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منگل 29 اپریل 2008Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Charlie Wilson's War
The movie is fun to watch, but it's the book that's a must read.
Continue reading "Charlie Wilson's War"
Posted by Zack at 1:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
پیر 24 مارچ 2008Monday, March 24, 2008
Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gillani
Yusuf Raza Gillani has been elected Prime Minister of Pakistan. Here is some news and analysis on his election.
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Posted by Zack at 12:08 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
منگل 11 مارچ 2008Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Black Flag Week
Aitzaz Ahsan has declared this week to be Black Flag Week to protest for the restoration of the Pakistani judiciary. Let's all take part in this week.
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Posted by Zack at 11:29 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
جمعہ 22 فروری 2008Friday, February 22, 2008
Pakistan Election Aftermath
Musharraf's allies lose big in Pakistan but the Bush administration is still pro-Musharraf. A coalition government of PPP and PML-N is in the offing.
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Posted by Zack at 12:25 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
اتوار 17 فروری 2008Sunday, February 17, 2008
Pakistan Elections
Pakistan is having elections today. Violence has taken its toll though in dampening any enthusiasm. There are also worries about rigging.
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Posted by Zack at 9:48 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
پیر 28 جنوری 2008Monday, January 28, 2008
Global Gender Attitudes
I count the reasons why I won't raise my daughter in Pakistan. The attitudes of Pakistanis towards women leave a lot to be desired and women don't have much opportunity there.
Continue reading "Global Gender Attitudes"
Posted by Zack at 9:57 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
جمعرات 27 دسمبر 2007Thursday, December 27, 2007
Benazir Bhutto Assassinated
Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has been assassinated in Rawalpindi while campaigning for elections set for January 8.
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Posted by Zack at 11:01 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
ہفتہ 15 دسمبر 2007Saturday, December 15, 2007
سقوطِ ڈھاکہ
آج 16 دسمبر ہے۔ آج سے 36 سال پہلے پاکستانی فوج نے مشرقی پاکستان میں ہتھیار ڈالے اور بنگلہدیش دنیا میں نمودار ہوا۔ چلیں اس تاریخ کو کچھ کھنگالیں کہ شاید ہم کچھ سیکھ سکیں۔
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منگل 4 دسمبر 2007Tuesday, December 04, 2007
خدا کے لئے
شعیب منصور کی فلم خدا کے لئے میں میری کی زبردستی شادی اور حبسِ بےجا نے مجھے سب سے متاثر کیا۔ لالیوڈ کی عام فلموں سے بہت مختلف یہ ایک اچھی فلم ہے اور دیکھنے سے تعلق رکھتی ہے۔
Posted by Zack at 11:29 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
پیر 5 نومبر 2007Monday, November 05, 2007
Some Thoughts on Pakistan
This martial law is basically a coup against the higher judiciary. While lawyers are protesting, the politicians are still inactive. This might empower the militants. The US must reject dictatorship in Pakistan.
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Posted by Zack at 12:18 PM | Comments (10) | TrackBack
ہفتہ 3 نومبر 2007Saturday, November 03, 2007
The End of Pakistan
General Musharraf has declared martial law in all but name and Pakistan is headed for the dustbin of history.
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Posted by Zack at 6:38 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
پیر 22 اکتوبر 2007Monday, October 22, 2007
Pakistan Political Poll
A discussion about a series of polls about political opinions in Pakistan. In short, Musharraf and the ruling PML-Q are very unpopular, Bhutto and PPP are losing their popularity too while Sharif is gaining. The religio-political leaders are losing too.
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Posted by Zack at 4:01 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
جمعہ 21 ستمبر 2007Friday, September 21, 2007
The Last Mughal: The Fall of a Dynasty: Delhi, 1857
This is a great book about Bahadur Shah Zafar, Delhi and the events of 1857. It makes everything come alive. If you are interested in Indian history, it's a must read.
Continue reading "The Last Mughal: The Fall of a Dynasty: Delhi, 1857"
Posted by Zack at 2:37 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
ہفتہ 1 ستمبر 2007Saturday, September 01, 2007
Angry Arab in Pakistan
The Angry Arab visits Pakistan and writes about lizards in his inimitable style. All his posts about Pakistan are worth reading.
