SPY EYES ANALYSIS

By Aima Khosa Before we start some of the core arguments of this piece,I must give a little background of myself. I am,what the general Pakistani public calls,‘a burger’. I don’t want to be,of course. I don’t like the association. I brag of my Baloch descent and try to squash the burger in me as violently as possible. But I am a burger,nonetheless. Reading Urdu is a little hard for me. One of my readers called me a part of the ‘2 percent secular breed that lives abroad and is not aware of the ground realities’. I concede to the entire statement – except I do not live abroad. Don’t get me wrong,this is not a piece about how wonderful burger kids are. I have seen some terrible cases of  burger-dom . One burger once asked me,“Why do you work so much?”I replied,“Because I like to.” To this he snorted and said,“Oh,you’re from the  naukar awaam”.  I smiled sweetly and said,“Yes,I like to think I am.” Pakistani burgers are rich kids,the  waderai ka beta ...

As eight anti-polio workers are killed at the hands of ‘extremists’ Pakistanis once again get swallowed into the black hole of never-ending troubles. That’s what we do with our problems. Let them build, keep putting them off. And then people die because of our own indifference. As news spreads about the 9th anti-polio worker’s death in another tragic attack on the UN, the liberal and conservative, the patriotic and indifferent, together stand on the same end of the spectrum. This is good news for a people who have no sense of self interest. We instead decide who our enemies are and then hurt them howsoever we can, even if it hurts us. So what is the history of the anti-polio campaign in Pakistan? The facts are simple: vaccines are manufactured in the United States, under WHO standards. Pakistan has the highest number of reported cases in the word at this point (84 nationwide cases were reported last year).  Since 2009, 200,000 children have been missing the vaccine each y...

BY ZOON AHMAD KHAN As the re-election approaches,we all have questions. Which party is going to align itself with whom? Whether or not the elections are going to happen on time,and who would the delay suit? The media continues to entertain these questions partially,probing us to ask more. But that is their job,key to survival. The pseudo-liberal,urban,educated,and concerned middle class continues to fix itself in front of a screen that keeps it up-to-date. What they’re going to do with all the ‘information’ apart from take it to the grave with them,or kill a few meaningless hours in the drawing room with the superficial understanding of this complex mesh,is beyond me. Because they are only the audience,seemingly the most vocal and aware,but this false sense of freedom keeps them tame. They are neither the instrument,nor the musician. They are strings,which create the sound and give the impression that the guitar is fulfilling its purpose. The problem with Pakistan is that neit...

By Dr Raja Muhammad Khan The phenomenon of terrorism can be seen as comprising human elements; supporters and hard-core terrorists, besides, ideological foundations. Terrorism is a phenomenon similar to a pipeline or factory assembly line with key stations along the way. The process includes ideological outreach, acquisition of funding and support, recruitment, organization, indoctrination, training, planning, targeting, attack, exploitation of results, financial rewards and other factors that lead to production of terrorist acts. Since the phenomenon of terrorism involves many phases until it becomes effective, thus, combating this menace requires equal or at times even more meticulous planning and a well-determined execution process. The best policy could have been, rooting it out in the initial phase. Unfortunately, we in Pakistan have missed such an opportunity. Owing to the short sighted decisions, the peace loving society of Pakistan is passing through a phase, where t...

By:  Nadir Mir  ISI (Inter Services Intelligence) is Pakistan’s real national asset. It is the nation’s first line of defence.  Globally acknowledged as one of the finest intelligence agencies by friends and foes alike. Yet in the past couple of years, it has been demonized at home and abroad. Demonization of ISI is part of the undercover war on Pakistan. The history of the ISI would merit a great book. Suffice it to say that from its infancy and mushrooming growth, it was indispensable for Pakistan. The aftermath of bloody partition in 1947, India’s occupation of Kashmir, river water problems and a lot else was the inheritance of young Pakistan. Born truncated, moth eaten, denied of its defensible borders with millions of refugees, water problems aggravated by bellicose, larger India was the environment. A constant Indian threat needed to be met. Alliance with America , building the Pakistan Army and creating the ISI were three major steps to restore balance o...

