Posts Tagged ‘pakistan news’
May 20, 2010
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Facbeook Banned in Pakistan - May 2010
There’s a notion of two distinct America’s; one that is conservative, mostly Republican Red and the other a more liberal Democratic Blue, and in a similar way I’ve seen two Pakistan’s.
Case in point : the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority severed access to the worlds largest social networking site this week when a Lawyers Association won a court injunction officially banning Facebook because of a page entitled “Post Drawings of Prophet Mohammad Day”. As of now, the Pakistan government has added YouTube, and certain pages on Flickr and Wikipedia to the ban list which is either fueling vehement support of the ban (a conservative, we’ll say Red thing to do) and protests against Facebook or a eliciting a total opposite response “God save this country, lunatics are running it” (a more liberal, response we’ll label Blue).
The polarized views are reminiscent of our own democratic deliberations; strong demonstrations for (Red) and against (Blue) the legality of the Iraq invasion beginning in 2004, or protests against the passage of Proposition 8 (Blue) in California which outlawed same sex marriage in 2008 (Red).
So do such polar views necessarily indicate a distinctly Blue and Red America? I’ve never thought so, because overallAmerican’s tend to be far more centrist than our elected officials make us out to be in a two party system. Generally, Americans from California to New York and everywhere in between share basic social and cultural values; we watch the same shows, dress similarly, and ultimately ascribe to the values outlined in our Constitution (albeit interpretations differ).
But Pakistan is very different. There is far less social homogeneousness and more indications of a vastly distinct populace, a Red and Blue Pakistan if you will. Citizens from the remote, more rural northern areas bordering Afghanistan, or Red places will likely dress, consume, and believe differently than people in the more cosmopolitan hustle and bustle of large cities like Karachi, or Blue Pakistan.
Pakistani’s are educated on vastly different scales. While one child might be raised in a feudal system from a village in Sindh with no education, another might be educated per the Cambridge system in a large city, while another might have only had formal training in religious studies at a Madrassah! In terms of dress; it’s not uncommon to find females covered in burqa’s from head to toe, no face, hands or even eyes showing (Red), while you’ll find other’s in the skimpiest of attire partying until daybreak (Blue), at which point some Pakistani’s may rise to pray at a local Mosque while others are just getting home from a night of drinking and dancing. It’s Red and Blue if i’ve ever seen it, if not as stark as the contrast of Black on White.
So there’s an enormous diversity in belief systems that is more immediately recognized in the Pakistani landscape than in ours. I recall living there while in High School and being shocked at the level of ignorance toward America by some and whole hearted embrace of western culture by others. But polar lifestyles and belief systems amongst Pakistani’s doesn’t indicate there isn’t a grey area of people who fall in between two extremes, nor does it mean the group perceived as more “western” is necessarily against the ban on Facebook. In fact, notorious party animal and international rock star Ali Azmat didn’t denounce the censorship:
“Musician Ali Azmat said the issue should be dealt with sternly so that no such thing takes place in the future. “Every Muslim condemns this act, but it should be handled responsibly because we have to maintain our image. I have registered my condemnation of the relevant Facebook page.”
And that’s when I start to worry. If so called “liberal” personalities in Pakistan can be overworked over the Facebook page and fail to renounce such short sighted legislation, I shudder to think of how widespread acceptance of unnecessary censorship still is in Pakistan.
I’ll be the first to say the Facebook page is in poor taste, it’s a sorry excuse for a cause and the fact that it does not have even a 20k following yet is testimony to how silly it is. Thus the futility of the inane effort makes the Pakistani ban a disproportionate, counter productive response.
The page does not incite hate or violence and I would go so far as to say it posed an opportunity for the Pakistani government to lead its citizens to moderation in this instance. After violent protests against the Danish cartoons which forever mar the image of Muslims today, Pakistan missed a chance to demonstrate Islamic sensibility.
By banning Facebook over a trivial issue the government makes a mockery of it’s people, Red and Blue alike. Officially designated as The Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the government carries a profound responsibility to simultaneously uphold freedom and religious consciousness. Not an easy task, but the last thing Pakistan needs right now are further riled extremists and increased Anti-Americanism.
