PUTTING together an accurate threat assessment demands intelligence nuggets to be assembled together to form a coherent picture. If too many pieces of the jigsaw are missing, the result can be disastrous. Seen in this light, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s go-ahead for setting up the National Intelligence Coordination Committee is a logical step — at least on the face of it. Helmed by the DG ISI as its chairman, the NICC will serve to coordinate…
Posts published in “Pak Media comment”
Despite being a country with a host of laws intended to protect women against violence, Pakistan, according to the Thomas Reuters Foundation, is currently the sixth most dangerous country in the world for women. This stems from the fact that around 5,000 women are killed each year in the country, often by their own family members on the grounds of honour. These killings can take place for many reasons, amounting to a decision by an…
by Dr Syed Nazir Gilani in DAILY TIMES, NOV 25, 2020The author is President of London based Jammu and Kashmir Council for Human Rights – NGO“Jammu and Kashmir has been, is and will always remain an integral part of India. Indian people will no longer tolerate an unholy ‘global gathbandhan’ against our national interest. Either the Gupkar Gang swims along with the national mood or else the people will sink it.” (Amit Shah Union Home…
by Syed Akhtar Ali Shah in The Express Tribune, Nov 25, 2020.The writer is a practicing lawyer. Considering Trump inimical to the interests of Pakistan, Muslims as well as immigrants, the victory of Joe Biden as the president of the United States was a cause of jubilance for most if not all Pakistanis. Although there might be many reasons for Trump’s failure in office, however, one should not jump to conclusions as far as serving…
by M Zeb Khan in The Express Tribune, Nov 25th, 2020.The writer is a PhD in Administrative Sciences and is associated with SZABIST, IslamabadWhat does it mean to be a Pakistani? Does it mean someone living up to the ideals that led to the creation of Pakistan or someone who is ‘dumb, deaf, and blind’ to injustices committed in the name of religion, security, and unity? Or does it mean someone who believes in the…
The French government has once again provoked outrage around the world for its continuation of racist and Islamophobic comments and policies. This time, the criticism is over a series of measures included in President Macron’s latest plans to tackle what he calls radical Islam, including asking Muslim leaders in his country to agree to a “charter of republican values”. Most controversial especially is a move towards giving children an “identification number” to ensure they are…
By Kamran Yousaf in the Express Tribune, Nov 23, 2020ISLAMABAD: US president-elect Joe Biden is likely to seek more concessions from the Afghan Taliban in a move that may put added pressure on Pakistan, which has played a central role in brokering the peace deal between the Trump administration and the insurgents. The Biden foreign policy team had been in contact with concerned authorities in Pakistan in the run-up to the US presidential elections, officials…
by Hafeez Khan in Daily Times, Nov 23, 2020When we joined the New Campus in late sixties, Punjab University had a vibrant rowing club. The boats were shifted from River Ravi to the canal running through the heart of the Campus. The equipment was reserved for the team and discipline was strictly imposed. Not for long when the first batch of undergraduate honors students landed on the scene. The guards controlled the boats during the…
Theoretically the government’s proposal of introducing electoral reforms is definitely a very positive step and should be welcomed as such. But there is hardly anything academic about political developments, especially in this country, and the timing of the initiative seems suspect to the opposition for somewhat compelling reasons. Why now, for example, so close to the Senate elections and not when the opposition moved a no-confidence motion against the chairman of the upper house. Opposition…
by Anique Malik in Dawn, November 23rd, 2020The writer is a lawyer based in Islamabad.AN open letter by a learned additional district & sessions judge from Punjab has recently led to much consternation on both conventional and social media in the past few days. The grim picture painted by the ADSJ concerning the lower courts of the country, as she lamented the “disrespect and naked abuse”, is not surprising to those associated with the legal…
Welcome back America – Warning, foreign policy challenges ahead! : Op-ed
by Saad Masood in DAILY TIMES, NOV 25, 2020A fiercely divided vote, one party not conceding the election to the other, baseless assertion of wide voter fraud, firings of key governmental personnel, military commanders stepping into the fray. The reader would be forgiven to think that is a political set piece from a developing country but it is not. These are the happenings in the United States of America! Come what may, this year has…