Posts Tagged ‘Establishment’

Make so much noise that everything becomes inaudible-then people would hear what we want them to hear. This is how the Pakistani Establishment is controlling the game at the moment - It is very clear who is who, and what is what. But because of a concentrated effort to remove the current Government and head of state, all the other noises and all [...]

Friday 30th December, 2011 will be remembered as one of the blackest days in Pakistan's political history and also the blackest day of judiciary when the army-backed Supreme Court declared Nawaz Sharif's petition on the memo controversy maintainable and constituted a three-member commission to probe into a case carefully crafted by the [...]

President Asif Ali Zardari got sick and had to go to the UAE to get medically looked after. The media began to talk most blatantly about his ‘exit’ from Pakistan without realising what it would look like to anyone looking in from outside the country. The visceral, non-intellectual approach to the issue of the president’s illness conveyed the [...]

Originally posted at: PASHTUN CHRONICLE Pakistan’s pro-establishment media, journalists, pundits and spin doctors are relentlessly trying to usher in a possible new alternative to the current traditional political class of the country- led by PPP and PML (N). A day hardly passes by when one does not see pressers, articles and talk shows [...]

I told my nine year old daughter to dismantle the tent that she was hanging out in and was set up inside the room. She ignored me in her usual nine years old way -- pretending she did not hear me. At my insistence, she dismantled the tent, and then said "here, now I have dismantled the oppressive establishment". This must be the line she heard on [...]

Editor's Note:  In cross-posting Dr. Taqi's article from Outlook India, we at LUBP stand vindicated on our blunt stance in exposing Fake Civil Society (FCS).  This group of candle-holding Tweeples and  urban elites have failed miserably in even confronting the bigotry of the military establishment spokespeople like Ejaz Haider.  This once [...]

Editor's Note: We are publishing the following article by Farrukhzad Ali and would also recommend his earlier article, Shia Hazaras of Queta: Entrapped in deep state’s delinquent and obedient proxies – by Farrukhzad Ali.  Currently, LUBP is relentlessly castigated for sowing disunity amongst the self-annointed "Tweeple Brigade"- the 30 odd [...]

ACADEMICS who work on the political economy of Pakistan have no doubt in their minds that Pakistan’s military, primarily its army, remains the dominant power in any equation regarding the distribution and use of power and force in Pakistan. Despite the recent, softer transitions in the balance and distribution of power which have created far [...]

The Saudis as well as their Gulf Arab cousins are arming the Taliban. This influx of foreign money and religious ideology is causing irreparable damage to the national identity and integrity as well as the centuries old cultural heritage of Pakistan Since its birth as an independent state, the Pakistani military establishment has focused [...]

The Supreme Court of Pakistan on July 15 released on bail Malik Ishaq, leader and founder of Al Qaeda-linked Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, on grounds of “lack of evidence.” The man had been facing a number of cases at the antiterrorism court in Lahore charging him with hundreds of murders. He remained in jail for 14 years while evidence against him [...]

Toronto, July 10, 2011 Baloch Human Rights Council (Canada) and the International Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (IVBMP) held a joint memorial reference event for Prof. Saba Dashtyari who was murdered in cold blood on June 1, 2011 by the Pakistani military death squad in Quetta, Balochistan. A diverse group of people attended the event at the [...]

It is said that a wounded animal is most dangerous. Our military is behaving like a wounded animal and trying to shut down all dissenting voices. The military operation in Balochistan is a clear example of how the army deals with dissent Terrorism at its peak, bomb blasts in every nook and corner of the country targeting both the security [...]

By ERIC SCHMITT and JANE PERLEZ WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is suspending and, in some cases, canceling hundreds of millions of dollars of aid to the Pakistani military, in a move to chasten Pakistan for expelling American military trainers and to press its army to fight militants more effectively. Coupled with a statement from [...]

Today, most leaders say they would have stood up defiantly (dutt jata) in the face of the American request to join its war on terror. Former president Pervez Musharraf is being abominated for kowtowing to the Americans; and General Parvez Kayani is trying to make amends by going dutt and teaching the Americans a lesson 10 years later. The truth [...]

Balochistan is quite fashionable these days, especially amongst the establishment wallahs, some of whom have been visiting the place, writing about it or even getting research grants to figure out ways to make the Baloch patriotic. There are two state-friendly narratives available. The first is, that all violence in Balochistan is a foreign [...]

Editor's note:  The following article that was originally posted in yesterday's Daily Times is the typically bold and lucid piece written by Dr. Taqi.  Along with Farhat Taj, Dr. Taqi has been the leading light in debunking the racist anti-Pushtun narrative that is hocked by the security establishment and its urban chatterers. Read and [...]

“Bhutto” is no longer the name of an individual or of a family, but it is the name of a birthright and is the crest of a crusade, which always elevated its influence against despotism and prejudice, against paucity and bigotry - and against disarray and restiveness. To this day, the BHUTTO has become the name of that family, which stood [...]

Pakistan's civilian leaders should capitalize on public anger with the military and try to ease its grip on power, a leading human rights activist and lawyer Asma Jahangir said. The army's image has been dented by a number of setbacks starting with the killing of Osama bin Laden last month by U.S. special forces on Pakistani [...]

The US considers Pakistan based terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), held responsible for 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, as a formidable terrorist threat to Indian, US and other Western interests in South Asia and potentially elsewhere. In Afghanistan, the US military and Nato are committed to preventing Al-Qaeda's return and disrupting any [...]

