Baithak - A place where Pakistani Bloggers get United.
OCTOBER 15, 2008By SHAI OSTER and JASON LEOW in Beijing, and MATTHEW ROSENBERG in New DelhiPakistan’s president Asif Ali Zardari began a four-day state visit to China on Tuesday, seeking aid for his near-bankrupt nation from an increasingly powerful ally.“China is the future of the world,” Mr. […]
More: continued here
Anita Desai’s novels were being published in India in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, she says in her opinion piece in Outlook India, to no fanfare at all. Instead, rather than get excited about Indian writers writing in English, Indian readers continued reading Austen and Hardy and Wodehouse. It took major literary prizes awarded by […]
More: continued here
Bronwyn Curran, writing for The National Picture above*On Pakistan’s dishevelled motorways, the nation’s under-played poetic soul is on display – on the back of lorries.The riot of coloured patterns, feathery chains and gaudy portraits adorning the heavy movers have made the popular old Bedfords a national icon.Miniatures of the six-wheeler frescoes-in-motion sell in souvenir shops. […]
More: continued here
By Baithak.Net
We are publishing a note drafted in early October, 2008 by Shandana Khan - a citizen activist - who has been visiting the camps and raising funds for the displaced residents of Bajaur. The note is an eye-opener, it has that earthy, real feel to it and of course one need not agree with the […]
More: continued here
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=44207Zofeen EbrahimKARACHI, Oct 10 (IPS) - As rights groups mark the Sixth World DayAgainst the Death Penalty with an appeal for an end to executions inAsia, Pakistan pulled one man back from the gallows and hinted thatit will soon honour pledges to commute the sentences of over 7,000death row inmates.Zulfiquar Ali, 38, was due to […]
More: continued here
This post by Manzoor Chandio is articulating an alternative viewpoint on the growing phenomenon of urban Taliban. We do not subscribe to all the views presented below but strongly support the proxy jihadism that is being recklessly promoted by the media channels. (ed.)Since President Zardari’s statement calling Kashmiri fighters as “terrorists”, Media Mujahideen of Pakistan […]
More: continued here
i once went to see a fight,welterweight i’m sure, in New York City.Madison Square Garden, no less.MSG! The majic aji no-moto?duhhh… YES-moto!No ringside seat. Nowhere near, in fact.In fact, from where i sat i could just aboutmake out the shapes of two figuresbobbing up and down above the heads oftwo lovebirds making out in the […]
More: continued here
By Baithak.Net
Today we are publishing an obituary of the late Muhammad Aslam Khan Khattak authored by Ms. by Zeenath Jahan. We are grateful to Ms Jahan for sending this piece for the Pak Tea House. Mr. Khattak’s demise ends an era. (Raza Rumi, ed.)My uncle, Muhammad Aslam Khan Khattak passed away on the 10th of October […]
More: continued here
My son, my son,the only one that God has blessed me with,the one I nurtured in my womb,then nursed and fed, and laughed and played with,stayed up nights when fever scorched his slender frame,is with me now no more, being taken from my sideby infidels who shame the name of faithprofessing to believe in God; […]
More: continued here
The First War of Indian Independence- 1857: reclaiming of the Indian nations’ voluntary unity against imperialismContributed by Javed Inayat via email.A slave nation cannot establish a classless society, abolish exploitation and bring about equality among men (people). For such a nation, the first and foremost task is to break the chains of imperialist domination that […]
More: continued here
By Baithak.Net
By Nasim Yousaf onAllama Mashriqi’s 120th Birth Anniversary“Man is perhaps the only species in Nature endlessly at war with his own species and he is doing this unnatural self-destruction…” — Allama MashriqiAllama Mashriqi - reformer, scientist, philosopher, and visionary – dedicated his life to uniting mankind. While Mashriqi made countless efforts to this end through […]
More: continued here
By Bill Van Auken writing for WSWS11 October 2008Seven years after the Bush administration launched “Operation Enduring Freedom” with the relentless bombing of Afghanistan, US intelligence agencies have concluded that the situation in the devastated country is on “a downward spiral,” and that prospects are poor for stabilizing the US-backed government and militarily defeating the […]
More: continued here