 BY NIDA AFAQUE In the history of mankind,people have chosen various ways to express discontent against the prevailing social,political and economic regimes. Some have been covert in nature while others have been more overt like mass protests and destruction of public property. Nowadays,a new kind of activism is emerging through the internet. Many people,especially the youth,are using technology as a platform to discuss and debate affirmative action against social injustices. This trend has been picked up in Pakistan in the recent years. A wide range of issues are addressed;be those political like the reinstatement of the chief justice,or social like “Taking out the Trash” project under the label of “Zimmedar Shehri”. The logistics and schedules of events are largely if not completely communicated through the social media. Many people do not pay too much attention to online activism and dismiss it as another pastime for the youth. After all,the outreach of this kind of a...

Urban violence has become a permanent affliction in Karachi. Anyone explaining the roots of this violence to you would say ‘it’s complicated’ – and that is indeed an accurate summary of the bloodshed that erupts across the city in random spurts. The plague of violence in Pakistan’s biggest city and commercial hub is multifaceted. From ethnic strife to gang wars to politically motivated crimes to just petty theft – Karachi has it all. Where does it start? And more importantly, where would it end? This is strange because less merely 25 years, Karachi was the land of opportunity in Pakistan. Once the capital of the country, this economic hub bustled with life and activity with little thought spared to the horrors awaiting citizens a few years down the road. Fast forward to 2012, Karachi faces (in the words of Bilal Baloch) feeble security, over-population, poor public transportation and housing, weak law and order, abuse of public services by the wealthy and powerful, illegal land-gr...

Assad looking for more cards! U.S. Races to Shape Endgame in Syria By Michael Hughes The Obama administration has intensified its efforts to influence the configuration of Syria’s post-Assad political landscape by isolating jihadist elements on the ground, unifying Western-friendly rebel factions and piecing together a more moderate political opposition as the noose tightens around Damascus. The expedited diplomatic and counterterrorism maneuvers are being driven by recent  rebel gains  and the prospect that anti-Western Islamist forces could fill any power vacuum created by Assad’s ouster. The State Department on Tuesday  designated  as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) the al Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front, which is considered one of the most potent Syrian resistance factions. The news isn’t too shocking considering U.S. intelligence Chief James Clapper  told  the Senate Armed Services Committee back in February that suicide attac...

The longer version of the headline question is this: Given the corruption of the American political system which puts what passes for democracy up for sale to the highest lobby bidders, will any U.S. President (not only a second-term Obama) ever be able to shape and implement policies which best serve the longer term interests of all Americans rather than the short-term interests of the most powerful lobbies? Usually that question or something very like it is asked in the context of the Israel-Palestine conflict, when a president has demonstrated with rhetoric a desire to advance the co-called peace process and has been blocked by the Zionist (not Israel) lobby and its stooges in Congress. But today, following the slaughter of the innocents in Connecticut, the question has a domestic context. Something close to despair could be detected in a piece written for the  New York Times  by op-ed columnist Charles M. Blow. His opening words were these: “Another day, another...

The 1971 war a sad and great loss….But not due to the Indian armed forces valor !!! By Sethi Mushtaq The 1971 war a sad and great loss…. But not for Indian armed forces valor !!! This was not won by India nor was lost by Pakistan due to the Indian army’s valiance.  There were Geo-political and strategic reasons for this surrender of the Pakistani Jawans. a) The Eastern wing was facing an insurgency of a separatist nature, due to political conflicts which arose after the general election held that year, in both the wings of Pakistan.  This was taken as an advantage by the Indians and they stemmed it further by arming and funding the insurgents. The Indians army took this as a golden opportunity and attacked the Eastern wing. b) While the Pakistan army was facing the full lethally armed, Indian supported militant rebels, Mukhti Bahini, the cowards were attacking them from the rear. c) Geographically, the two wings stood separated by the sea at a hug...