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Posts tagged with: Taliban
Feb 1, 2009    |       37 comments

Rafia Zakaria: Swat, Somalia and Sharia

Guest post by temporal from Baithak Blog

Speaking of the former rickshaw and truck driver’s reincarnation as PakTaliban Rafia Zakaria writes in today’s News:

The hijacking and effective recasting of sharia as a populist tool meant to convert the poor into accepting violence and barbarity as emblematic of Islamic justice is a tragedy. Viewing it as such also reveals how populations who have been plagued by sense of inferiority owing to their illiteracy and poverty present fertile grounds for exploitation by groups such as Al Shabab and the Taliban. Reducing justice to a crude pantomime devoid of equity and education to an expression of un-Islamic elitism, these groups rely on the most decrepit aspects of human nature to assure their own ascendancy.

I have no love for these illiterate rascals passing off as Maulvis/Maulanas..they are an insult to real aalims.
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Oct 27, 2008    |       9 comments

My internal conflicts

Guest Blog by Amer Nazir

I hurried towards the train station to catch the 7:51. I was dressed well – in my Canali suit and my Hugo Boss overcoat. At the entrance to the station, I saw two people handing out leaflets. The one on the right was Susan Krammer, the local Liberal Democrat MP.

She paused when she saw me… and I saw her struggle for a moment though she did hide it well… ‘And how are you?’ she asked as if she had placed me at once without any effort at all on her part… ‘I am well,’ I replied, with my eye towards the approaching train that I did not want to miss… ‘Mrs Krammer,’ I continued hastily, ‘I will never forget your kindness…!’ ‘That’s what we are here for,’ she replied, ‘you know where to reach us if there is anything we can do for you in future as well…’

I bowed, said my goodbye and ran towards the train – but she called after me…’By the way, you look terrific,’ she said. I turned around and saw that she was beaming – there was pride in her eyes…

Once on the train, I thought of her. I could imagine her being a bit indulgent this morning. An indulgence well deserved. I imagined her telling her assistant right at this moment in a hushed tone that I was an ex-asylum seeker – perhaps just to motivate the young man about the moral significance of their job…

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Oct 23, 2008    |       11 comments

Some Questions over a Lead Story in The Nation

Guest Blog by temporal who blogs at Baithak

Look at this lead story from the Nation. [also quoted below] – Arrested militants name RAW for funding 680m through Afghan secret agency

  • Where are the credits? Who wrote this story?
  • What are the sources of this story?
  • Is this a scoop or a “leaked” story
  • Does it smack of lifafa journalism?

More questions:

  • If this story is true, how could the GoP handle it better?
  • Should the three persons named be charged and tried in an open court?
  • Media be given free and unbridled access to cover the trial?
  • – to interview the three?

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Oct 15, 2008    |       31 comments

Pakistan is there to live

Guest Blog by Amjad Malik

As long as India keeps dreaming the disintegration of Pakistan, it will survive as a viable state as the very negativity serves the purpose of knitting this crowd of 170 million people into a nation, whenever it is confronted by its arch rival. Editor of Indian Defence Review, Mr. Bharat Verma writes that ‘new Delhi is its own enemy, when it permitted the creation of a pure Islamic state on its borders,” I for one disagree as this state emerged as a result of a successful struggle for independence by millions of Muslims of India who felt that two nation theory is the only viable option to preserve and protect each other’s identity and core values. Indian Hindus too got liberated after remaining under Moghuls for over 6 centuries and then British Raj through the same process due to Gandhi’s vision. Independence was neither granted through diplomacy, nor as a charity. It was snatched on the basis of fundamentals of the modern day democracy, one man one vote’ principle and majority of muslim populated areas vowed to join the newly established idea of ‘Pakistan’ where they saw security, identity and a peaceful enjoyment of civil and political rights, and a freedom of religion, culture and values.
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Oct 5, 2008    |       9 comments

Hot pursuit or breach of territorial integrity in Pakistan

Amjad Malik writes specially on the issue of US incursions in Pakistan

As Pakistan is paying the price for flirting with United States yet again and did not learn anything from Russian invasion results and being in the rock and hard place, the country is viewed by many that its giving too much to the Americans but according to the USA not enough, hence unilateral incursions. These attacks whether through missiles or land operations are fatal for state sovereignty principle as it not only establishes might is right principle but exposes a trust deficit amongst operators of war on terror at international front. King Abdullah rightly pointed out some intelligence failures and lack of cooperation at that front and insisted the need of joint Intel set up internationally to combat this menace which is affecting us all. When we look at UN charter, the forum which was set up to avoid war and to reaffirm faith in human rights and to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligation of treaties can be maintained, and the tolerance was the key and there was agreed prohibition of armed forces save in the common interest. Article 2(4) of the UN charter says that ‘All members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purpose of the United Nations.”
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Oct 4, 2008    |       14 comments

Profiting from Religion: Land Grabbing Business and Christian Minority in Pakistan

Guest Blog by Silence from Islamabad Observer

Religion is basically meant to be personal belief of a person or group of people. It is outrageous, shameful and downright arrogant of the religious groups to use religion as a source of profits. However since the times immortal, criminals, religious clerics, land grabbers and even power hungry kings and democratic leaders have been using religion as a source of exploitation and profiting. “Crusade” of George W Bush in name of ‘war on terror’ and killing of innocent women and children by ‘Taliban’s’ in name of Islam are two sides of same coin. The basic goal is to exploit sentiments of religious groups for personal gains.

Religion is also a favorite tool of criminals and land grabbing mafias. The bloody episode of ‘Red Mosque’ in Islamabad, we witnessed recently, is not the only example. In every city and town, criminal gangs have occupied public or private land; they would build a ‘mosque’ on it and sell the adjoining lands for commercial or residential purposes. Even green belts, public parks and educational institutional institutions are not safe from these gangs. Whenever government authorities want to evict these gangs and demolish the illegal buildings, it would become a religious issue. If authorities demolish the illegally built mosque, it will bring a religious and political storm. The illegal mosques built on public lands in Islamabad were saved from being demolished by countrywide protests leading to interference of ‘Imam-i-Kaba’.

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