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Posted in Pakistan, Religion & Society | Tagged america and pakistan, anti americanism, anti americanism in pakistan, censorship in pakistan, conservative and liberal pakistan, conservative in pakistan, conservatives in pakistan, facebook pakistan, freedom of press pakistan, freedom of speech pakistan, government ban pakistan, liberal pakistan, liberal press pakistan, liberals in pakistan, media in pakistan, pakistan and facebook, pakistan and politics, pakistan and social media, pakistan censorship, pakistan extremism, pakistan free media, pakistan government ban, pakistan media ban, pakistan media issues, pakistan news, pakistan politics, pakistan protest facebook, pakistan protests, pakistan zainab, pakistani current affairs, pakistani media, pakistani politics, politics of pakistan, press in pakistan, red and blue pakistan, social media pakistan, social networking pakistan, zainab jeewanjee, zainyjee | 4 Comments »
December 21, 2009
American Neutrality is Boston Globe’s recommendation for U.S. policymakers as political uncertainty looms over Pakistan with last weeks repeal of the National Reconciliation Ordinance, effectively revoking Amnesty from corruption charges on thousands of government officials. Although political transition appears imminent in 2010 and comes as President Obama commits to an Af-Pak troop surge, effectively stepping up our engagement with Islamabad, the Boston Globe’s call for neutrality is wise given the current pool of potential leaders to choose from:
- Nawaaz Sharif:
- Reason We Should Remain Neutral – Quite simply: “After two terms as prime minister, he’s remembered for rampant corruption, nuclear proliferation, and his penchant for cozying up to Islamist militants“
- Pervez Musharraf or Asif Zardari:
- Reason We Should Remain Neutral – Well: “at the behest of Washington, General Pervez Musharraf, who was president at the time, arranged the amnesty that allowed Zardari and his wife, Benazir Bhutto, to return from exile so she could lead her Pakistan Peoples Party in elections. Bhutto was assassinated, and her husband became prime minister. Not without reason, many Pakistanis who are angry about Zardari’s corruption and ineffectiveness hold the United States responsible for imposing him on their country”
- Pakistan Military:
- Reason We Should Remain Neutral – Perpetuating rampant blame that one too many American backed military dictators have prevented democracy from ever taking root in Pakistan can’t help growing weariness of cooperation with our government.
- Noteworthy example – Backing General Zia-ul-Haq in the 1980’s with his leadership key to training the Mujahideen (now known as Al Qaeda) to oust the Soviets from Afghanistan. Not coincidentally, Zia’s regime is remembered as the time Pakistan shifted from being a socially progressive, and moderate Islamic state, to imposing severe, fundamentalist religious policy reforms.
- Chief Justice Iftekhar Chaudhry:
- Reason We Should Remain Neutral: Under a sugar-coated banner of “democracy”, the Chief Justice is too blatantly partisan for us to support. His recent decision to repeal the National Reconciliation Ordinance, which set wheels in motion for regime change is widely understood as nothing short of a ploy for power and done in the politics of retribution.
This leaves neutrality as not only our most wise option, but also perhaps our most ethical route. Restraint in supporting any particular regime could mean history points one less finger in our direction should anything go less than perfect as we deepen involvement in Af-Pak. Simultaneously, neutrality assures Pakistani masses who are increasingly skeptical of cooperation with the United States that they have 100% autonomy in political processes.
Well publicized neutrality on a looming regime change could be a valuable opportunity to demonstrate a genuine interest in Pakistan as they transform politically and we require their support in the War on Terror.
