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Pakistan’s Contribution to the War on Terror – US CentCom
Picked up from GoatMilk, first printed in the South Asia Tribune in May of 2003. This same report was removed from the US CentCom website and reposted on the US Information Clearinghouse Website: This is the first official estimate of losses suffered by Pakistan, given by the US military high command and analysts say these [...]
“Delivering Without Taking the Credit”
The United States and Pakistan reached tacit agreement in September on a don’t-ask-don’t-tell policy that allows unmanned Predator aircraft to attack suspected terrorist targets in rugged western Pakistan, according to senior officials in both countries. In recent months, the U.S. drones have fired missiles at Pakistani soil at an average rate of once every four [...]
Break the Law If DHA is Your Partner
The Defence Housing Authority (DHA) which makes tall claims about upholding building control laws and clamping down on violations in its area, does not hesitate breaking its own rules when it comes to the authority’s interests. This is evident in the case of the newly opened Floating Ship restaurant which has been allowed a parking [...]
Top Mayors of the World
While the domestic media continues to sing the praises of Mustafa Kamal (and he deserves a lot of praise) for his #2 ranking by Foreign Policy magazine, bad reporting is in play. If you check the ratings that were issued by Foreign Policy magazine, you will find that Syed Mustafa Kamal, Mayor of the great [...]
Failed States Index 2008
Foreign Policy Magazine has released their new “Failed States Index for 2008” ranking countries based on specific criteria. Pakistan has placed 9th. What is interesting to me are the graphs that have been included to support the fact. For example, the powers of Parliament in a failed state: Sphere: Related Content
Secret Orders to Allow US Raids Into Any Country
We are posting this for a few reasons. First, because every news outlet in Pakistan is reporting the story of a “Secret US Order” that allowed military raids into Pakistan. Second, former President Musharraf’s stand that neither he, nor anyone in his government, approved these raids. Third, the current government’s regular complaints to the US [...]
Pakistan Have Your Say – Do We Need Noise Pollution Ordinances?
I’m sure that everyone reading this blog has had it happen to you….. the night that you need to sleep for a big test or interview, or maybe you have someone seriously ill in your home, or maybe you would just like a night of peace and quiet at home with friends and family. But [...]
A Standard for Leadership
Jamie Lee Curtis, in a thank you letter to Barack Obama, sets a fantastic standard for what leaders should be, using the words of Rudyard Kipling’s If: If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, [...]
Senator That Supported Baluchistan Honour Killing Rewarded with Ministry
Picked this up from Teeth Maestro’s blog: In a very shocking turn of events Mr. Asif Ali Zardari yesterday expanded his cabinet with 40 members and inducted a very controversial Senator Mir Israrullah Zehri. Mr Israrullah Zehri a few months back in August stood up in the Senate and justified the crime of burying women [...]
KESC Rewards Incompetence By Punishing Karachi
Naveed Ismail, CEO of KESC Pakistan, refuted this story from The Nation and other media outlets in a press conference this morning. His statement is that “he works for a public limited company and his salary will be printed in the annual report. But the reports of the salary are much higher than he actually [...]
Pakistan’s Plan “C”
It’s been a decade since the International Monetary Fund preached its damaging elixir of currency devaluation and tax hikes to Asian nations in financial crisis. As Pakistan’s economy teeters, the IMF is once again on the scene with familiar policy prescriptions. This is no time to recycle past mistakes. Like Ukraine and Iceland, Pakistan is [...]
Pakistan Declared a War Zone – Asif Haroon Raja
In the 9/11 terrorist attacks on twin towers in New York in which about 3000 persons died, no Afghan or Pakistani was involved. All the 19 perpetrators of the crime were Arabs, mostly hailing from Saudi Arabia. Yet the wrath of USA fell on Afghanistan for a bizarre reason that the so-called master mind behind [...]
Police Demand Bribe to Remove an Abandoned Vehicle – What Security?
An Open Letter to The Chief Minister and Home Minister of Sindh; After watching your numerous representatives come on television and talk about how law and order is your first priority, I would like to bring to your attention a case of police incompetence that I got to take part in last night. I have [...]
Alaskan Senator Blackmails Pakistan
This has to be one of the best stories of the election. Yesterday, Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens was indicted of concealing over US$ 250,000 in “gifts” from an oil company looking for favors. The oil company used the Senator to secure business contacts in Pakistan and Russia, along with other favors. According a report in [...]
IMF Orders Pakistan to Cut Military Spending by 1/3
The International Monetary Fund yesterday ordered Pakistan to cut military spending by almost a third as fears grew that the nuclear-armed nation’s economic crisis was now so bad that its role in the war against al-Qa’ida and the Taliban was imperilled. The secret IMF demand – one of several measures that the bankrupt country is [...]
Anjum Niaz Has It Right – Put Your Mouth Where Your Money Is
Anjum Niaz is a freelance journalist with over twenty years of experience in national and international reporting. This post was picked up from Pak Markaz and puts it straight for our “leaders” to understand. We whole-heartedly support this plan instead of an IMF bailout. After China’s reluctance to bail us out, what next? The Saudis [...]
Pakistan Back to Begging Under Democracy
Provided by a contributor to Take Back Pakistan Recent reports in the western media indicate that Pakistan needs as much as $10 billion to avoid an economic meltdown and Pakistan’s foreign currency reserves are: falling fast and if forward liabilities are included, the real reserves may go down to $3 billion. This cannot meet the import bill of [...]
Governance and Accountability
I quite enjoy listening to the members of parliament, both provincial and national, extol the virtues of the “democracy” that they have helped to restore in Pakistan. While its a great claim to make, what democracy have we been given for the votes that we have cast? As a nation, we have long demanded accountability and transparency from our [...]
Salary & Concessions for a Member of National Assembly
This was sent to us by a contributor to Take Back Pakistan: Monthly Salary Rs. 120,000 to 200,000 Expense for Constitution per month Rs. [...]
World Economic Crisis Pushes Pakistan Close to Collapse – LA Times
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Take a restive, nuclear-armed nation with an untested new government, an escalating Islamic insurgency, long-standing tensions with its neighbors and an economy in free fall for months. Then add in a global financial crisis. Some analysts and diplomats fear that Pakistan could come to exemplify a perilous new phenomenon: a strategic but [...]
160 Million Nelson Mandelas
Newsweek called Pakistan “the most dangerous nation in the world.” Western media calls Pakistan “a power-keg waiting to explode,” while their military describes us as “being in a fight for our national existence.” The world that we all claw and fight to get visas to visit, live and study in believe that Pakistanis are “barbarians,” [...]
Set Pakistan Free
Pakistan’s main problem is not that it has many Muslim extremists or a weak economy. Rather, it is Pakistan’s dependence on the West and especially the U.S. that prevents it from fulfilling its potential. As a developing country, Pakistan’s main concern should be to modernize. The cause for Pakistan’s lack of progress is the backwards [...]
Eating Grass in Alligator Infested Waters – Samson Simon Sharaf
In the first two parts of the essay, ‘are we ready to eat grass?’ a bird’s eye view of security perspectives arising out of a Pakistani mindset have been discussed. The question that now arises is, ‘do we have the potential to grow the grass we intend to eat?’ In this regard an interesting development [...]
How will next U.S. administration engage Afghanistan and Pakistan?
Guest blogger Roy Kamphausen is the director and vice president for political and security affairs of the Washington Office of the National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR). An issue that came up often in Monday’s NBR-sponsored debate on U.S.-Asian relations in the next administration was the question of instability in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Both campaigns [...]