Rendezvous with Farah Pandith, US Special Rep for Muslim Communities
Last week a few “new media” journalists were invited by the US Consulate to an exclusive meeting with Farah Pandith, who has been recently appointed as the U.S Special Representative for Muslim Communities. The usual bloggeratti excitement was held at bay since the invitation card had a blazing “No-Camera” policy, which had most of [...]
Mesmerization of Pakistani Politics
Guest blog by Agha Haider Raza
Politics in Pakistan mesmerize me. Not only does one enjoy the daily dose of rhetoric that is spewed from the mouths of our beloved politicians, but the one track mind of those in and out of government baffles the mind. Politics in Pakistan, much like the political [...]
NRO declared Null and Void – What Now?
After a lapse of over two years, today a full bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan came through with a historic judgment declaring the 2007 National Reconciliatory Ordinance null and void. It must be recalled that the NRO was the mastermind of the then President of Pakistan General Pervaiz Musharraf who in October 2007 [...]
He who is Not a Sinner should Cast the First Stone
By: Amjad Malik, MA, LLM
I have been vehemently advocating the need to erect a system of accountability by invoking a new commission and an Act of Parliament to curb mal practice, plundering and looting whilst one is holding a public office. This new Commission can truly ensure compliance with the Clauses of Article 62 and [...]
What Becomes of Us
Look at this picture, this is a child labeled as IDP (internally displaced person) living currently in a make shift camp without proper basic living conditions e.g. food, water, sanitation. He doesn’t have fear in his eyes, even though it could well be that his family died during air raids by his own country’s air [...]
Open Letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Your Excellency,
Allow me to apologize to you for not being able to be present during your address to civil society at the hallowed campus of Government College University in my beloved city of Lahore. Much as I would have wanted to benefit from the wisdom of your analysis and foresight, I could not make the [...]
Different Flavors of Public Protest in India and Pakistan
Indians and Pakistanis are discussing the leadership crisis in their respective countries, but for different reasons and with different implications. India’s inability to wield influence on the world stage is being blamed on the lack of good leadership. In Pakistan, people feel that the political leaders have failed to instill confidence and provide direction when [...]
Desperation or Challenge – Pakistan Must Act
By Azhar Aslam
When someone declares an open war, how must a nation react? How should they defend themselves? Have we forgotten the lessons from war with India? Why should we feel different now when we are being attacked from inside rather than from outside.
By attacking various institutions of Pakistani state (in attacks of more symbolic [...]
The Myth of Independence – Economic Imperialism
“The notion that Pakistan controls the reigns to the economic resources of the country is incorrect—she doesn’t. The G-7 does. They are the ones who make all the economic decisions for us, for our country, through their institutions like IMF, World Bank, and WTO through the policies of SAP, TRIPS, and TRIMS. The idea is [...]
Iran Election Results Watch
It seems the Iranian Elections are being reported by the State run news agencies as a victory for the incumbent Ahmedinejad but it seems that only a fraction of the results have been counted. Stratfor has issued a careful watch alert on the elections to not jump to conclusions just as yet as there [...]
We are a Crowd, not a Nation, not an Ummah …! [Survey Results]
Recently we (The Critic Blog Team) conducted a survey to prove or disprove a hypothesis that “There is a difference of opinion among the masses about the top 5 problems, i.e. every other person focus on different agendas thus there is no channelized effort toward any single issue”.
After receiving replies we complied the data (shown [...]
Are the politicians in Pakistan accessible enough?
Guest Blog by Muhammad Saad
I am a Pakistani currently studying at a Canadian University. Recently, the Canadian Federal Minister for Citizenship and Immigration Affairs, Mr. Jason Kenney took time out to come to our university’s affiliate college, to speak to an audience of about a 100 people about his ideas and plans for his Ministry. Having grown up for [...]
The Beginnings’ End
Guest blog by Kamil Hamid
While celebration is in order, the civil society movement and Pakistanis in general must understand that it is crucial this be used as a beginning for a new era of activism and the drive for justice. Sitting back at this point, and allowing “appropriate parties” to handle matters would be nothing [...]
Umeed-e-Sahar – LAAL
Umeed-e-Sahar an inspirational video by Laal
It is my belief that the fate of the country rests on its citizens – considering how are politicians are committed on looting and plundering Pakistan to their hearts desire the fate of our country rests upon the citizens to join hands and say STOP
The question to all Pakistanis [...]
Deconstructing Human Conflict: My Thoughts
Guest Blog by Hassan Baig
Conflict has been one of the centerpieces of our existence since the dawn of the human race. Different millennia may have seen different markers of our species’ cultural and technological progress, the constancy of conflict has never fluctuated. And the present day is no different – us Pakistanis know that especially [...]