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Posted by Zack at 3:27 PM | Comments (22) | TrackBack
منگل 14 اگست 2007Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Pakistan Independence Day
Today is Pakistan's Independence Day. It has been sixty years. Happy Independence Day!
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Posted by Zack at 10:21 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
جمعرات 5 جولائی 2007Thursday, July 05, 2007
برقعہ اور جہاد
لال مسجد کے مولانا عبدالعزیز نے دھمکیاں تو خودکش حملوں کی دی تھیں مگر خود برقعے میں بھاگنے کی کوشش کی۔
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پیر 7 مئی 2007Monday, May 07, 2007
Pakistan Opinion Poll
There is an opinion poll out about the perceptions of people in four Muslim countries (including Pakistan) about US policy, attacks on civilians and al Qaeda. It offers an interesting perspective into what Pakistani city dwellers are thinking.
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Posted by Zack at 2:34 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
ہفتہ 21 اپریل 2007Saturday, April 21, 2007
How Pakistani Are You?
Finally a quiz to measure how much of a Pakistani one is. Fortunately or unfortunately, I didn't do too well.
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Posted by Zack at 1:57 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
جمعرات 5 اپریل 2007Thursday, April 05, 2007
یہ کیسا جہاد ہے
پاکستان میں کیا ہو رہا ہے؟ جہاد کے نام پر مسلمان کن کاموں میں پڑ چکے ہیں؟ کیا اسلام صرف سیاست اور تشدد ہی کا نام ہے؟
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جمعرات 7 ستمبر 2006Thursday, September 07, 2006
Liberty or Death
Liberty or Death by Patrick French is one of the few books on Indian independence that is not anti-Jinnah. Its portrayal of Jinnah and Mountbatten is realistic. I recommend it to anyone interested in the partition of India and Pakistan.
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Posted by Zack at 3:23 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
پیر 14 اگست 2006Monday, August 14, 2006
یومِ آزادی مبارک
آج چودہ اگست ہے اور پاکستان کے قیام کا دن۔ تمام پاکستانیوں کو میری طرف سے مبارک۔ کل انڈیا کا یومِ آزادی ہے۔ ان سب کو بھی مبارک ہو۔
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اتوار 21 مئی 2006Sunday, May 21, 2006
Blast from the Past
On our recent trip to Pakistan, we wanted to document, photographically, all the places with which we had some association in our past. We didn't succeed completely. But here are some photographs.
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Posted by Zack at 12:06 AM | Comments (30) | TrackBack
اتوار 7 مئی 2006Sunday, May 07, 2006
خدا کا دیس نکالا
پاکستان میں عام طور سے اللہ کے لئے خدا کا لفظ استعمال ہوتا تھا۔ مگر کچھ سالوں سے ایک مہم چلی ہوئی ہے کہ خدا کو اردو زبان سے نکال دیا جائے۔ کچھ مسلمان چاہتے ہیں کہ ہم اللہ کا لفظ استعمال کریں اور انگریزی میں گاڈ اور اردو میں خدا کہنا چھوڑ دیں۔
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ہفتہ 22 اپریل 2006Saturday, April 22, 2006
Georgia Tech Student Detained
A Pakistani American student at Georgia Tech has been arrested for providing material support for terrorism.
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Posted by Zack at 2:53 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
بدھ 29 مارچ 2006Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Pak Swiss Photos
Here are some photographs from our trip to Pakistan and the day-long stay in Zurich, Switzerland in December/January.
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Posted by Zack at 6:02 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
ہفتہ 18 مارچ 2006Saturday, March 18, 2006
پاکستان میں اجنبی
میں پاکستان میں پیدا ہوا اور عمر کا ایک طویل عرصہ میں نے وہیں گزارا۔ پھر آج میں پاکستان میں اجنبی کیسے بن گیا؟ اس بار جب میں پاکستان گیا تو وہاں اپنے تو تھے مگر ملک اور شہر میں میں نے خود کو غیرملکی تصور کیا۔ شاید وقت نے مجھے بدل دیا ہے اور شاید پاکستان بھی آٹھ سال پہلے والا نہیں رہا۔
Continue reading "پاکستان میں اجنبی"
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ہفتہ 4 مارچ 2006Saturday, March 04, 2006
Blogspot Blocked in Pakistan
Pakistani bloggers are livid as blogspot has been blocked by the Pakistani government.