Balochistan is the largest among Pakistan's four provinces, comprising 43 percent of land area of the country. Balochistan is fundamentally a clannish society possessing its own history, culture, behavior and norms. Balochistan became part of Pakistan as a consequence of agreements reached on 17th and 27th of March, 1948. In these accords, [...]

President Obama’s Afghan withdrawal plans include working with Pakistan to “root out the cancer of violent extremism.” Bruce Riedel’s three key steps to do it right. By Bruce Riedel On Wednesday evening, President Obama rightly said we “need to work with the Pakistani government to root out the cancer of violent extremism, and we [...]

The Pakistan army has extended an investigation into officers with links to the Hizb-ul-Tahrir, a spokesman said on Wednesday, in what analysts said was a long overdue move to root out sympathizers of the banned Islamist group. The military, which said on Tuesday it had detained a brigadier -- the highest-ranking serving officer arrested in a [...]

By NICK SCHIFRIN A 17-year-old died this week in Afghanistan, hanging from the end of a rope. A prison official fastened it around the boy's neck in Kabul's largest jail, tightened the knot, and then, in front of a crowd, removed the platform that held up the boy's feet. He was hanged by the Afghan government because he was a killer. In [...]

The courts should remain defenders of fundamental rights and personal liberties. When the Facebook ban was issued, the court appeared to be playing to the gallery of populist radicals A long time ago, when I was a college student in the jihadi era of Ziaul Haq, I had a sitting with late Dr Eqbal Ahmad along with a few friends. We asked a very [...]

The piece examines the TTP's media productions and the movement's shift toward having its media distributed to jihadi-takfiri Internet forums via the Global Islamic Media Front (GIMF), a long-established jihadi-takfiri media and translation network. The writer argues that this shift toward GIMF distribution is further evidence of the TTP's [...]

Murdered journalist's findings show Al Qaeda is winning in nuclear Pakistan more effectively than in Somalia and Yemen By Khaled Ahmed Anyone who has read Inside Al Qaeda and the Taliban: Beyond Bin Laden and 9/11 by Saleem Shahzad (Pluto Press 2011) will come to the following conclusions: 1) It is Al Qaeda rather than the Taliban who [...]

Editor's Note: We highly recommend this superb and comprehensive article by award-winning author, Mohammed Hanif.  In this in-depth article, Hanif has traced the roots of religious extremism and underlined the institutional support for this tragic phenomena. How Pakistan’s Generals turned the country into an international jihadi tourist [...]

Originally published in the 'Daily AajKal'.

Dear General Pasha, I write this letter to you in the wake of the gruesome and gratuitous murder of Syed Saleem Shahzad, friend to many, including myself. The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Directorate, the agency you head, is being accused of Saleem’s murder. You must also know that the ISI is widely reviled and dreaded at home. For [...]

Reporters often put themselves in harm's way as they try to dig up the truth about Islamic militant groups, shadowy intelligence agencies and the possible links between the two. One reporter recently ended up dead; another has a harrowing tale. By Alex Rodriguez, Los Angeles Times June 6, 2011 Reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan— The [...]

The killing of Syed Saleem Shahzad is brutal confirmation that Pakistan is the world's most hazardous place for journalists, whistle blowers and Independent thinkers. Saleem Shahzad's kidnapping a week ago and his later brutal murder sparked off speculation that he was killed by the ISI, which was apparently unhappy with some of his writings [...]

Originally published in the 'Daily AajKal'.

Mansoor Ijaz says the real danger inside Pakistan is its powerful spy organization, Inter-Services Intelligence—and that an even more notorious outfit is an ISI-affiliate called S-Wing. The murder of a prominent Pakistani journalist, Syed Saleem Shahzad, who was kidnapped last Sunday in Islamabad after repeated threats by Inter-Services [...]

Inter Services Intelligence suspected of involvement has long been above the law. All aspects of this crime, including the possibility of links to the ISI, need to be independently investigated and prosecuted. The ISI and other military and intelligence-related agencies have long been beyond the reach of the regular criminal justice system. To [...]

Originally published in 'Daily Aajkal'.

Related article: Can anyone control Pakistan’s ISI spies ? Aamer Ahmed Khan on his own ISI experience Mr. Babar Sattar recalls being called to ISI HQ to "discuss" an Op-Ed he wrote on "reforming khakis". The pall of gloom, anger and despondency in Pakistan has deepened with Saleem Shahzad’s gruesome murder. If the past is any guide, [...]

Prof. Saba Dashtiyari came from the slums of Lyari to become a voice of freedom - By Imtiaz Baloch Editor's Note: We are printing this contribution from our valued contributer, Imtiaz Baloch.  The marginalization, oppression and massacre of the Baloch that started with Jinnah in 1948, sadly perpetuated under Bhutto and which has reached a [...]

A leading newspaper publisher in Pakistan and the president of the nationwide newspapers body has reacted sharply to charges by the Inter Services`Intelligence Agency (ISI) that allegations by Human Rights Watch of the intelligence agency’s involvement in the abduction and murder of Pakistani journalist Salim Shahzad were “baseless”. [...]

Saleem Shahzad had warned that the authorities might act against him and revealed a previous threat. by Andrew Buncombe A surge of outrage and grief jolted Pakistan last night after the discovery of the body of a journalist who had highlighted alleged links between al-Qa’ida and the country’s military, two days after he went missing in [...]

US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton,condemned the kidnapping and killing of Pakistani journalist. Syed Saleem Shahzad, who worked for Adn Kronos International and La Stampa writing articles and books on the collusion between al Qaeda and Pakistani security and intelligence establishment. "His enquiries on terrorism and intelligence had surfaced [...]