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Articles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

The National Pride?
2007-06-06 05:50:00
By Anum Pasha Imagine ? two hearts devoted to love, two souls struggling to make ends meet in the economically abysmal-rut of this country, and amidst this all, the Pakistani law suddenly deciding their doom in jail. This is a three-year imprisonment in the Central Jail and the District Jail Faislabad. Somewhere in the middle of ...
More About: Society , National , Pride , The Nation , The National

A full General is worth Rs 500 million+
2007-06-03 20:26:00
Well, its old news that the government tried to block the launch of Ayesha Siddiqa’s book ‘Military Inc.: Inside Pakistan’s Military Economy‘. The book talks about the military’s grip on the economy. However, till we get our hands on a review of the book you can read Ayesha Siddiqa’s interview on the book below. First, here are some details about Dr. Ayesha Siddiqa-Agha. Her expertise : South Asia, military expenditure, arms control, arms procurement. Her Brief Bio: She did her doctorate from King’s College, London in 1996 and has worked on issues varying from military expenditure, defence decision-making, nuclear deterrence, arms procurement, arms production to civil-military relations in South Asia. She is also a Ford Fellow and more recently Pakistan Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars. (more…)
More About: General , Worth , Full , Gene , Million

Imran Khan vs. Altaf Husain and the MQM
2007-06-01 19:26:00
Imran Khan will be protesting in front of Downing Street on the 3rd of June and subsequently meet lawyers in order to figure out how to issue legal proceedings against Alta f Husain. He’s been speaking out quite openly against Altaf Husain and the MQM and what he calls their ‘terrorist tactics’. That led to a ...
More About: Politics , Imran Khan

Battle for Karachi by Fatima Bhutto
2007-05-31 17:48:00
Stop. We’ve had enough. Our city is not a battleground. Kara chi is not a flashpoint. And we will not be ground zero for the orchestrated violence of the establishment. Forty-one people were killed, ambulances targeted, cars set alight and over a hundred wounded in a battle over egos. No one is short of blame or culpability; there ...
More About: Battle , Fatima , Bhutto

Physical and Mental Intimidation By Chief-of-Army Staff of Pakistan?s Chief
2007-05-31 02:53:00
Well, what can I say? Read it for yourself and decide what you make of it. Utterly shameful!! A couple of months ago I saw the German movie called ‘Downfall‘. The movie goes on to show Hitler’s last few days as his mood oscillates between unjustified optimism one moment to suicidal depression the next. Reality ...
More About: Mental , Chief , Pakistan , Physical , Army

Asrar-I-Khudi?s ?Time as a sword? concept: which edge do we fall on?
2007-05-29 22:25:00
Now I know this article will be extremely ambitious in trying to distil the beauty of Asrar-I-Khudi (The Secrets of the Self). After all, one can?t make like of the work which resulted in Allama Iqbal being knighted. Therefore, this short piece will focus on a concept in Asrar-I-Khudi which I feel has a poignant ...
More About: Philosophy , Poetry , Classics , Time , Edge

The Armed Forces and the Corporate Sector
2007-05-27 03:19:00
Here is an article by Senator Farhatullah Babar on the involvement of the armed forces in the corporate sector. It gives details of the influence wielded by the armed forces in Pakistan’s corporate sector and the preferential treatment quasi-military institutions get from the government. I had written a satirical piece titled ‘Real Estate 101 for ...
More About: Government , Corporate , Armed Forces , Army , Forces

Pakistan?s contribution to international organizations
2007-05-26 05:09:00
Regardless of Pakistan ’s importance as an ally in the war on terror, there isn’t much to be proud of when looking at our contributions to international organisations. Where do we feature in the comity of nations? What are our contributions to international organizations? The only thing that I could think of was the fact that ...
More About: International , People , Organizations , Contribution

Can Altaf be extradited?
2007-05-25 06:29:00
Imran Khan has called Alta f Hussain a terrorist and has actually said that a legal team is being constituted which would go to London and file a case against the MQM Quaid for killing innocent people. A friend sent me an email putting forward the legal case for Altaf Hussain’s extradition. Its a bit legalese, ...
More About: Extra , Xtra

