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Showing posts from December, 2011

Pakistan can never be Madina E Saani

By Nadeem Sajjad. Pakistan is a land loved by many and lived in by millions. It has been witnessed in the past --and somewhat in the present age – that the origin of the name (word) “Pakistan” has had many different accounts of its creators/inventors. Known to be the most accurate of all accounts, is the one of the much respected Chaudhry Rehmat Ali. Others have the concept that the word “Pakistan” was given to the Muslims of India, after the success of Lahore resolution in 1940, by the Hindus of the subcontinent and was then used by Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah in his presidential address to the All India Muslim League annual session at Delhi on 24 April 1943. Whatever may be the origin, the Muslims got their own land to practice their religion Islam, and to maintain their traditions. The thing that should be emphasized upon is that the country was created in the name of Islam.  Knowing the origin is one thing, but naming the country or the name itself to something else an

Army’s constitutional role

General Ashfaq General Kayani needs neither recommendation nor reference. His services to the state are well recorded. General Pasha, while serving as a Contingent and Sector Commander of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone, was reverently known as the “Little General”. His contributions to the war on terror have earned him good repute. By S. M. Hali General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani’s statement regarding the constitutional role of Pakistan Army has put to rest rumours and speculation of an army takeover. It has also refuted Yusuf Raza Gillani's charge of the Army plotting to throw the political government out when Kayani declared, "Army has no desire to derail democracy." Pakistan Army’s past role in the six and half decades of Pakistan’s existence does spell doom and gloom for democratic institutions at the hands of the army, since there have been four military takeovers and Pakistan has been ruled by the army for over 33 years. With such a track record

Imran Khan, Are you really going to do a miracle with the word "Khilafah"?

By Samreen Ahmed With the crowds rising loud and high across the country in favour of Imran Khan, Pakistan Tehreek E Insaaf and the “anti-corruption” campaign, and the red, green and white colours swimming in the sea of people, the people have become quite hopeful for the betterment and progress of the country. “Finally” as some would call it, the savior has appeared. Everything doesn’t have to have a critical angle but the otherwise can also not be predicted to survive.  Imran Khan has quoted in his address to the people of Karachi on 25th December 2011 “I did not come here to criticize any other political party but to unite them all”. Uniting political wings that are known for their corruption and injustice, sums up to what possibly? Another grand alliance for further corruption? Or is it that Imran Khan is headed the same way? Let’s hope not.  But you can’t help it. A question clicks instantly when you, instead of being an IK-crazed fan, act as a judge and observer of the

The perplexing nature of American aid to Pakistan

The Pakistani public may be very patriotic and proud of their nation. Its culture, traditions and lifestyle are indeed very intricate. But within the intricacy of its lifestyle is embedded the hard truth about Pakistan’s sovereignty and independence. Sixty-four years of existence have been punctured with foreign aid, most of which comes from the United States or international institutions heavily influenced by Washington. Pakistan shares a tumultuous relationship with the United States. Over the years, Pakistan has played a significant role in fighting America’s proxy war against the Soviets in Afghanistan; the Pressler agreement suspended US military aid to Pakistan; Pakistan allied itself with the US to fight the “War against Terrorism” and later on the Afghan war, where it offered its personnel and bases for US operations.  In turn, US has helped Pakistan in its defense systems and contributed significantly in some civilian projects too. This year was marked with Davis’s mur

Disinformation by Indian media.

A senior official denied the story by a Pakistani Journalist on an Indian website rediff.com that once President Zardari was admitted in hospital in Dubai, he was conveyed a message on behalf of Army suggesting him to consider resigning from his office on health grounds before the findings of the memo-gate scam put further pressure on him. It is totally a baseless and unfounded news, Official Said.

A forgotten truth: Pakistan and the Taliban

by Ahmad Rashid Just hours after they seized Kandahar on November 4, 1994, the Taliban were accused of being mere surrogates of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate (ISI). Other Afghan warlords, regional countries, Western wire services and the PakistaniPress suggested strongly that the Taliban had been created, launched and armed by Pakistan in order to fulfill the government's 'manifest destiny' of opening up trade routes to Central Asia via Afghanistan. However, the truth was and remains far more complicated than that. The Taliban have never been anyone's puppets and their strings are certainly not pulled in Islamabad. Yet their links to Pakistan are all-encompassing, forged through nearly two decades of war devastation and life as refugees. The fact that the Taliban leadership is entirely indigenous to Afghanistan and fiercely independent does not detract from their social, economic and political links to Pakistan's own tribal mi