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Posted in Current Affairs, Foreign Policy, International Affairs, International Relations, Pakistan, U.S. Politics, US Foreign Polciy, US Pakistan relations | Tagged 2010 pakistan, 2010 pakistan politics, af-pak, af-pak region, af-pak strategic, af-pak war, af-pak war on terror, american neutrality pakistan, american pakistan relations, asif ali zardari, Asif Zardari, asif zardari pakistan NRO, asif zardari supreme court, chaudhry chief justice, chief justice chaudry, chief justice in pakistan, chief justice nro pakistan, chief justice of pakistan, chief justice pakistan, current affairs pakistan, genearal zia united states, General Musharraf, general zia pakistan, general zia united states, iftekhar chaudry, iftikhar chaudhry, international affairs in pakistan, International Affairs Pakistan, international politics pakistan, international relations pakistan, jeewanjee, jeewanjee politics, justice chaudhry, justice chaudry, kerry lugar bill, kerry lugar bill pakistan, mujahideen zia, musharraf pakistan, musharraf zardari, muslim world, muslims pakistan, national reconciliation ordinance, national reconciliation ordinance pakistan, nawaaz sharif, nawaaz sharif corruption, nawaz sharif corruption, nawaz sharif corruption prime minister, neutrality pakistan, news on pakistan, NRO court zardari, NRO pakistan, NRO pakistan court, NRO ruling, NRO supreme court, NRO supreme court pakistan, NRO unconstitutional, NRO unconstitutional pakistan, NRO zardari, NRO zardari pakistan, organization of islamic conference pakistan, pakistan 2010 prediction, pakistan 2010 recommendation, pakistan affairs., pakistan foreign policy, pakistan foreign policy association united states, pakistan international, Pakistan international affairs, pakistan international politics, pakistan musharraf, pakistan needs economic development, pakistan news, pakistan next year, pakistan policy, pakistan politiacal affairs, pakistan political, pakistan political affairs, pakistan politics, pakistan politics asif zardari, pakistan united states afghanistan, Pakistan US cooperation, Pakistan war on terror, pakistani affairs, pakistani policies, pakistani political affairs, pakistani politics, pakistani poltiis, pakistani us relations, pervez musharraf pakistan, politics in pakistan, politics of pakistan, president obama pakistan strategy, prime minister jaswant singh, prime minister nawaz sharif, prime minister sharif, supreme court pakistan zardari, terrorism afghanistan pakistan, terrorism of pakistan, the af-pak region, the af-pak war, united states assistance pakistan, United states foreign policy pakistan, united states pakistan cooperation, united states pakistan policies, united states pakistan relations, united states zia ul haq, us assistance to pakistan, US foreign policy, US foreign policy to pakistan, us led war on terror, us led war on terror pakistan, us neutrality pakistan, US Pakistan relations, us winning hearts and minds, war on terror in pakistan, war on terror united states pakistan, zainab jeewanjee, zainab jeewanjee foreign policy, zainab jeewanjee internation, zainab jeewanjee international affairs, zainab jeewanjee international relations, zainab jeewanjee Pakistan, Zainab jeewanjee politics, zainab politics, zainyjee, zardari corruption, zardari nro, zia pakistan islamization, zia pakistan radical islam, zia ul haq pakistan | 2 Comments »
November 1, 2009
Zainab Interviews the Honorary Sharifuddin Pirzada
Q & A BREAKDOWN
PAST LEADERS: Jinnah
- 2:39 – 3:17 – Former BJP Parliamentarian Jaswant Singh authored a book on Jinnah that is receiving a lot of controversy, having actually worked with Jinnah, can you share your thoughts on the book ?
- 3:20 – 4:42 – In recent interviews, Singh has said Muslims in India are “robbed of their psychological security” and basically downtrodden. He says what Jinnah should have done is left some advice for Indian Muslims who stayed back and didn’t migrate to Pakistan after partition, what do you think Jinnah might have said?
- 4:44-6:01 – He also refers to Jinnah as a “nationalist” not at all Anti-Indian, please expand
- 6:01-7:34 – Referring to politics, when Jinnah split from the Congress party eventually formulating a two state idea later in his career, were there any politics referring to Nehru or Gandhi that had an impact on decision making? Jaswant Singh makes a mention to some, what does your experience tell us?
- 7:35: – 8:15 – You’ve mentioned previously that Jinnah was a self made man, more details?
- 8:15 – 8:55 : Tell us about your experience with Jinnah, its a rare treat for us to have your insight
- 8: 55 – 9:22 – Further details, conclusion on Jinnah.
“Jinnah had the Charm of Churchill, Dignity of de Gaulle, Magnetism of Mandela, and Objectivity of Obama”
CURRENT LEADERS : Musharraf
- 9:23 – 10:47 – Shifting to current leaders now, lets talk about Musharraf. You’ve got great experience, tell us about your work with the former General and Leader of Pakistan.
- 10:48 – 11:55 – How did your work with Musharraf expand during his tenure?
- 12:56 – 13:45 – You served on the national security council & as senior advisor to Gen. Musharraf, tell us howthe context of national security in Pakistan changed after 9/11. Specifically what came on the agenda, what were the immediate concerns and interests and what drove the decision to behave the way Pakistan did at the time?
- 13:45 – 15:48 – Recent polls indicate a majority of pakistanis think Musharraf should be punished for treason as per laws under article 6 of the Constitution, how do you feel about that?
- 15:48 – 14:55 – Do you think it’s a valid case that Musharraf be tried for treason?
