Nanny state on September 20, 2016Three years since the YouTube ban and the futility of it all stares us in the face. Not only is the website easily accessible — mercifully — but the country nevertheless carries the burden of being the only nation on earth that has supposedly blocked a treasure trove of knowledge and entertainment. Almost two and […]
The Chinese fulcrum on September 18, 2016Pakistan’s foreign policy since inception has been to look for a fulcrum to balance its weight against its bigger neighbour, India. During the cold war, Pakistan attempted, somewhat successfully, to use the US as this fulcrum. Our newest fulcrum is China. With the coming of the Chinese Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), we are committing ourselves […]
Neos hate speech and PEMRAs inaction on September 11, 2016Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) is completely silent on Neo channel’s abusive hate speech against the Ahmadi community. Hamza Ali Abbasi’s show during Ramzan was promptly banned because Abbasi dared to speak out about the fundamental human rights of a peaceful community that has been repeatedly wronged by Pakistan since September 7, 1974. Now […]
Religious and cultural values on September 4, 2016The burqini ban, overturned by France’s highest administrative court, was an unconscionable infringement on individual freedom. About this there are no two opinions. The fact that it was a French court that overturned the ban has underscored the importance of a fair, fiercely impartial and secular judiciary ready to uphold above all human freedom or […]
Balochistan, Kalat and the great game on August 28, 2016A new game is unfolding on the South Asian chessboard. The pawns in this game are the common Pakistanis living in the province of Balochistan. The Indian prime minister’s statement on Balochistan should be an eye opener for those who doubt that the game is afoot. Those who think in terms of strategy and supply […]
Reformation is under way on August 21, 2016There is always a sense of despondency amongst liberal and progressive minded people in Pakistan. Inevitably, most conversations turn to religious extremism and how it plagues Pakistan. All of this is true, but there is no reason to fear that all is lost irrevocably for us. History shows that nations often go through a period […]
Undoing the discrimination against non-Muslims on August 14, 2016On June 24, 1947, the editor of the Time magazine wrote a letter to Mohammad Ali Jinnah enclosing the 1946 cover of Time with Jinnah’s picture on it with the caption “Mohamed Ali Jinnah, His Muslim tiger wants to eat the Hindu cow.” The editor requested an autograph of Jinnah on the picture and included […]
Here’s what you need to know about Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill 2016 on August 12, 2016The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill 2016 has been dubbed extremely controversial. Here is a summary of what the law provides in ordinary language: Application and Jurisdiction: The Act applies to all of Pakistan, on all Pakistani citizens inside Pakistan or outside it and on all such acts that constitute an offence or offences under […]
Persecution of Ahmadis hurts Pakistan more on August 7, 2016Indian government has rightly included Ahmadis as a Muslim sect in its census for the first time in its history. Even though Ahmadis in India, numbering a little less than 100,000, were never declared non-Muslim as they were in Pakistan in 1974, under the influence of Deoband, government of India had shied away from including […]
Cyber crime law and civil societys failure on July 31, 2016The Senate of Pakistan has passed the Pakistan Electronic Crimes Bill (PECB) with a whopping 55 amendments. Now obviously the law must return to the National Assembly, following which it will become the law after presidential assent. As such there was much apprehension about the law, and much of it was justified. A number of […]