Pakistan?s Peacekeeping troops in Congo ?traded gold for guns?
2007-05-24 01:08:00
…Atleat that’s what the BBC is saying. This news follows the general trend these days: bad news, bad news, half good news, bad news, very bad news, terrible news, and then worse. I had recently read about the good work Pakistan i peacekeeping troops were doing in Liberia by establishing parks and recreation areas. It made ...
More About: Guns , Gold , Army , Congo

Insider Trading- FBI to probe Prime Minister, Punjab Chief Minister, promin
2007-05-23 03:38:00
We had posted the story of Hafiz Naseem, the New York banker who had been arrested on charges of insider trading, earlier. However, this Frontier Post report reveals that the FBI might be investigating links to Shaukat Aziz and Pervaiz Elahi as well as prominent bankers and stock brokers. Farooq Bengali, Ejaz Rahim, Ali Raza, ...
More About: People , Prime Minister , Chief , Trading , Chief Minister

Documentary: Imran?s Journey
2007-05-18 04:51:00
I just came across this documentary on Imran Khan on YouTube and I found it very interesting. Imran Khan, like other celebrities in the world, has had a colourful and interesting past. He was part of an exclusive social set in London during his cricketing years. However, Imran Khan?s private life does not interest me ...
More About: Sports , Documentary , Journey , Document , Menta

Lawyer responds: Muneer Malik defends the legal community
2007-05-18 04:46:00
Muneer Malik (President Supreme Court Bar Association) defends the legal community by tackling all the arguments put forward by those attacking it. It is brilliantly written and highly convincing. The great thing is that it takes the ‘politicisation’ of the issue head-on and argues that this is not a legal issue, but a purely political ...
More About: Lawyer , Community , Legal , Judiciary , Unity

Bagh Ibn-e-Qasim: The country?s largest park
2007-05-18 03:15:00
I think recently we’ve been focussing a lot on the negative things going on in the country. It is also important to keep an eye out for any good things that are taking place so that they may lighten our mood and give us some hope for the future. One of these, the credit for ...
More About: Environment , Country , Karachi , Park , Count

5/12/07 Karachi: Firsthand accounts
2007-05-17 02:54:00
Here are a few accounts of people who witnessed the 12th May incident firsthand while doing their jobs. You can sense the disgust in both these emails. The first one is an email from a doctor posted at Teeth Maestro. The second was posted on Karachi Metroblogs and is written by Urooj Zia who writes ...
More About: Judiciary , First , Hand , Count

Sunset at DAWN? by Hameed Haroon
2007-05-16 00:00:00
We’ve been covering DAWN’s conflict with the government for some time now (here and here). The open letter that we had put up on the 28th March has now been summarised in the form of an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal. It is well argued and puts forward DAWN’s case clearly and cogently. I ...
More About: Press , Sunset , Dawn

Why Dani can?t play cricket anymore?
2007-05-15 04:01:00
So my younger cousin Dani cannot play cricket anymore. Why? Because he?s been told not to. Apparently, he can?t have a ?public meeting? of more than 4-5 people and invariably a game of cricket requires many more, even if played on the streets. The Sindh Government has, under Section 144 Cr.P.C. (Criminal Procedure Code), imposed ...
More About: Cricket , Play , Karachi , Law and Order , More

It would be hard to top this group, quite frankly
2007-05-14 06:34:00
There are many different characters that play a part in our lives. George Bush is one such character in my life and now that I think about his departure next year I experience a sense of sadness. He might be the President of the United States, the most powerful man in the world, but to ...
More About: Pakistan , Hard , Quit , Group , Frank

12/05/07: Karachi set up for bloodshed
2007-05-13 04:36:00
Guest post by Kara chi As the sun rose in my Karachi yesterday, so the curtain was raised on the day of much anticipated, expertly choreographed blood shed many had predicted. That it was all so properly scripted made it all the more shocking, then disgusting, and then of course dreadfully sad.
More About: Law and Order , Bloodshed , Blood

Political Vacuum
2007-05-12 05:19:00
At the moment, Pakistani politics, in my opinion, has no purpose, for it is more or less controlled by individuals who value power, patronage and money above vision, development, rule of law and social justice. It is disheartening to read Simon Tisdall?s commentary on the current happenings in the Pakistani Poli tics in the Guardian. Tisdall?s ...
More About: Political , Vacuum , Politic