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Posted by Zack at 11:11 PM | Comments (23) | TrackBack
جمعرات 5 جنوری 2006Thursday, January 05, 2006
Back in Atlanta
I am back home, but very tired right now. Regular blogging to resume soon.
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منگل 3 جنوری 2006Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Flying Home
It is time to head back home. Our flight is tonight. We have a 1 day stay in Zurich on the way.
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Posted by Zack at 3:08 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
منگل 20 دسمبر 2005Tuesday, December 20, 2005
In Pakistan
Safely in Pakistan. Travel with a child is not that easy, but not as bad as we thought either. More thoughts on Emirates, Dubai airport, child meals, etc.
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ہفتہ 17 دسمبر 2005Saturday, December 17, 2005
سفر
ہم پاکستان جا رہے ہیں۔ مشیل کا یہ پاکستان کا پہلا سفر ہے۔ دیکھیں کیسا جاتا ہے۔
Posted by Zack at 10:25 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
منگل 25 اکتوبر 2005Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Blog Quake Day
It is Earthquake relief day through blogs. Please help in the relief efforts in South Asia as millions require our assistance.
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Posted by Zack at 11:55 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
جمعہ 14 اکتوبر 2005Friday, October 14, 2005
Kashmir Earthquake Donations
Chapati Mystery is soliciting donations for Edhi Foundation.
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Posted by Zack at 1:39 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
اتوار 9 اکتوبر 2005Sunday, October 09, 2005
Earthquake in Pakistan
There was a devastating earthquake in the northern parts of Pakistan and India about 24 hours ago. The epicenter of the 7.6 intensity earthquake was about 50 miles (80 km) northeast of Islamabad. Latest numbers are more than "18,000 killed and 40,000 wounded.
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اتوار 25 ستمبر 2005Sunday, September 25, 2005
A View of Islamabad
A panoramic view of Islamabad from the Margalla hills by my friend, Khawar.
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Posted by Zack at 11:06 PM | Comments (14) | TrackBack
ہفتہ 17 ستمبر 2005Saturday, September 17, 2005
Rape Musharraf
Pakistan's General Musharraf loses his mind (again!) in an interview. He claims women think rape is a good way to make money and move to the western world.
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Posted by Zack at 9:34 PM | Comments (11) | TrackBack
جمعرات 8 ستمبر 2005Thursday, September 08, 2005
اسرائیل اور پاکستان
پاکستان اور اسرائیل کے وزرائے خارجہ نے استنبول میں ملاقات کی۔ کیا پاکستان اسرائیل کو تسلیم کرنے لگا ہے؟ کیا اسے تسلیم کرنا چاہیئے؟
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منگل 14 جون 2005Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Reaction to Criticism
The Bush administration responds to Amnesty International's cataloging of abuses in Gitmo and beyond by tarnishing Amnesty's name. The Musharraf regime saves Pakistan's reputation by not allowing Mukhtaran Bibi, a gang rape victim, to go abroad.
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Posted by Zack at 3:16 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
بدھ 8 جون 2005Wednesday, June 08, 2005
زنا، حدود اور ڈی این اے
کیا زنا کی حد نافذ کرنے کے لئے ڈی این اے ٹیسٹ ثبوت کے لئے کافی ہے؟
Continue reading "زنا، حدود اور ڈی این اے"
Posted by Zack at 2:53 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
جمعہ 1 اپریل 2005Friday, April 01, 2005
پاکستانی پاسپورٹ میں مذہب واپس
اکتوبر میں جب پاکستانی پاسپورٹ بین الاقوامی معیار پر تبدیل کیا گیا تو اس میں سے مذہب کا خانہ نکال دیا گیا۔ اس پر پاکستان کی مذہبی جماعتوں کو تکلیف ہوئی۔ انہوں نے اس قدم کے خلاف انتہائی نامعقول دلائل دیئے اور احتجاج کیا۔ اب کچھ دن پہلے حکومت نے سر جھکا دیا اور مذہب کا خانہ پاسپورٹ میں واپس ڈال دیا۔
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ہفتہ 15 جنوری 2005Saturday, January 15, 2005
Trouble in Baluchistan
There have been problems in the Pakistani province of Baluchistan recently. I haven’t been following the news closely. But Chapati Mystery has a good overview of the history of Baluch grievances as well as info about the current troubles. Definitely...
