Dr Qaisar Rashid

It is now apparent that the eight hours spent by a television channel in protesting against an armed attack on its anchorperson, Hamid Mir, is bound to change the future of independent (and rational) reporting in Pakistan. Rival television channels cashed in on the opportunity to feed on the slogans of patriotism. If it supposed […]

In an evolving democracy such as Pakistan, where the option for defining the boundaries of the freedom of expression is still open, rivalry between its prime intelligence agency and its prime media group comes as no surprise to anyone. There was already an atmosphere of antagonism and mistrust existing in the ISI against Mir.Even if […]

The attacks on Raza Rumi and Hamid Mir speak volumes for the risks embedded in being an analyst or an anchorperson in Pakistan. The accusing finger is pointed at various potential attackers or conspirators ranging from the Taliban to the intelligence agencies. However, there is another side of the picture. Rumi is a prolific writer […]

If an anchorperson or a producer wants to know how to make a programme popular amongst the masses, watch Khabarnaak, a comedy-come-satire (late night) show on a private television channel. Critics argue that the programme panders to the (psychological) needs mostly of the lower strata of society but the question is this: should that be […]

The Afghanistan presidential elections have been slated for April 5, 2014. Out of nine contenders, the top three contestants are Abdullah Abdullah, Ashraf Ghani and Zalmai Rassoul, who are all vying to succeed incumbent President Hamid Karzai. Amongst them, to become stronger, political make-and-break may matter. Amongst them, to be successful, the ethnic tinge of […]

In a way, the spirit of the Khilafat Movement of the early 1920s is still alive. Religion has become blended with politics. Emotionalism, mostly in the name of religion, is now ingrained in society. Attempts at pan-Islamism have been made at both state and non-state levels. Speakers delivering fiery emotive speeches have become leaders. The […]

It was the Khilafat Movement of the early 1920s that introduced and strengthened four main trends in the thought of Muslims in the subcontinent: first, religion could be mixed with politics to achieve certain objectives; second, emotional appeals could be used to achieve political purposes; third, the desire for pan-Islamism could be fulfilled; and fourth, […]

It is known that an ideology in the name of Pakistan was discovered in 1958 by the then General Ayub Khan, who circulated a questionnaire with nine questions pertaining to said ideology that was endorsed by some people including Justice (retired) Javed Iqbal, who wrote a detailed response with suggestions published later in the form […]

It is known that, in 1958, the then General Ayub Khan circulated a questionnaire amongst a select few to comment on the ideology of Pakistan. However, it is not known what prompted him to do so. Secondly, it is also not known on what standards he selected the people to circulate the questionnaire amongst. Thirdly, […]

In the context of Afghanistan, the point is made that invaders are always defeated by the locals. However, there is hardly anyone who calculates the cost of the victory in human terms. In recent history, the decade of the Soviet-Afghan conflict (1979 to 1989) consumed the lives of about one million Afghans. One million is […]