- 14:54 – 15:38 – Regarding an increasingly free media in Pakistan, please offer further insight
- 15:38 – 16:16 – There’s a contention that the currently free media be attributed to Benazir Bhutto’s regime wherein sateilite technology allowing expanded media was put in place, while others assign credit to Musharraf. Can you clarify this?
- 16:16 – 18:39 – Do you think it was the state of emergency and sacking of the judiciary that caused Musharraf to lose elections?
- 18:42 – 19:35 – Final question on Musharraf, what do you think his legacy would be?
“The Media is very free in Pakistan, and Musharraf is to be given a great deal of credit for that”
CURRENT LEADERS : Zardari
- 19:48 – 20:55 – Recent military achievements in SWAT and international trade deals penned by Zardari paint a somewhat rosy picture for the future, what are your thoughts on him so far?
US – PAKISTAN RELATIONS:
- 20:57 – 23:14 – There’s a US special envoy in the region, drone attacks continue, the west is pushing for rapid democratization and are heavily investing in counterterrorism through cooperation with Pakistan while Islamabad hopes to secure itself and expand economically in this engagement. But there’s a long history of cooperation but still a lot of skepticism on both sides, do you think current engagement with a new administration who promises more diplomacy will yield different results than we’ve seen in this alliance?
- 23:14 – 24:52 – What advice might you offer President Obama or the State department in terms of engaging Pakistan?
“Pakistan was member of SEATO and CENTO but certain conditions were not fulfilled and there is a strong section of Pakistan who has reservations with a cordial relationship with the United States”
PAKISTAN & THE MUSLIM WORLD
- 24:55 – 25:11 – Your position at the Organization of Islamic Conference?
- 25:13 – 25:57 – On the Israeli Palestinian issue, how do you assess the current two state solution that Obama has put forward? How viable is it?
- 25:57 – 26:25 – What is Pakistan’s diplomatic/official stance on the Israeli Palestinian Issue?e Islamic Conference
- 12:25 – 26:35 – What are the main priorities of the Organization of the Islamic Conference?
“The Palestinian Issue followed by Kashmir are of top priority to the Organization of Islamic Conference”
PAKISTAN BORDER RELATIONS : INDIA & AFGHANISTAN:
- 26:35 – 27:42 – Manmohan Singh & Prime Minister Gilani at the NAAM summit this summer agreed to bracket issues of Terrorism and move forward on peace talks and trade issues. Such rhetoric is not new, and might not reach fruition, so do you see anything being resolved in Kashmir anytime soon, without the help of the US?
- 27:44 – 28:44 – Elections in Afghanistan are being contested between Abdullah Abdullah and incumbent Karzai. Pakistan doesn’t seem keen on either because both signal a warming of relations between Kabul & New Delhi which is believed to come at a direct expense to Islamabad. How do you feel about that?
America can facilitate peace talks between India and Pakistan on Kashmir, but on the whole, people of Kashmir are still suffering and struggling. The approach of prime ministers has been positive, but an extremist element in India exists which doesn’t want this. To stop suffering in Kashmir, a solution must be reached.
PAKISTAN’S INTERNATIONAL FUTURE:
- 28:44 – How do you see geopolitics playing out in the next decade for Pakistan, given amplified US presence, including super embassies being constructed in Pakistan/Afghanistan, perpetually stalled relations with India, a very likely nuclear neighbor in Iran, and increasingly influential China and polarized Russia, what does Pakistan look like ten years from now?