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منگل 4 جنوری 2005Tuesday, January 04, 2005
پاسپورٹ اور مذہب
پاکستان کی مذہبی جماعتیں آجکل اس بات پر جذباتی ہو گئی ہیں کہ پاکستانی پاسپورٹ سے مذہب کا کالم نکالا جا رہا ہے۔
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جمعرات 23 ستمبر 2004Thursday, September 23, 2004
Anglo-Sikh War Journal
Sepoy of Chapati Mystery has started posting the journal of an anonymous subaltern from the second Anglo-Sikh war in the Punjab in 1848-49. It should be interesting reading. Some historical background is available here. Sepoy promises another journal from the...
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Posted by Zack at 8:07 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
منگل 21 ستمبر 2004Tuesday, September 21, 2004
National Interest = Narcissism
It would be funny if the fate of 160 million Pakistanis did not depend on it. I grew up hearing General Zia talking about justifying every stupid act of his on Islam and the nation. Now, it is Musharraf’s turn....
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Posted by Zack at 9:19 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
بدھ 15 ستمبر 2004Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Pakistanis or Arabs?
Via Al-Muhajabah, I found an interesting article in the Detroit Free Press. A new national poll challenges the view that Arab Americans were the only victims of bias and profiling after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. A survey conducted...
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Posted by Zack at 8:11 AM | Comments (16) | TrackBack
پیر 13 ستمبر 2004Monday, September 13, 2004
Partition
In keeping with my motto of blogging yesterday’s news, I bring you a three weeks old post by the Head Heeb about the India-Pakistan partition 57 years ago. With such a [bad] track record [post-partition], it’s inevitable that many people...
Posted by Zack at 9:14 AM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
جمعرات 19 اگست 2004Thursday, August 19, 2004
Pakistani Women Olympic Athletes
I have recently been focussed more on negative aspects of Pakistan recently on this blog. A long time ago, I had plans of “good news” posts about Pakistan, but that never materialized. Now, there is a weblog, Pak Positive, blogging...
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ہفتہ 14 اگست 2004Saturday, August 14, 2004
Happy Independence Day
To all Pakistanis. And to Indians tomorrow. I don’t have the time to write something for the occasion, but Chapati Mystery has a few posts discussing some personalities: Altaf Hussain Hali Muhammad Ali Johar Muhammad Iqbal Chapati Mystery also has...
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Posted by Zack at 6:14 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
پیر 9 اگست 2004Monday, August 09, 2004
Feudal Military
It is the usual story about a feudal landlord’s repression, killing, torture and expulsion of tenant farmers, something that probably has happened countless times in Punjab’s history. But there is a twist. The landlord in this case is the Pakistan...
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Posted by Zack at 4:15 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
جمعرات 5 اگست 2004Thursday, August 05, 2004
Pakistan and Darfur
The humanitarian crisis in Darfur engendered by the Janjaweed militia and the Sudanese government has finally caught some international attention. While the US is threatening sanctions and France has moved troops to the Chad-Sudan border, Pakistan has responded with mealy-mouthed...
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Posted by Zack at 12:13 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
جمعہ 30 جولائی 2004Friday, July 30, 2004
Kargil
Via The Acorn comes this Nawaz Sharif interview about Kargil. Insisting that he was kept in the dark over Pakistan Army’s Kargil aggression, former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharief has said the then Pakistan Army chief General Pervez Musharraf and...
Posted by Zack at 9:31 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
اتوار 25 جولائی 2004Sunday, July 25, 2004
The Great Game
Conrad Barwa has an insightful post at the Head Heeb on the structural and strategic elements in Pakistan’s policy towards the tribal areas and Afghanistan. Here is his conclusion: What does seem clear is that the production of any ‘HVTs’...
