Meet Umair, Pakistan’s very own child prodigy
Child prodigies are an eclectic bunch; being on the fast-track in the lane of life at such a tender age makes them so. Although, some go on to commit suicide, turn to crime and develop drink and drug problems, we remain irrevocably fascinated by them. We are overcome by their childhood achievements and allured by the fame and recognition they bring to the family. Secretly we wish in the depths of our hearts that our children would also do the same. However, what we fail to realise is the immense pressure that these kids are put under, the long hours that they spend ...
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Missing prisoners: Skeletons with urine bags
For many the media is a watchdog, but some want to make it a scapegoat to achieve their short-term personal goals. The prevailing crises in the country have also increased the challenges for the media to maintain its credibility and impartiality. I have no words to highlight the threats made to media people by the Difa-e-Pakistan Council, or certain terrorist groups. But today I still have something to say. One of the country’s top lawyers, defending the prime minister in a contempt of court case, also accused the media of negatively portraying the issue. “Don’t get into this controversy, they are ...
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Welcome to the war in Balochistan
In 2007, those of us journalists working on news desks could see from the daily reports pouring in from Swat and Fata that the situation had turned dire; that there was a war upon us that we, the media, could see, but which the general population would not wake up to, at least not until it reached their doorstep. Due to Pakistan’s overt involvement in the US war on terror, the lid on that battleground blew open fairly soon, but even back in 2007 we could see that there was another deadly war front opening – the war in Balochistan. ...
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Who is the ISI reporting to?
You know the game is up when even Asma Jahangir walks off in a huff with the ball mid-match. The indefatigable human-rights lawyer threw a tantrum after the Supreme Court decided that the charges against her client, Husain Haqqani, in the Memogate casewarranted investigation by a commission. Jahangir decided she could no longer represent Haqqani after accusing the judiciary of working in league with the ‘establishment’, a term that means ‘everyone I disagree with in Pakistan’. In this case, she seemed to be referring to the ISI. Earlier, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani more or less admitted that he had no ...
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Shouldn’t intelligence be smarter?
It is imperative and a pre-requisite of a sound counter-terrorism (CT) strategy that a country’s intelligence community is held together by a central coordinating body. The rules of engagement have drastically changed as well as the characteristic of current and potential adversaries. Presently, the adversary is a non-state entity which cannot be contained and countered with conventional military tactics and regular intelligence processes. Pakistan is not battling a country with a visible infrastructure nor a proper command and control structure that takes orders after much strategic analysis and threat assessments. We are confronting a terrorist network. And in order to disrupt and ...
Read Full PostRestoring the ISI’s tarnished reputation
An intelligence agency is at the frontlines of every war, especially against terrorism. Terror and terror networks can only be contained, dismantled or destroyed with effective intelligence gathering. But if the reputation of the intelligence agency is tarnished and its every action is questioned, no war can be effectively won and no strategy can be properly executed. It is unfortunate that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence directorate (ISI) is caught up with—and in some cases, rightly accused—for many domestic and international incidents involving terrorism and other transnational crimes. At the same time, it has also become a scapegoat for those who have ...
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Rebuttal: Pakistan’s Invisible Soldiers
Defence analyst Lt. Gen. (retd) Asad Durrani dropped a bombshell recently with his article titled ‘Invisible Soldiers of Islam’. I am assuming most of the readers have already read the rather shocking piece so I won’t repeat his assertions here. Coming from a man of his experience and understanding of Pakistan’s strategic issues, his words have really washed away his credibility and like one reader noted he’s likely not to be taken seriously again. General Durrani belongs to an era long gone. The choice of his article’s title is compelling evidence of it. Belonging to days when the justification of ...
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Wikileaks: A chance for Pakistan to vindicate itself
Since late 2006, the United States government, military, intelligence and media have been orchestrating regular attacks against Pakistan, creating a false alarm about its nuclear capability and portraying its premier spy agency, the ISI, as a threat to world peace. Weak and apologetic reactions by Pakistan’s political and military officials have encouraged this American double game. But then came the smoking gun: more than 90,000 leaked US intelligence documents, which prove how the Washington establishment has been running a vilification campaign against Pakistan both under Bush and Obama administrations, without any evidence except malicious intent. Here is a chance for Pakistan to ...
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The missing and forsaken
Whenever I hear the words missing persons I think of Amina Janjua and feel sad. She is the wife of Masood Ahmed Janjua, one of many missing person and chairperson of Defence of Human Rights Pakistan (DHRPK) which has been interminably and doggedly struggling for the cause of missing persons in Pakistan. Sometimes her hard struggle has been alone and sometimes she has had the support of the masses. The missing persons have allegedly been nabbed by Pakistani intelligence agencies in collaboration with the United States of America which is interestingly our top ally in the war against terrorism. The issue of missing persons is almost ...
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Brains, not blonde
I am plump. If you see me walking by in the corridor, the first thing you will notice about me is that I am plump. No matter, what I do I just can’t let go of the food that finds its way next to me. Some weeks back, at the opening of a salon, I met a woman who was all dressed up. Her manner of dressing was flawless. ‘Pretty’ would be a perfect word to define her, polished nails, high heels and attire. Soon she noticed me sitting right opposite her. We started talking and soon she started talking ...
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