairman, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, on his bold speech on the 33rd Death Anniversary of Pakistan's first elected Prime Minister and PPP founder, Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.  In a show of courage that was reminesent of his mother, Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir [...]

Related post: We applaud Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s bold message to pro-rapist Islamofascist judiciary 4th April is a day when the PPP comes out as a victor against the forces that have tried their best to create hurdles in its way. Thousands of party workers, leaders and supporters reach Larkana every year to pay respects to Shaheed Zulfikar [...]

GILGIT: Gunmen opened fire and killed fifteen passengers in Chillas, Geo News reported. According to official sources, the passengers were taken off buses, their Shia identity verified, and were then killed. Six buses were also set ablaze. Earlier, curfew was imposed in Gilgit when four people were killed and 45 injured in clashes [...]

This post is especially for my PTI comrades and for my heroes Samad Khurram, Meera Ghani and Fundy Kasoori. I am appalled to read the pro-drone article (by Pir Zubair Shah) which is an insult to the great articles written by Fundy Kasuri, Samad Khurram and Meera Ghani on the topic of opposing drones. It is an insult to the memory of [...]

Fakhra Younus, an acid-attack victim, committed suicide less than a month ago – a horrid crime leading to a murder. Not many would be uninformed about the incident and unaware of the woman herself; for, it received heavy media attention followed by prolonged criticism and condemnation by different segments of the society. The subject of the [...]

A report in today’s issue of the Express Tribune reads, in part, as follows: “When students appearing for the compulsory Urdu paper in Lahore on Wednesday morning turned to the multiple-choice section, they were in for some surprises. One question asked: Who is responsible for Pakistan’s security? Options were: God, Zardari, Gilani [...]

Related posts: Abdul Khaliq Hazara and the ethnic cleansing narrative – by Marya Mushtaq List of non-Hazara Shia Muslims killed by SSP-LeJ-Taliban in Balochistan – by Marya Mushtaq New Twitter activists against Shia genocide in Pakistan Jihadi-sectarian militants of the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (new name Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat ASWJ) [...]

Related post: MWM must not act as a Shia version of Difa-e-Pakistan Council In the absence of any support from the government and secular-progressive lobbies, civil society activists, human rights groups; and in the presence of active and tacit involvement by the security establishment, judiciary and media regarding Shia genocide in Pakistan, [...]

ام الاخبائث سوچ کو شکست دینا ہوگی تحریر: امام بخش ۱۹۵۲ سے لے کر آج تک ھماری فوجی قیادت ہمیشہ سے سمجھتی آئی ہے کہ پاکستان میں ہر چیز اس کے تابع ہونی چاہیےاور ملک کے ہر معاملے میں صرف اس کی گرفت [...]

Today the Baloch nation is observing black day to mark its annexation to Pakistan. For me it is not a black day it is a day I want to celebrate. I want to celebrate because it gave me the occasion to grow up with these lovely people known as the Baloch. I want to celebrate my Baloch friends, my Baloch students, my Baloch relatives and many of them [...]

Related posts: AHRC Statement: “It is hard to refute the accusation that military is involved in killing of Shias in Pakistan”. This is how Pakistani media misrepresents Shia Muslims rally in Pakistan Tens of thousands of Shia Muslims and representatives of other persecuted communities participated in the Quran-o-AhleBait Conference in [...]

We condemn harassment of Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) by the ISI (Pakistan army's spy agency). In contrast to the shameful silence of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), Amnesty International (AI) and other human rights groups on the ongoing and systematic genocide of Shia Muslims in Pakistan, AHRC has published honest and [...]

Hmmm . . . where are the protests in the streets of Karachi and Cairo, outrage in London and Washington over this apartheid policy by haters of Shi’ite Muslims?  Where are all the vocal Muslim groups (Jamaat-e-Islami, Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, Hizb-ut-Tahrir, Jamaat-ud-Dawa etc), angered that a country is rounding up Shi’ite Muslims and [...]

  Its not the news that sells, its speculation on the news that does. But its never a good omen, when subjudice legal cases become subject to speculation, its almost as heinous as gambling, perhaps even more. Talk shows and talking head pundits are all full of many speculations, headlines full of odd connotations. All making sure that [...]

Related posts: Misrepresentation of Shia genocide In the last week, DAWN has published atleast 2 articles/editorials that dishonestly obscure the carnage faced by the Shia Muslims across the lenght and breadth of Pakistan. Last month, Huma Yusuf's dishonest and lazy articulation was deconstructed here. Similarly, just a few days ago, Naziha [...]

My mother can never forget the gloomy day of 10th of Muharram in the year 1963 when the dead body of her brother was brought home. He was among the hundreds of Shia Muslims slaughtered while commemorating Ashura in Theri, a suburb of Khairpur, Pakistan. Suicide bomb attacks not having been introduced back then, the perpetrators made use of axes [...]

Editor's note: The following is an unusual post because it is based on a facebook conversation between three persons. However, the topic under discussion and the debate itself may not only provide some useful food for thought on an important topic but may also help start further debate. Happy reading! (Shaheryar Ali) Shaheryar Ali (SA): What do [...]

 عوام میں پھیلاے گئے چند مفروضات  اور ان کے مختصر جوابات  پاکستان میں جمہوریت چل نہیں سکتی  جواب : کیوں کیا پاکستان کوئی دنیا کا انوکھا ملک ہے ،انڈیا پاکستان سے پانچ گنا بڑا ہے جہاں غربت [...]