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Posted by Zack at 1:31 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
اتوار 4 جولائی 2004Sunday, July 04, 2004
Bruised Pakistanis
I was just minding my own business and making plans to go home to Jersey for the long weekend when I heard Pakistanis were under suspicion. The US Department of Homeland Security has alerted six major airports in the United...
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Posted by Zack at 12:09 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
ہفتہ 26 جون 2004Saturday, June 26, 2004
New PM but Same Ruler
Pakistan is having a change of Prime Minister, though it will still be ruled by Jamali’s boss, President-General Pervez Musharraf. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali has resigned following a meeting with the country’s President, Pervez Musharraf. Mr Jamali confirmed...
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بدھ 2 جون 2004Wednesday, June 02, 2004
Freedom at Midnight
Freedom at Midnight by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre was recommended to me by zackq and KO (who has his own thoughts here). It is a highly readable book with a great writing style. The major fault of the book...
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Posted by Zack at 4:39 PM | Comments (21) | TrackBack
ہفتہ 8 مئی 2004Saturday, May 08, 2004
Pakistan: Whither Democracy?
Via Chapati Mystery, I find out that Patrick Belton of Oxblog has written a 3-part series on Pakistan and democracy at Winds of Change. It’s definitely an interesting backgrounder for people who want to know more about Pakistani politics. Chapati...
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منگل 13 اپریل 2004Tuesday, April 13, 2004
Democracy, Military and Pakistan
While listening to President Bush, I was getting frustrated. So what do I do? I start reading the BBC News and Dawn websites and find even more frustrating news. Forget President Bush, let’s hear from President-General Musharraf. Pakistan’s President Pervez...
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Posted by Zack at 9:15 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
اتوار 29 فروری 2004Sunday, February 29, 2004
ISI Recruiter
Somebody thinks I am an ISI recruiter. (ISI is the Pakistani spy agency.) I Wnat To Join Pakisti Intelengenc Agency ISI ThenHow I Can Join To this Please Send Me Any Email Addess or Website link where i contact to...
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Posted by Zack at 4:09 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
جمعہ 20 فروری 2004Friday, February 20, 2004
Arranged Valentines
A funny episode on Pakistani TV by Avari-Nameh: During a Valentine’s Day “special.” A — my family would call her “modern” — woman is interviewing an evidently very happy couple. Hostess: So how long have you been celebrating Valentine’s Day?...
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Posted by Zack at 8:52 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
جمعرات 5 فروری 2004Thursday, February 05, 2004
Pakistani Nuclear Proliferation
You probably know the story about nuclear proliferation by Pakistan. I have written related posts here and here. This post brings together some of the news coming out of Pakistan regarding the recent questioning of Pakistani nuclear scientists. A lot...
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Posted by Zack at 5:50 AM | Comments (21) | TrackBack
جمعہ 30 جنوری 2004Friday, January 30, 2004
More About Israel and Pakistan
I have argued before that Pakistan should recognize Israel. There have been some ambiguous signs regarding relations between these two countries recently. First, there was Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf meeting Israeli opposition leader Shimon Peres during the World Economic...
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Posted by Zack at 12:59 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
منگل 6 جنوری 2004Tuesday, January 06, 2004
Pakistan's Nuclear Export
The New York Times has an important article about Pakistan’s ties to nuclear programs in a number of countries. The Pakistani leaders who denied for years that scientists at the country’s secret A. Q. Khan Research Laboratories were peddling advanced...
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Posted by Zack at 12:25 AM | Comments (15) | TrackBack
پیر 22 دسمبر 2003Monday, December 22, 2003
Musharraf The Savior
Conrad Barwa requested me to write about the assassination attempt on Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf. A high intensity bomb wrecked the bridge near 10-Corps Headquarters moments after President Musharraf’s motorcade crossed it on Sunday night [Dec 14] while on...
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Posted by Zack at 9:49 PM | Comments (10) | TrackBack
جمعہ 5 دسمبر 2003Friday, December 05, 2003
Hope in Conflicts?