Update (May 11 2007): Female teacher assaulted at QAU; Lal Masjid goes wire
2007-05-11 23:42:00
Ok so here is an update on my previous post. This is a long one, but I’ve tried to summarise several news reports at the beginning before pasting them in full. Read the next couple of paragraphs if you would like a summary of what’s been happening. 1. Summary  My source, who has contacted Dr Sultana and ...
More About: Female , Masjid , Islamabad , Update , Law and Order

No Matter Who Wins?We Lose!
2007-05-11 16:44:00
Over the past few months, I have decided to stay quiet and simply observe the ugly political scene developing in Pakistan. As it was in the mid-90’s, I have begun to lose faith that there is any chance of stability for Pakistan…at least in my lifetime. But then sometimes you are forced to witness an event ...
More About: People , Karachi , Matter , Law and Order , Matt

The land that time forgot
2007-05-09 00:49:00
This is a topical piece on the state of Pakistani politics by Freddie. See what you make of it. Feel free to comment on the metaphors, the syntax, the rhyme and the analogies. What, if anything, particularly struck you about this poem? There once was a man He created a land called Pakistan. Soon came a landlord Wealth innumerable ...
More About: Poetry , Time , Land , That

Pictorial: Is the lift REALLY there?
2007-05-08 00:36:00
This is a picture of a notice found outside a lift (elevator) in Karachi. Translation of the Urdu bit is even more amusing than the English one.
More About: Humour , Pictorial , Real , Here , Tori

What is the identity of Pakistan?
2007-05-07 03:27:00
Hitherto, Pakistan i governments have not been able to give Pakistan an identity. In other words, is Pakistan a secular, Islamic or a Muslim (in cultural sense i.e. embodying all the traits of Muslim customs, traditions and practices which are endemic to Pakistan) state? Constitutionally, Pakistan has not subscribed to anything because the constitution of Pakistan ...
More About: Politics , Identity

Illuminating the name of Pakistani bankers - Banker charged with insider tr
2007-05-05 03:50:00
Unfortunately, all this does is put a black mark on all the great work that Pakistani professionals (doctors, bankers, engineers etc.) have done abroad, especially in the US. Even today, post-9/11, many of them hold high posts and continue to do their nation proud. Our Prime Minister was also a NY banker for quite some time and many others hold high management posts at international banks. From now on people will always remember Mr. Hafiz Naseem and would associate his actions to Pakistani bankers. Mind you, the guy has a pretty solid educational and professional background. He’s studied at Stern Business School and worked at American Express in Pakistan, and JPMorgan Chase and Credit Suisse in the US. All this goes to prove that good education and the most competitive and professional surroundings do not make a man honest. I must add that Mr Naseem has only been charged at the moment and every man is innocent until proven guilty. However, it seems as if the SEC has strong ev...
More About: Illuminati , Inside , Bank , Side

Misplaced priorities: What is our police upto?
2007-05-04 04:48:00
Some interesting facts and figures from a DAWN news report: Karachi police’s strength is 29,000. 6,000 members use over 100 well-mantained vans to escort high-flying VIP’s. Effectively, more than 1/5th of the city’s police force is deployed to escort VIP’s (whatever that means these days).
More About: Society , Police , Place , Lace , Poli

Bob Woolmer: Murder at the World Cup, BBC Panorama
2007-05-02 02:26:00
I had mentioned this in my previous post. However, it is now on YouTube and it is possible to watch it online. It explores different motives for Woolmer’s murder and analyses them. The program also discloses that Woolmer had been poisoned, in effect incapacitated, before he was strangled. Part 1 WPvideo 1.10
More About: Murder , Sports , World Cup , World , Bob Woolmer

Documentary: Between the Mullahs and Military
2007-04-30 20:14:00
Some of you may have already watched this documentary aired on Channal 4 on 23rd April. It is by author and journalist Ziauddin Sardar who travels back to his homeland, Pakistan, to discover how it has become enguled in a bitter conflict between the two dominant forces in the country - the military and the ...
More About: Islam , Military , Documentary , Army , Document

Pakistan tops death row league
2007-04-30 05:37:00
Here you go! We top something. However, its not something to be proud of. In Pakistan there are many different views (religious, cultural, humanistic, etc.) on whether it is right or wrong to execute convicted criminals, but personally I am of the view that it is unnecessary. From years of deterrence studies there is overwhelming ...
More About: Society , Tops , Death , League