“Pakistan in the next ten years must concentrate on democratic set up, economic development & maintaining cordial relatoins with Islamic countries. There are two great friends of Pakistan: Saudi Arabia, the other is China. That’s a good starting point”
Posted in Current Affairs, Foreign Policy, India Pakistan, International Affairs, International Relations, Pakistan, South Asia, US Pakistan relations | Tagged af-pak war, afghanistan pakistan war on terror, akistan, american pakistan relations, current affairs pakistan, democracy pakistan, gandhi jinnah, gandhi partition jinnah, General Musharraf, International Affairs, International Affairs Pakistan, jijnnah partition, jinnah democracy, jinnah democratic, jinnah freedom, jinnah gandhi, jinnah pakistan, jinnah pakistan democracy, jinnah pakistan freedom, jinnah politician, jinnah politics, kerry lugar bill, kerry lugar bill pakistan, latest news pakistan, minnah democratic pakistan, mohammad ali jinnah, musharraf pakistan, muslim world, muslims pakistan, news on pakistan, organization of islamic conference pakistan, pakistan afghanistan, pakistan current affairs, Pakistan economy, Pakistan international affairs, pakistan international politics, pakistan musharraf, pakistan news, pakistan politics, pakistan terrorism, Pakistan terrorists, pakistan us assistance, Pakistan US cooperation, Pakistan war on terror, pakistani affairs, pakistani politics, pakistani us relations, partition pakistan, pervez musharraf pakistan, politician pakistan, politics in pakistan, Sharefuddin Pirzada, united states assistance pakistan, united states pakistan cooperation, us assistance to pakistan, US foreign policy, US foreign policy to pakistan, US Pakistan relations, war on terror, war on terror pakistan, zainab jeewanjee, zainab politics, zainyjee.wordpress.com | 7 Comments »
September 16, 2009
CNN refreshingly shifts the context of current discourse on Pakistan by reporting on female recruitment to the Pakistani Air Force. A story published this week highlights Ms. Ambreen Gul’s experience with the Pakistani air force as “one of seven women trained to fly Pakistan’s F-7 supersonic fighter jets”. Gul describes her experience as both positive and productive. Air Force cadet Ms. Sharista Beg also explains:
“To tell you the truth I’ve been given equal opportunity or I suppose more than men have been given,”
I refer to the story as refreshing because given that news is largely focused on macro level, security issues dealing with the war in Afghanistan and how it relates and spills over into Pakistan, the image we have of Pakistan is imprecisely bleak.
Of course macro level security issues in which our troops are directly engaged rightfully take priority over other news stories on Pakistan, but the unintended consequences of viewing this country as such and simply in terms of the “War on Terror”, “Taliban”, “fundamentalism” or “militancy” is a reduced understanding of what we are dealing with in our engagement there.
So I applaud CNN for balancing information with their story on Fighter Pilot Gul. Hopefully news outlets will continue to publish reports that allow a more accurate picture of what is a largely moderate Pakistan. Because a more accurate picture can only help us understand our situation there. In fact, the article concludes well, citing specifics of how the Pakistani air force works in line with our objectives:
“They’re training in counterinsurgency, collecting aerial intelligence and targeting militant strongholds in the treacherous mountains of Pakistan’s tribal region along the Afghan border”
The nebulous Afghan-Pakistan border has become the front lines in our War on Terror making it easy to forget that Pakistan, just like us fights diligently against fundamentalism and militancy with their resources, troops and morale. We want to uproot terror to bring our troops home and secure interests in the long run, likewise Pakistan shares this long term goal and in addition, has an immediate interest in obliterating militancy for actual day-to-day security. The CNN article does a fine job of reporting in this instance and prompts us to realize that cooperation is key.
Posted in Current Affairs, International Affairs, Pakistan, US Pakistan relations | Tagged afghan pakistan border, afghan-pak, afghan-pak border, afghanistan pakistan relations, air force in pakistan, air force of pakistan, air force pakistan, ambreen gul, ambreen gul air force, ambreen gul pakistani air force, balancing news on pakistan, cnn pakistan, cnn pakistan news, cnn report on pakistan, cnn report pakistan, cnn reports on pakistan, defeating terrorism pakistan, female jet fighters, fighter jets in pakistan, fighting terrorism in pakistan, jet fighters pakistan, jet pilot in pakistan, jet pilots in pakistan, jet pilots of pakistan, jets in pakistan, moderate pakistan, moderation in pakistan, news on pakistan, news on pakistan cnn, Pakistan, pakistan afghan border, pakistan air force, pakistan air force war on terror, pakistan counterinsurgency, pakistan fight terrorism, pakistan fighting terrorism, pakistan fights terrorism, Pakistan international affairs, pakistan news, pakistan report on cnn, pakistan sexism, pakistan taliban, Pakistan US relations, Pakistan war on terror, pakistani air force, pakistani female fighter jets, pakistani female pilot, pakistani fighter jets, pakistani jet pilot, pakistani jet pilots, pakistani news, pakistans air force, pakistans fight against terrorism, sexism in pakistan, Taliban, taliban in pakistan, taliban pakistan, terrorism pakistan, US Pakistan relations, us war on terror, war on terror, war on terror pakistan, zainab jeewanjee, Zainab jeewanjee politics | 2 Comments »
Zainab B. Jeewanjee
Zainab Jeewanjee 