There have been some positive developments in two major conflicts recently. I am not sure whether these will amount to much as a little progress is often followed by a lot of backtracking. But may be I’ll be proven wrong...
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Posted by Zack at 3:28 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
منگل 7 اکتوبر 2003Tuesday, October 07, 2003
Good Riddance?
I hate to say this and may be I shouldn’t. On the other hand, Azam Tariq was a crazy guy who was a leader of a group which murdered hundreds of Shia in Pakistan. He died the way his followers...
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Posted by Zack at 3:46 AM | Comments (24) | TrackBack
بدھ 24 ستمبر 2003Wednesday, September 24, 2003
Bhangra
May be this will make Britney Spears’ music better: Britney Spears has turned to Indian bhangra rhythms for her comeback song out later this year. The song features Spears singing and rapping over music and rhythms from rural India and...
Posted by Zack at 5:05 AM | Comments (14) | TrackBack
جمعرات 18 ستمبر 2003Thursday, September 18, 2003
Arranged Marriage: The Problem
You probably already know from my series of posts on marriage that I don’t like arranged marriages. They are obviously not the disaster that people in the West generally think they are. However, there is one big problem with them...
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Posted by Zack at 1:34 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
بدھ 17 ستمبر 2003Wednesday, September 17, 2003
Busy Busy Busy
Sorry for the lack of posts. Amber was here for the weekend and I have been really busy with work and stuff. I have a couple of Kashmir posts in the pipeline. Hopefully, I should post them in a day...
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پیر 8 ستمبر 2003Monday, September 08, 2003
Pakistani Blogs
KO is compiling a list of Pakistani blogs. He already has 26 blogs on his list. If you know of any more, whether in Pakistan or expats like me, let him know....
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اتوار 24 اگست 2003Sunday, August 24, 2003
Kashmir
I am working on a few posts related to Kashmir. I can’t promise when they will be posted since I have to do a lot of research on the topic and am busy with my dissertation as well. You might...
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جمعرات 21 اگست 2003Thursday, August 21, 2003
Pakistan Oil Spill
An oil tanker ran aground in the Arabian Sea off of Karachi last month spilling thousands of tonnes of oil in the sea. An oil tanker which ran aground off the coast of Pakistan has broken into two. The tanker,...
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جمعرات 14 اگست 2003Thursday, August 14, 2003
Happy Independence Day
To my Pakistani readers. Read De Grouchy Owl’s post (no permalinks [link edited to permalink for the post –ZA]; it’s the Aug 14 post) about moving to Pakistan from the US....
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منگل 22 جولائی 2003Tuesday, July 22, 2003
Pakistan and Afghanistan
This random rant is brought to you courtesy of Tacitus: Pakistan itself, meanwhile, is happily engaging in its national pasttime of effectively ignoring its extremists and conducting small-scale aggression against its neighbors. Is Islamabad an ally? I guess if Riyadh...
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جمعرات 17 جولائی 2003Thursday, July 17, 2003
Israel and Pakistan - A Report
Google is great; it’s amazing what you can find while looking through your referral logs. I have gotten quite a few visits who were searching for Israel and Pakistan. My post about Pakistani recognition of Israel is #5 on Google....
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بدھ 9 جولائی 2003Wednesday, July 09, 2003
Blasphemy Law in Pakistan
The stupid blasphemy laws in Pakistan have another victim. A court in Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province has sentenced a journalist to life imprisonment for blasphemy. Munawar Mohsin, a sub-editor at the Frontier Post newspaper was convicted of publishing a blasphemous...
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بدھ 2 جولائی 2003Wednesday, July 02, 2003
No Recognition of Israel
See my previous post for background on this issue. It seems like General Musharraf is backpedalling on recognizing Israel. President Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday categorically stated that recognition of Israel by Pakistan is neither on the cards nor is such...
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منگل 1 جولائی 2003Tuesday, July 01, 2003
Fight between Musharraf and MMA
The religious alliance MMA (Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal or United Assembly for Action), along with the rest of the opposition, has been agitating for getting rid of the Constitutional amendments made by General Musharraf and making him choose between keeping his uniform...
