The writer is an independent social scientist and author of Military Inc. One wonders if hanging Mumtaz Qadri has closed or opened another long chapter in Pakistan’s history. There were hundreds and thousands of people that gathered on March 1 for funeral prayers and burial of a man who had killed Salmaan Taseer in 2011 because he believed the then Punjab governor had committed an act of blasphemy by criticising the blasphemy law. Now millions…
Posts published in “Day: March 3, 2016”
The writer is a member of staff. TRY and remember the last time you saw a crowd in Liaquat Bagh as large as the one we just saw on Tuesday. That ill-fated park, which has seen two prime ministers assassinated, has hosted political gatherings since the earliest days of Pakistan, but you will have to travel more than two decades back in time to find a gathering as large as this one. And even that…
JUI-F chief’s observations regarding derailing the system must not be taken lightly. These indicate a cynical disregard for the ballot, the parliament and the elected government which draw legitimacy from the mandate given by the electorate. The message conveyed by Fazalur Rehman is that if the legislature and the executive refuse to accept his views, he would go for rabble rousing and overthrow the system by recourse to street power. For over a year Fazalur…
When news of Mumtaz Qadri, one of Pakistan’s most notorious death-row prisoners, being state executed became public on Monday morning, Pakistanis were glued to their televisions, in a voyeuristic eagerness for more information. Although social media and news websites erupted, most local mainstream television channels remained mysteriously quiet and almost aloof. So why, when there was an almost opportunity to gain ratings, was there an eerie media silence? On February 29, the day of the…
ISLAMABAD: Amid concerns over the government’s move to hide actual burden, the government claimed on Wednesday that external public debt stood at $53.1 billion– an amount which is roughly $15 billion less than that shown in IMF documents. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in a written reply to the Senate stated that the external public debt stood at $47.8 billion when the present government came into power. “The debt has been increased to an amount of…
ISLAMABAD: One out of every four ongoing projects financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has been declared problematic due to hitches in implementation, as the government has failed to appoint quality administrators while the bank has become bureaucratic. Out of $4.5 billion worth of 25 schemes, six valuing $1.8 billion are declared as either actual problem or potential problem, reveals an ADB document prepared to review its portfolio in Pakistan. The high ratio of…
KARACHI: Presenting his analysis in the programme on Tuesday, the host Shahzeb Khanzada said the present and former leaders of the People’s Party are being interrogated one after another following the arrest of the central character of Lyari gang war Uzair Baloch. The Rangers officials had first summoned a former leader of the People’s Party, Zulfiqar Mirza, for investigations and now they have summoned former president of the People’s Party Karachi, Qadir Patel, on March…
KARACHI: The Sindh Census Monitoring Committee has criticised the Council of Common Interests for adjourning its Feb 29 meeting for a fourth time without fixing a census date. The SCMC severely criticised both the Nawaz Sharif and Syed Qaim Ali Shah governments for the delay in holding census and demanded that it be held soon to expose the “fake majority” of Punjab. This was stated by Sindh United Party chief Syed Jalal Mehmoud Shah while…
Atmar discuss TAPI gas pipeline security with Turkmenistan officials KHAAMA PRESS – Wed Mar 02 2016,
The Afghan National Security Adviser Hanif Atmar met with the Turkmenistan officials to discuss the regional security, specifically measures for the multi-billion dollar TAPI gas pipeline project. The Office of the National Security Adviser said Mr. Atmar met with his counterpart Ya Berdiev, Minister of Defense of Turkmenistan Gudogdyev, Minisster of Border, and Director of National Intelligence of Turkmenistan. Tawab Ghorzan, spokesman to National Security Adviser, said the security officials of Turkmenistan were briefed regarding…
Afghanistan is preparing to start work on the key Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India (TAPI) Gas Pipeline project amidst four nations talks between the stakeholder countries, officials said Wednesday. Officials from the Mines and Petroleum Ministry said they have started awareness programs and assessments on social and environmental issues. “The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum [MoMP] is fully ready to implement the TAPI project,” said MoMP spokesman Muhayuddin Noori. He added: “We have started awareness programs. The four nations…
Security forces have released 10 civilians from the custody of Taliban militants in Adraskan district of western Herat province. A spokesperson for the Governor House said the civilians were released on Tuesday during military offensive ‘Operation Azm’. Jailani Farhad added that Operation Azam was launched against militants a few days before and concluded on Tuesday. 17 villages of Adraskan district have been cleared of militants, Farhad said. According to him, a shootout occurred between security…