Mumtaz Bhutto’s party merges with Sharif’s PML (N)The Anti-PPP Sindhi Feudal throws his lot with the Punjab
Excerpt from Aboard the Democracy Train
Years later, as I flew to Larkana to interview the aristocratic Mumtaz Bhutto at his ancestral home, I found he had also not forgiven the PPP “riff raff” for their challenge to the feudal lords. With his cool demeanor and long moustache, Mumtaz spoke slow clipped sentences in British English. It established his credentials as a barrister-at-law from Lincoln’s Inn, …
Pak Prime Minister Gilani Down But Not Out – Yet!Supreme Court Verdict Divides Nation Along Party Lines
By Richard Leiby, Washingtonpost.com
ISLAMABAD, April 26— Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Thursday convicted Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani of contempt for defying its orders to reopen an old corruption case against the president, but the justices spared Gilani any prison time. The sentence was symbolic, lasting only until judges left the courtroom. But Gilani’s political future remains clouded with the possibility that he could …
Pak Politics Dyed in Feudal ColorsNaeem Sadiq - The News
Good lawyers are often judged by their stance when they run out of truth as well as legal arguments at the same time. Many tend to fall back on theatrics, histrionics, distortion and even poetry as supplements to beef up the deficiency in the main menu. Barrister Aitzaz however touched new heights of judicial decadence when he pleaded that notwithstanding the offence, his …
Govt Claims Crackdown on Extortion Mafias after Big Protests‘Political & Nationalist Parties involved in Karachi Racket'
Faraz Khan - Express Tribune
Karachi, March 19: “In our profession, we don’t look at whether we’re strong, but if the other party is able to pay up,” says I*, with a 9mm pistol in hand, as he sits outside his apartment in District East. “This is give and take. No one is doing a favour. We ask for money to spare someone’s life and …
International Crisis Group Weighs in on BalochistanFarrukh Saleem – thenews.com
India hasn’t done it; neither has America nor Israel. I am behind the crisis; I created it and I am responsible as well as answerable. Yes, India and America, both opportunists par excellence, are now taking advantage of our weaknesses but no one can break Balochistan away from me but me. Baloch demands have always been political in nature-political empowerment …
The Democracy Train Chugs AlongShahab Usto – dailytimes.com.pk
In a developing democracy, what is important is the systemic entrenchment through constitutional norms and uninterrupted electoral processes; the issues of public propriety and moral turpitude get sorted out as the democratic polity takes roots. Indeed, with each election, the system receives new vigour. The UK, the US and our neighbor India have all traversed this path. The Senate elections …
Making the Case for Baloch AutonomyBy Haider Nizamani, Feb 23
The Express Tribune
In an op-ed titled “Be strong, not hard”, published in these pages on February 21, Ejaz Haider problematises conflict in Balochistan and offers suggestions to Islamabad on how to tackle the crisis in the troubled province. The premise of his argument is on the assumption that all states are alike when it comes to dealing with people wanting to secede …
`Balochistan Situation Needs Urgent Attention’:Senator Afrasiab Khattak
QUETTA: The Functional Committee of Senate on Human Rights has rejected a report presented by the Provincial Home Department over law and order situation and human rights violations in Balochistan. The committee expressed serious concerns over the recovery of mutilated bodies of missing persons, targeted killing of labourers, doctors, teachers and an increasing number of kidnappings for ransom in the …
Pakistan’s Political Drama Begs the Question:
What’s Next ? By Shahab Usto dailytimes.com
FOR some years, Pakistan has been in the crosshairs of change, a change that is not acceptable to some, not enough for others, and too late for still others. And that perhaps lies at the heart of our current political imbroglio political and state grandees are not ready to understand the true dynamics of change. If they do grudgingly, it`s …
Court Revives Investigation on ISI Money for Politicians(Includes ATDT Excerpt on Backdrop for Asghar Khan's Petition)
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday fixed February 29 to hear the petition filed by Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Asghar Khan 16 years ago pertaining to Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) distributing money among politicians. Meanwhile, the former ISI chief Gen. (Retd) Durrani submitted an affidavit confirming the accusation. The petition has called upon the apex court to punish the politicians …
Secretary’s Ouster in Pakistan Adds to Tension with ArmyBy Salman Masood NY Times
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani fired his defense secretary, a retired general and confidant of Pakistan’s army chief, on Wednesday as the civilian government appeared headed for a collision with the country’s powerful military leadership. Mr. Gilani accused the dismissed secretary of defense, Naeem Khalid Lodhi, a former general and corps commander, of “gross misconduct and illegal …
‘Pakistan Deadliest Country for Journalists for a Second Year’Committee to Protect Journalists - Year End Report
NEW YORK: Pakistan remained the deadliest country for the press for a second year, while across the world coverage of political unrest proved unusually dangerous in 2011, the Committee to Protect Journalists found in its year-end survey of journalist fatalities. CPJ’s analysis found notable shifts from historical data: Targeted murders declined while deaths during dangerous assignments such as the coverage …
‘Memo gate’ Smoking Gun in Pak Show Down against USAmbassador "collateral damage" from Bin Laden episode
By the Author
The vitriolic exchanges between a US businessman of Pakistan origin, Mansoor Ijaz and Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US, Hussain Haqqani – which have played out as infotainment in Pakistan’s lively television channels – are tell-tale signs of a civilian government in trouble. The incident known as `memo gate’ unfolded when a secret American mission killed Al Qaeda’s most wanted …
Haqqani – Between Mansoor and MilitaryPak Ambassador to US Resigns, Another Ex Journalist Sherry Rehman to Replace
ISLAMABAD | Tue Nov 22, 2011 ISLAMABAD(Reuters) – Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States resigned on Tuesday, days after a Pakistani-American businessman said the envoy was behind a memo that accused the Pakistani military of plotting a coup in May. Envoy Husain Haqqani said in a Twitter message that he had sent his resignation to the prime minister. State television …
Photographer Zahid Hussein Gives Views on the Bhuttos
An accomplished photographer, Zahid Hussein, who has captured evocative images of Pakistan’s most famous political family – the Bhuttos – shared the last images of Iranian born Nusrat Bhutto when she passed away last week. The founder of the Pakistan Association of Photo Journalists – and photographer of the cover image of my book and website – ‘Aboard the Democracy …
Traders Respond to Government’s Energy Saving MeasuresFive Day Work Week
The Gillani Cabinet had to designate three Ministers to explain why two off days every week would bring about monumental savings in power consumption. Like always, no industrialist or businessmen will do what the government so desperately desires. Factories would run as usual, markets would be humming with the hustle and bustle, and the economic activity would continue on weekends …
Musharraf’s emergency upends Pakistan’s courtsMcClatchy Newspapers, December 6, 2007 - By Nafisa Hoodbhoy
KARACHI, Pakistan — A month after President Gen. Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan, the country’s once-independent judiciary is in disarray and still under attack, making it unlikely that America’s closest ally in the war on terrorism will have a functioning democracy anytime soon. Police lines surround the principal courts, unfit judges are taking over the judicial …
Pakistan: Identity CrisisToward Freedom, May 30, 2005 - By Nafisa Hoodbhoy
Pakistan is one of the Bush administration’s close allies in the war against terrorism. Yet anti-American sentiment there has been growing with unprecedented force since the US conducted a war in Iraq, another Muslim country in the neighborhood. In March, tens of thousands of people took to the streets to oppose the start of the war. While the coalition of …