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From The Media
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Exiles’ Return – Mohammad Hanif
When Mohammed Hanif left Pakistan in 1996, it was ruled by Benazir Bhutto and the Taliban were being touted as the saviours of Afghanistan. Now her widower has become president, and the Taliban want to save Pakistan too. Two weeks ago, after 12 years in London, I moved back to Pakistan. The week I arrived, [...]
Hamid Mir On Rohi TV
This was sent to us by a regular reader and commenter on Take Back Pakistan. After listening to it, we felt it must be heard. We will try to post a translated version of Hamid’s assessment tomorrow so that our non-Pakistanis can understand what he said. Sphere: Related Content
The Democracy Killers – Aasim Sajjad Akhtar
The presidential referendum in Pakistan has come and gone. As quickly as the drama enveloped the country it has been forgotten. The Pakistani nation is disappointed and fed up with the antics of the ruling classes and the referendum served only to confirm their suspicions. As expected, General Musharraf made a heap of populist promises. [...]
Attacking Pakistan? Don’t Do It – Aijaz Zaka Syed
Back home in the sub-continent, they say you should always stay away from the cops; their friendship as well as adversity is bad for one’s health. I am reminded of the advice as the world’s chief cop, the United States, bombs its allies and friends in Pakistan. With friends like these, do you really need [...]
Pakistan is Turning to No. 10 – Guardian UK
Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark are the authors of Deception: Pakistan, the United States and the Global Nuclear Weapons Conspiracy. After claiming to have spent nine years nurturing democracy in Pakistan and festooning the country’s military dictatorship with $11bn in aid, the Bush administration’s policy is careering out of control, as US soldiers trade bullets with [...]
Is it Time to Eat Grass (Part II) – Samson Simon Sharaf
The army is now called a state within a state, supporter of nuclear proliferation, permeated by fundamentalists and militants in its ranks and file and an institution that pursues big business rather than focus on its primary mission. Despite suffering over 1,500 dead (the highest figure for any army) in this war, it is still [...]
Is it Time to Eat Grass? (Part I) – Samson Simon Sharaf
In my study on the nature of conflict in FATA and Afghanistan, I have sifted through numerous research papers and studies of US think tanks like Carnegie, RAND, the Council of Foreign Relations and Heritage. Some names like Ashley Tellis, Richard Haas and Lisa Curtis are familiar and well known. Others, though known but not [...]
Hard Times – Chris Cork
Oddly, it is the price of eggs that seems to stick in my mind every week. Last week they were 55 rupees a dozen, this week they are 58. As I ride a bike and do not drive a car I am less observant of the price of fuel than I am of eggs, but [...]
Who Owns Karachi? – Bina Shah
I like our city nazim Mr Mustafa Kamal’s ‘can do’ spirit with regard to his belief that it’s up to the citizens of Karachi to take responsibility for the upkeep and civic health of this city. Forward-thinking and progressive, the nazim has created a website for the project which boasts the tagline ‘My City — [...]
The New President and The Future of Democracy – Ayesha Ijaz Khan
In November last year, as I tried to rally support for our pro-judiciary demonstration outside the Pakistani High Commission in London, one of my friends, who runs a threading salon and is least interested in politics, cynically asked me, “What are you trying to do? Make Asif Zardari president?” She asked the question in ignorance [...]
Whither Sovereignty? – Yousuf Nazar
The first-ever ground military attack on Pakistan’s soil by the US-led troops on Sept 3 provoked strong condemnation and outrage in Pakistan. Now the cat is out of the bag. The New York Times said the raids were authorised by President Bush “without the approval of the Pakistani government.” The Chairman of the US Joint [...]
Peril – Humayun Gauhar
My dear Ali: You have been bombarding me with questions about the US and NATO attack on us. Look, son, they attacked us a long time ago. The only difference is that now they have escalated and exacerbated the situation by actually putting boots on our soil. Given Admiral Mullen’s remorseless statement, its entirely possible [...]
Time To Stand Up – Sayeed GB Shah Bokhari
One practical lesson that I have learnt after participating in the 1965 Indo-Pak war is that the moral backing of the nation adds tremendously to the fighting prowess of the armed forces. Today the country is undergoing a serious state of war. It is another thing that the entire nation is not convinced about it [...]
The People vs Ex-Pats, Aunties and Urbanites – Mosharraf Zaidi
If a functional democracy that produces popular and electorally legitimate government is too much for Pakistan’s uber-smart expat and urban elite, then they had better close their eyes. They ain’t seen nothing yet. When the PPP is done with the national exchequer things will seem a lot more like 1996 than they have since 1996. [...]
Making a Joke of Democracy – Anjum Niaz
The writer is a freelance journalist with over twenty years of experience in national and international reporting. Here’s the unmentionable truth: if today Pakistan had an independent judiciary, Asif Ali Zardari may not have been the president. The 107 legislators who voted for him in the NWFP assembly would have faced disqualification for breaking the [...]
The Blank Statements
There is no way to censor or control the flow of information. It’s like saying you are going to block roads and not let people move around. There are always alternate channels, nooks, crannies, alleyways and openings. Believe it or not, it’s not a free world, but it has immense flexibility for us to work [...]
Desperate Measures – Aasim Sajjad Akhtar
It says much about the dynamics of power in this country that 60 years after the country’s creation, the so-called ‘steel frame’ of the British Raj continues to be the predominant actor in politics. There is no question that of the two permanent institutions of the state, namely the military and the civil bureaucracy, the [...]
Genesis of Talibanisation – Raza Rahman Khan Qazi
In the first of a two part series, Dr Sarfaraz argues that the Taliban philosophy is representative of Muslim political thought, except that it is heavily influenced by tribal traditions. In the last few years, our region has seen the resurgence of religious extremism or, more precisely speaking, the phenomenon called ‘Talibanisation’. Although the whole [...]
Censorship and The Judicial Crisis
Editorial from The News The only way forward out of the current crisis emanating from the suspension of the Chief Justice of Pakistan is for the government to withdraw its reference. If it cannot bring itself to do that then it needs to engage in a dialogue with the opposition, and President Musharraf needs to [...]
A Turning Point in History – Ghayoor Ahmed
PAKISTAN may have been created in accordance with the principles of democracy, but it is regrettable that since it became an independent state in 1947, it has been ruled by either members of the feudal elite or army generals. These regimes have been authoritarian in one way or another. Their disregard for democracy is considered [...]