By Dr. Muhammad Amin (Senior Editor, Dairat ul-Maarif al-Islamiya, University of Punjab, Lahore)*(Abridged and Translated by Yoginder Sikand)Today, advocates of madrasa reforms can be divided into broadly two groups. Firstly, external elements and forces and their local agents. Secondly, some people within the madrasa system who genuinely want to improve it and, accordingly, suggest certain […]
More: continued here
Exiles’ return by Mohammad HanifWhen 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 […]
More: continued here
We know the popular line stating that if you know yourself, then you can know God. Meaning, if you do not know yourself, there is no way you can know God.Such is the plight of so many people today. Long before they run from God, they run from their own selves. Thus, I wonders […]
More: continued here
Starting off with the notes that Sikander Shahleft behind in his haste to escape the insatiableappetite of applied intelligence, Faizan a.k.a.Abdullah and his accomplice, one “Yoshimida,”managed to fashion a rudimentary incendiary device,which resembled nothing so much as analuminium dildo sporting ribbed protection.This was embarrassing. But they had notthe time (nor the inclination, if truth be […]
More: continued here
By Baithak.Net
Posted by Raza RumiHaving lived two days in Lahore as a ‘resident’, the three low intensity blasts are a rude reminder that there is a war all over the country..It does not matter whose war it is; what matters is that it is real and not a fantasy and that it continues to harm ordinary, […]
More: continued here
By Yasser Latif HamdaniAlmost every country in the world ascribes to the legend of some great figure or the other in the 20th century. It was after all the century of Jinnah, Ataturk, Lenin, Mao, the Kims, Lew Kuan Yew, Nehru-Gandhis, Bhuttos, Churchill, Ben Gureon, Dr. King, Arafat, Khomeni and Mandela […]
More: continued here
The captioned article has been authored by Ashley J. Tellis , Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (September 2008)Here is an Excerpt From the Body of the article:“U.S.–Pakistani relations remain precarious: anti-American sentiments in Pakistan are among the highest in the world; most Pakistanis oppose U.S. military operations against al-Qaeda and the Taliban; and […]
More: continued here
Wednesday, October 1 2008SUBJECT: Scenarios for the future of Pakistan.SIGNIFICANCE: Recent geopolitical developments have undermined the traditional rationale of the state, promoting deepening internal discord. To survive, Pakistan will need to re-cast itself and find a new place in the international order. Yet the three most likely ways forward are each fraught with difficulties.ANALYSIS: Most […]
More: continued here
Soniah KamalA friend’s husband was complaining the other day about the way some women were dressing to Sunday Services at Church here in Georgia, USA. Tarts, he called the women in tight skirts and, according to him, too much cleavage, whores who don’t know how to respect our Lord. It’s not a club, he said, […]
More: continued here
By Yasser Latif HamdaniThe number one issue in the subcontinent which threatens the fabric of every nation state that exists today in the region, is that of the inability of the central state structure to harmonise contending notions of identity. In no small way is this attributable to the events of the British Raj. Consider […]
More: continued here
Posted by Shaheryar AliHistory and interpretation - Communalism and problems of historiography in Indiaby Irfan Habib*IF one looks back at 1947 to find out in what ways it brought about changes in the approach to the medieval (that is, the post-ancient, pre-British, and, in much of earlier discourse, the ‘Muslim’) period of India’s history, a […]
More: continued here
By Baithak.Net
Naseer AhmadIftikhar Arif was catapulted into the spotlight in the 1970s when he appeared in PTV’s quiz programme Kasauti. As a bespectacled, sparkling young man, he mesmerised the millions of audience across the nation with the range of his knowledge and intelligence. With Obaidullah Baig and Quraishpur, both profound scholars, as his senior partners at […]
More: continued here
By Baithak.Net
America’s next war has already startedBy Farooq SulehriaAmerica’s next war is already on the go. It is yet undeclared. However, it is not un-approved. ‘Classified orders’, according to New York Times (September 11), were passed by President Bush last July. And surprise of surprises! The target is not ‘axis of evil’-fame Iran. It is […]
More: continued here
