Drowning in Our Delusions

On New Year’s Day this year, I advocated a responsible optimism for 2011. Three days later Salmaan Taseer was murdered by a man that taxpayers sustain to protect them and their representatives. A day later, a man appointed by the legitimately-elected government of the PPP, Mr Rehman Malik, declared that he would kill blasphemers with his own two hands. A month later, the unanimously voted-in prime minister of Pakistan threw what seems to be the last PPP MNA with any dignity and sense of righteousness, Sherry Rehman, under the bus.

What Wikileaks Failed to Absorb

Pakistan’s been a major player in the whole Cablegate fiasco. From the U.S being terrified of nuclear weapons falling into the hands of extremists to false leaks, heavily anti-Indian and conspiratorial, being spread throughout the country vis a vis some of the most respected newspapers in the region – Pakistan’s been an integral player in one way or another.

Where is Pakistan’s Halo, Beyonce?

When an earthquake measuring the magnitude of 7.0 struck the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere, Haiti, on January 12th 2010, the world immediately froze and mobilized. Hearts leaped out from their otherwise sleeping chambers, as nations and citizens ran to donate – either by texting their donations, set up by several mobile phone providers, or by holding small or big fundraising efforts.

Thou Shalt Always …

By Tom Trewinnard

Every so often, as you listen to your iPod on shuffle, you will hear a song, a lyric, a word that will seem so perfectly poignant that you wish you could tell someone. More often than not, you’re on a bus or a train or a plane, earphones in, and there’s nobody around who can share your moment.

I’m currently in a painfully anonymous airport for a soul crushingly long layover – and I find myself in this very predicament.

As Kashmir burns

Kashmir is a disputed territory. When Partition happened in 1947, and Pakistan was created, Muslim-majority states were supposed to become part of Pakistan, and Hindu-majority states were to remain with India. The state of Jammu & Kashmir was a unique case – it was a princely state in British India, and, even though it had a Muslim majority, it was ruled over by the..

Occupation of Kashmir – A Deteriorating Condition

To give you a bit of a background, on June 11th, the Indian occupying
forces (referred also as the army in this email) killed a young
17-year-old boy, named Tufail, who was walking home amidst a routine
protest in downtown Kashmir.

Pakistan and Saudi Get Cozier. Nuclozier.

Discussion on a post-racial America aside, let me bring your attention to a very interesting piece from the guardian which was forwarded to me, entitled Pakistan’s Bomb and Saudi Arabia by Julian Borger of the Guardian, part of his Global Security blog. According to Borger, who recently attended a wee conference in Brussells hosted

Civilians we don’t regret killing

This weekend, American rockets killed at least 10 civilians in Afghanistan. Since then, the government through General Stanley McChrystal has been expressing its remorse, apologizing for “this tragic loss of life.”

South Asia Has a New Gender

So, while we’re still trying to figure out the physical and epistemic ontology of our genitals here in North America, India and Pakistan have decided to give legal recognition to those without any.

Pakistanis Want to Talk, And Taliban Leader Dead?

With the apparent disintegration of the Pakistani state during the past few years, everyone has taken it upon themselves to have and express their opinion on the situation. And while everyone seems to be convinced that Pakistan is slowly plummeting towards the failed-state abyss and that the U.S. military intervention (beyond drone attacks) is inevitable, no one has really focused on what the people of Pakistan – not just the privileged elite – have to say about the situation they are finding themselves in.