اورلامیریجان ایک بڑے   مصنف، شاعر، افسانہ نویس، ناول نویس، تاریخ دان، معیشت دان، سائنسدان، سیاستدان، غرض کہ ہمہ دان ہیں، اور ہمارے دوست مجید کے بقول بلاۓ جان بھی ہیں، مگر یہ آپس کی بات ہے اور [...]

The Pakistan Peoples Party which is always reeling under pressure from its arch rival – PML-N and the alliance of Teen Jeem i.e. Jurnail, Journalists and Judges, seems to be relaxed for the first time in the last four years. After the “Memogate” fizzled out and the PPP government showed some character by taking on the “Ghairat Brigade”, [...]

A bomb explodes in a market, some 80 people die and 100s get injured. Can anyone tell me the identity of those who lost their lives? Do bombs differentiate when they explode that I am only going to hurt the person belonging to this faith, this ethnicity or the one who speaks this language? Energy crisis is the worst ever in our history, is it [...]

Editor's note: We are cross-posting a thought provoking article by Dr. Siddiqa which was recently published in The Friday Times. This is an important theoretical piece, which may be used as guidance document for further analysis. It provides the theoretical structure to understand Pakistan; supports the hypothesis of two shades of Pakistani [...]

Pakistan’s top fiction writer, Shaheen Sehbai, who should be writing novels than editing newspapers while sitting in Dubai is in deep shock for the last many months. having written many a script that has never taken off, he is now forced to write his reports and involve the name of President Asif Zardari for one reason or the other. The report [...]

Ansar Abbasi who is known for his rabid attacks on the PPP and those who are its allies, is known to have a soft corner for the PML-N. He is on record saying that PML-N is leading a good government in Punjab as there is no “krupshion” and “bad gavernunce” in the province. Off course, when you are a paid agent of the party, you are [...]

Here are some quick comments on the Stratfor emails (via WikiLeaks) that point towards late Saleem Shahzad’s possible affiliation with two intelligence agencies, ISI (previous affiliation) and CIA (affiliation at the time of his murder). Despite our unconditional and forceful condemnation of Saleem Shahzad's murder by the Deep State, we do [...]

Related posts: 71 Shia Muslims target killed in Pakistan during February 2012  58 Shia Muslims killed in Pakistan during January 2012 Nadeem F. Paracha is Pakistan's leading progressive columnist whose articles and blogs are regularly published at Dawn newspaper. While Nadeem has written on many important topics on Pakistani politics, [...]

We at LUBP always condemn all sorts of religious persecution and violence against Pakistan's oppressed groups in the strongest possible terms. Meanwhile, the religious persecution of the infidels (read non-Muslims) by the fanatic mindset continues. It is not uncommon in Islamic Republic of Pakistan that minor girls and even married women from [...]

In our childhood, whenever we told a lie and were caught, our elders gave us a piece of advice “Aik jhoot sabit karnay kay liye 100 jhoot bolnay partay hayn” or “To prove one lie, you need to tell 100 more lies”. Off course, how we act on this piece of advice depends on the circumstances, but it seems our media which is hell bent on [...]

Recently I read two excellent articles on the systematic murder of Shia Muslims in Pakistan, by Marvi Sirmed (in Daily Times, 5 March 2012) and Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy (in Express Tribune, 4 March 2012). While I laud the honest and bold highlighting of Shia genocide (and persecution of other oppressed groups) in Pakistan by the two authors, one [...]

The fundamental confusion in analyzing Pakistan is the neglect of her foundational myth. A country locked in history and geography. Without taking into account the character of Pakistani nationalism, its various shades it is not possible to analyse the crisis of Pakistani state. Both shades of Pakistani nationalism, the civil or so called [...]

The government of Pakistan Peoples Party, always living under the shadow of swords hanging over it, has fulfilled a promise it made in the aftermath of the devastating floods of 2010. It has with the necessary support and assistance of donor countries and a renowned developer of Pakistan, Bahria Town, has handed over 143 houses in a Mohtarma [...]

When a woman hits another woman, in normal cases it’s an assault. If there are many witnesses, good, the assailant gets punished quickly. Open and Shut case, we move on. But Pakistan doesn't do normal; even our assaults have deeper meanings and ramifications behind them. The Act When the, now MPA, Waheeda Shah slapped an on duty election [...]

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz PML-N's president and the chief minister of Pakistan's most populous province Punjab Mian Shahbaz Sharif once proudly claimed that PML-N and Taliban share same ideological background. He publicly requested the Taliban to stop targeting the Punjab province and support anti-West provincial government. The PML-N is [...]

Related posts: Shia massacre in Gilgit: Media apathy and misrepresentation of Shia genocide in Pakistan Kohistan Shia massacre: Those committing genocides in Pakistan and their handlers are repeat offenders – by Dr. Mohammad Taqi Last time it happened they called it the Holocaust. The Nazis did not annihilate the Jews for what they had [...]

Related posts: Shia massacre in Gilgit: Media apathy and misrepresentation of Shia genocide in Pakistan Those committing genocides in Pakistan and their handlers are repeat offenders – by Dr. Mohammad Taqi In a cold blooded attack by men in uniforms of the Pakistan Army, 18 persons from the Shiite community of Islam were targeted and [...]

Related posts: AHRC Report: It is hard to refute the accusation that military is involved in killing of Shias in Pakistan Those committing genocides in Pakistan and their handlers are repeat offenders – by Dr. Mohammad Taqi Today's massacre of at least 20 Shia Muslimss in Gilgit brings the tally of murdered and injured Shias close to 250 [...]

  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 [...]