by Fasih AhmedWhat happens when Pakistan’s most thoroughly vetted president meets America’s least vetted vice presidential candidate?Asif Ali Zardari made a cutesy call on the Republican’s Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin in New York on September 24. “You are even more gorgeous than you are on [inaudible],” he said. “You are so nice,” she said. […]
More: continued here
When it is time for the young child to go to bed, immediately, she suddenly gets hungry. She demands chicken. When she is served the chicken, she then demands grapes. When she is served the grapes, she next demands something else. After six months, her father realizes something simple: she is not hungry. Rather, she […]
More: continued here
By Baithak.Net
This is the third part of the history’s diverse interpretations and their contribution in understanding the world. Indeed, we are not bound by any, nor is any particular version a gospel of truth but as analytical tools these approaches enable us to make sense of the mess that we know, preach and live with as […]
More: continued here
By Baithak.Net
By Beena Sarwar/IPSShopping for glass bangles — an Eid must — has been less than brisk this year.KARACHI, Oct 1 (IPS) - As the Muslim holy month of Ramadan draws to a close, the shopping frenzy around Pakistan increases in preparation for Eid, the joyous three-day festival of thanksgiving to celebrate the end of a […]
More: continued here
By Baithak.Net
by Yasser Latif HamdaniFurther to the Part 2 of Shaheryar Ali’s “Historiography” series, in particular the tangential reference to Turkish Nationalism contained therein, I am sharing a few thoughts for the readers of the Pak Tea House.Given the importance of the said discussion, it is important to set the record on straight. Ali’s main thrust […]
More: continued here
by Shaheryar AliWe have analyzed, the origins of “communal historiography”, the “socio-political construction” of communal-identities, the conversion of “communal politics into Religious Nationalism.Here we have given a critique of Colonial Historiography, by the secular-nationalist historians of India. What becomes clear is that colonialism in India resulted in formation of 3 types of Nationalism, which Romila […]
More: continued here
Courtesy Hillpark - this is by no means an authentic picture but a reflection of the sardonic black humour prevalent in these troubled times. RRPosted in Humour, Images Tagged: cell, gadget, Nokia, Pakistan, phone
More: continued here
Soniah KamalUsually one hears of desi immigrant parents preferring, or forcing if you will, their kids to adhere to the traditions and customs of backhome and, usually, these parents are referred to as ‘backwards’. What of those immigrant-parents who are ‘forwards’? Those who actively seek to assimilate into other lands and other ways so that they themselves do not become the ‘other’? Can […]
More: continued here
By Baithak.Net
Shaheryar AliThere has been an interesting debate going on in the pages of PakTea House e-zine regarding Indian history. This debate is also at the heart of the “history wars” which are going on in India and Pakistan. In Pakistan it has acquired a specific character because , a version of communal historiography had to […]
More: continued here
by Zafar Iqbal KalanauriMujhey koi achee khabar sona, meray khush nazar, meray khush bayan,Meree kashtian hain bhanwar bhanwar, meree bastian hain dhuan dhuan…..(Amjad Islam Amjad)The Islamabad Marriott Hotel is no more. Islamabad - the beautiful, has turned into Islamabad - the miserable.The Islamabad incident while highlighted monumental security lapses and loopholes in the country, it […]
More: continued here
Divining the News (DTN), Not Mainstream News says:One report says: “Why haven’t the Taliban claimed responsibility for the Marriot”.Another report points out Islamabad is the most closely surveilled place in Pakistan.How could a Tribal possibly drive a truck all the way to the Marriot, and not be stopped?Read more herePosted in Pakistan […]
More: continued here
By Sabihuddin Ghausi In the next few weeks, just after Eid, the Sindh government is going to launch one of its ambitious programmes, land for the landless.While not very impressive in number of beneficiaries — less than 14,000 in first phase — the message of the programme is quite significant. Each hari family will be […]
More: continued here
I am not sure I completely agree with, or endorse the thought, but this bears quoting. It’s something Nowsherwan Yasin said on a mailing list this morning about the whole Zardari hits on Palin brouhaha (in case you’ve not followed it, check out the post and discussion Teeth Maestro’s blog here.):Although I agree that such […]
