Category: Corruption
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TED Blog: Fellows Friday with Awab Alvi
An interview of mine published on TEDBlog on Friday November 5th 2010, just sharing it here for reference. This interview also included a new interactive feature for TEDFellows facebook page where a question was put up for discussion, the question asked from this interview was “Why do you think there’s a lack of media coverage…
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Pakistan needs a Sovereign & Honest Leadership
Pakistan needs an honest and sovereign leadership. I insist on only these two qualities as my priority. I accept that this may have a personal bias based on my own experiences and knowledge. So what follows is built on the above premise. For some of us, far more important would be ‘left or right’, or the ‘stance…
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Conspiracy theories: Mystery Murder or a blatant Assassination of Dr Imran Farooq
Guest Blog by Barrister Amjad Malik The killing of a Pakistani politician and an ex parliamentarian Dr. Imran Farooq, a former convenor of the MQM on 16 Sept 2010 at a busy area of Mill Hill London. Dr. Farooq, 50, was a leading member of Pakistan’s Muttahida Qaumi Movement party and fled to the UK in…
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Open Letter to HEC Chairman
Dear Javaid Laghari, One can not pass through the Karachi and Lahore airports without noticing those colonial and discriminating special “parliamentarian” check-in counters. One can also not help wondering if this country was made to honour the men and women who cheated, forged, acquired dual nationalities, never paid taxes and made false declaration of their…
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Guantanamo like Prisons of Sindh
Cries of shutting down the Guantanamo prison have been around for some time now. reason being the inhuman conditions at the prison which rather than reforming the prisoners is forcing them to become hardcore terrorists once they are released. Numerous examples could be quoted in this context. Such huge global outcry in this regard had…
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Happy Birthday Benazir
The city wears a festive look. Thousands of banners costing millions of rupees have suddenly appeared all over the town. Pictures of ZAB, BB, AtoZ and the three kids. Sponsored by ministers of Sindh Government at the tax payers’ expense, the colourful facade does nothing to lessen the pain, sorrow and militancy that the city…
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Zardari, an American National but Straight & Depressed
The National Names Database has some interesting facts about our President, Mr. Asif Ali Zardari. It appears that he may have US Citizenship / Nationality? I wonder if dual citizenship is permissible while holding office of the President of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, as the issue of the OATH is important, when you take Oath…
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How To Make Karachi The Worst City In The World
The recent report by Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) revealed that Karachi came 5th in the list of worst cities of the world sandwiched between Lagos, Nigeria and Douala Cameroon. The Sindh High Density Development Board Bill 2010 passed as Bill No.14 of 2010 has changed its shape three times. It was first Bill No.11 of…
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Karachi: Protest Against Fake Degree Holders being elected into Parliament
Pictures from the Karachi protest against the election of fake degree holders being elected into the Parliament where citizens demand from the election commission the verification and ouster of all fraudulent degree holder parliamentarians. [nggallery id=82]
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Protest Against Fake Degree Parliamentarians – Islamabad & Karachi at 5pm on 15th May
Citizens demand verification and ouster of all fraudulent degree holder parliamentarians. If you wish to see Pakistan change for better , do not repeatedly elect the same dishonest people. Join Citizens’ protest and say NO to fake degree holders. The scale of the problem is now enormous with over 200 fake degree holders in the…
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Will the Supreme Court get the parliamentarians’ degrees verified?
A dozen or so of these unworthy parliamentarians have been already disqualified on grounds of fake degrees. Many more continue to be our MNAs and MPAs. For how long shall we suffer and tolerate these unethical characters? Why must the SC not task the HEC to verify their degrees and get rid of those who…
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Am I Part of the Problem or Part of the Solution?
We fail to participate in democratic processes while we recognize democracy as a utopian ideal form. We fail to contribute to the national kitty while demanding increasing state services. We can apply the same line of argument to other segments of society. We must recognize our own failures for allowing society to reach the state…
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Why perceptions matter more than grievances: Conspiracy theories, our Achilles heal?
Conspiracy theories are making a big splash in both the domestic and international media. While we in Pakistan are often angered as to how Pakistan is portrayed in the Western media, the same people seem to be supporting various individuals and right wing parties who are also gaining much traction with foreign correspondents in Pakistan.…
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Mai Jori’s Huqooq March ends
Huqooq March ends today on 8th March with public gathering in Gandakha participated by thousands of men and women. Huqooq March started by Awami Party on March 1st to support election campaign of Mai Jori, a peasant woman contesting election of provincial assembly of Balochistan. The marchers arrived in Gandakha today that was received by…
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India’s Zero Rupee Note against Corruption
This weeks The Economist carries a very interesting article discussing a small innovative idea by an Indian to denounce the rampant corruption spread across India. The idea was dreamt up by an expatriate Indian physics professor from the University of Maryland who, traveling back home, found himself harassed by endless extortion demands. He gave the…