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پیر 30 جون 2003Monday, June 30, 2003
Israel and Pakistan
The Head Heeb reminds me of the recent signals that Pakistan might establish relations with Israel. Pakistan President General Musharraf hinted about recognizing Israel in an interview to GeoTV. He said in view of the changing international scenario Pakistan has...
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جمعہ 27 جون 2003Friday, June 27, 2003
Why I was fined
You might want to read my previous posts on this topic first. In December 1991 when the incident referred to in my first post happened, IJT had disappeared from campus and MSF ran the place. They intimidated students, faculty and...
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Student Politics at its worst
I apologize for the delay in explaining what the old letter from my undergrad was about. But I am a graduate student and life was just too busy. I went kayaking over the weekend and then scrambled to do all...
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جمعہ 20 جون 2003Friday, June 20, 2003
Letter from my Undergrad School
I am thinking of writing about my undergrad years. Not personal stories, but more tied into education and politics in Pakistan. Instead of first giving the background, I’ll post the translation of a letter that my parents got from the...
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جمعرات 19 جون 2003Thursday, June 19, 2003
Musharraf's Gems
This guy Musharraf makes me angry: President Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday declared that the Legal Framework Order could not be undone and he would continue as the chief of army staff as “unity of command comes through one person in...
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ہفتہ 14 جون 2003Saturday, June 14, 2003
Arranged Marriage
I had completely forgotten about completing this series until I saw Yasmine comment on Abez's blog (no permalinks; look up the June 10 post titled "How I Own 1/7th of Riaz's heart")....
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جمعرات 12 جون 2003Thursday, June 12, 2003
Punjab to Punjab
An interesting human interest story about the links between people from Indian Punjab and Pakistani Punjab. The closing of the India-Pakistan border 18 months ago has caused agony for Punjabi Muslims. But moves to restore road links have brought hope...
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جمعہ 6 جون 2003Friday, June 06, 2003
Sharia in NWFP
I am not in a mood to comment on the whole Sharia thing. The NWFP provincial assembly passed a Sharia law a few days ago. I found the following quote from the NWFP Law Minister to be really funny: “We...
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پیر 2 جون 2003Monday, June 02, 2003
Democracy: Pakistani Style
To all those who think General Pervez Musharraf has restored democratic government in Pakistan, here is his underling Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali: “Neither you nor I gave him the uniform. It was given to him by an organization and only...
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پیر 7 اپریل 2003Monday, April 07, 2003
Mountains in Pakistan
I promised some time ago to write about interesting non-political stuff in Pakistan. This is the first post in that series. I hope that I can continue this series for some time. We’ll start with the mountains. The northern part...
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منگل 25 مارچ 2003Tuesday, March 25, 2003
Shariah in NWFP
The religious parties government in the province of NWFP in Pakistan has introduced legislation to enforce shariah in the province. The NWFP government has decided to enforce Islamic Shariat in the province by introducing Enforcement of Shariat Act and Provincial...
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منگل 11 مارچ 2003Tuesday, March 11, 2003
An Illegal Immigrant
From Dawn: US authorities kept a nephew of President Pervez Musharraf in detention for two weeks for a visa violation, US and Pakistani officials said on Saturday. Aamir Javed Musharraf was detained on Feb 19 and released on Friday on...
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منگل 18 فروری 2003Tuesday, February 18, 2003
Smallpox Vaccinations
Virginia Postrel says: Speaking of immigrants, I can’t help wondering whether the estimates of how many (or rather, how few) Americans have been vaccinated against smallpox fully account for the immigrant population. I’ve noticed quite a few vaccination scars on...
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جمعہ 14 فروری 2003Friday, February 14, 2003
Valentine's Day and Extremists
I knew that religious conservatives in Pakistan did not like Valentine’ Day, but it was never a big deal. Most of the protests and shattering windows of shops and cars occurred on New Year’s eve. It seems like things have...
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ہفتہ 8 فروری 2003Saturday, February 08, 2003
Maudoodi: According to Kepel
I have started reading Gilles Kepel’s book Jihad : The Trail of Political Islam”. It is an interesting book with a somewhat different viewpoint about political and militant Islam. Here are some excerpts about Maudoodi (for some background, read my...