More: continued here
By Baithak.Net
Ayesha Siddiqa’s brilliant piece on openDemocracy is a must-read. She is clear and quite strategic in her analysis that concludes with these lines:This effort to create a domestic coalition that can address such acts of terror should be part of a larger agenda to reach out to the rest of the world - including Russia, […]
More: continued here
SAJA BRIEFING: The South Asian Blogosphere and How Its Changing the Media 8:35pmWebsite: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/saja/2008/09/26/desiblogsThe South Asian Journalists Association presents an online panel discussion among some of the best-known names in the South Asian blogosphere. They will discuss the state of the blogosphere (South Asian and otherwise) and how it is affecting how news and information […]
More: continued here
By Mark Corcoran of ABC’s Foreign Correspondent A CCTV still shows security personnel gathering around a truck, on fire at right, that tried to crash through the barrier at the Marriott hotel in Islamabad. (Reuters TV)It’s hard not to get emotional and very difficult to play the dispassionate journalist as I sit here, watching the […]
More: continued here
By Baithak.Net
The great struggle of life is the struggle of understanding the Self. It is not the struggle to put food on the table, though that is often a great struggle (and for many it is a primary struggle). It is not the struggle to establish justice, though that struggle is an obligatory struggle. But, it […]
More: continued here
Shaheryar AliThough the Islamists, imperialist, fascists and their “softer” supporters, the conservatives, capitalist Liberals, are on the forefront of promoting the agenda of “clash of civilizations”. The people, the real people, the poor and workers of the world have repeatedly demonstrated their solidarity with each other, their rejection of religious hatred and fascism. The capitalist media […]
More: continued here
Analysis by Beena Sarwar(IPS) - Political analysts have long been warning the United States and Pakistan governments that there are no easy military solutions in prosecuting the global `war on terror’ which may now have become inextricable from `home-grown’ militancy.These warnings were grimly reinforced by the bomb attack on the Marriott Hotel in Pakistan’s capital, […]
More: continued here
CRSS Weekly pager9/20 is Open War on PakistanIf the 9/11 events in 2001 changed the security paradigm in the United States and elsewhere, the 9/20 deadly attack on Islamabad’s five-star Marriott Hotel meant the same to the state of Pakistan. It in fact amounts to a watershed in Pakistan’s long-held defense strategy that partially relied on proxies […]
More: continued here
Shaheryar Ali“Not a famous man” Ralph Russell called himself in his autobiography “Findings, Keepings: Life, Communism and everything“. It’s quite an understatement. Anyone who loves Urdu and has any interest in the literary movements in Indian subcontinent knows Ralph Russell. He was one of those rare men who become legends in their life time. Ralph […]
More: continued here
I apologise for the hit-and-run post, and though I have great respect for the man, I am not a Gandhian. But following everything over the weekend, I am left with a thought this morning that channels Gandhi; A War on Terror would be a great idea–if either the West or Muslims choose to take […]
More: continued here
The neglected landlessDr. Zafar AltafPakistan has as much as 44 percent landless in the country and the number is growing because the ability of the agriculture sector to absorb them in gainful employment is limited. Percentage terms create an illusion that is not necessary and, therefore, I will be discussing absolute numbers. The number of […]
More: continued here
By John S. Hatch, 16/09/08 “ICH” The American predilection for choosing fuzzy myth over grim reality is one factor that has been driving the US ever closer to the abyss. There is danger in delusion. Americans always seem to suffer fools gladly. Nixon. Twice. Reagan. Twice. George H. W. Bush. George W. Bush. Twice! And […]
More: continued here
I was most surprised to read this report here. Anything not to do with Islamism and the clichés on Pakistan is a rare treat. [RR]MalakandBatkhela, MalakandThe largest demonstration was held in Batkhela (Malakand) in which nearly 1000 workers and youth participated. The demonstrators blocked the main G.T Road for half an hour and also burnt […]
More: continued here