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جمعرات 6 فروری 2003Thursday, February 06, 2003
Honor Killings: Miscellaneous Notes
I should probably add some thoughts to my previous post about honor killings. I should warn you however that this post will not have the moral clarity of the previous one; instead it will be a somewhat wishy-washy post. I...
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Honor Killings
Joe Katzman of Winds of Change pointed me to a post by Adil Farooq (MuslimPundit) on their group weblog. Adil writes about the practice of honor killings of women in the Muslim world. In a remarkable book, Woman in the...
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Democracy or Dictatorship
Zachary Latif recently wrote against democracy in the Muslim world: In fact one remains hopefully that there will be no significant upheaval within the Islamic Crescent since autocracy, in a convoluted way, is the one redeeming aspect of the Islamic...
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منگل 28 جنوری 2003Tuesday, January 28, 2003
Fall of Pakistani Government
I have read and heard this statement that the Pakistani government might fall to Islamic extremists any day. The latest comes from Jim Henley on Stand Down: Pakistan. It’s got nukes. It’s got a shaky government and an intelligence service...
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پیر 27 جنوری 2003Monday, January 27, 2003
Activist Islam in Pakistan: Post 2
Continuing from where I left off with Al-Muhajabah’s “A field guide to Islamic activists”: Second, we can look at recent developments in Islamic thought in Pakistan as a whole. Pakistan was created in 1948 as a state for the Muslims...
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اتوار 26 جنوری 2003Sunday, January 26, 2003
Activist Islam in Pakistan: Post 1
I promised this series quite some time ago, but didn’t get around to doing it. I’ll use Al-Muhajabah’s “A field guide to Islamic activists” as a jumping-off point (Yes, I remember mentioning it earlier and promising a critique of its...
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پیر 20 جنوری 2003Monday, January 20, 2003
Deported Pakistanis: Illegal Immigrants
The New York Times has a story on some Pakistanis who were deported after September 11. All of them were illegal immigrants, so they do not get any sympathy from me for their plight. In my opinion, an illegal immigrant...
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پیر 13 جنوری 2003Monday, January 13, 2003
'They' are out to get us
Good advice by Irfan Hussain on the conspiracy theories circulating in Pakistan: Recently, I met somebody, who has worked abroad for much of his life, who flies to London to listen to classical music concerts, and is otherwise a very...
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جمعہ 10 جنوری 2003Friday, January 10, 2003
Impressions from Pakistan
I visited Pakistan after 5 years in December. I couldn’t do much there due to the weddings of both my brother and my brother-in-law. I stayed in Islamabad (my parents) and Wah Cantt (my in-laws), but also visited Karachi. But...
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بدھ 8 جنوری 2003Wednesday, January 08, 2003
A.Q. Khan: Spreading Nuclear Technology
Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, who is sometimes referred to as the father of the Pakistani nuclear bomb, is now making news regarding nuclear proliferation. From Dawn: Last month, Dawn received a copy of the pamphlet purportedly distributed by A. Q....
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منگل 7 جنوری 2003Tuesday, January 07, 2003
US/Pakistan Forces Clash
I know I am late on this news about the clash between US forces and Pakistani Border Scouts near the Afghan border (there’s a dispute about which side of the border it happened.) But then this is a weblog, not...
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پیر 6 جنوری 2003Monday, January 06, 2003
Islamabad: Pakistani or not?
Ikram Saeed commented about Islamabad: Any thoughts on Slamma-bad (that’s the hip-hop name)? I’ve been only once, and found it odd that the capital of Pakistan is such an un-Pakistani city. It felt like Muscut more than Multan. It reminds...
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بدھ 11 دسمبر 2002Wednesday, December 11, 2002
Joke of a Prime Minister
This is a funny Prime Minister we have got in Pakistan: Concurring with the suggestion that the floor-crossing law [this law disallows parliamentarians to change parties] was a good law, Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, however, maintained that at...
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اتوار 24 نومبر 2002Sunday, November 24, 2002
Pakistan Army's Long Tentacles
Washington Post has an article on the perks the military in Pakistan enjoys as a result of its hold on power for 27 of the last 55 years. Here is an excerpt: There is no denying the military’s dominant role...
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