Soft power, woman power: Forging a new security paradigm

My article on the Amn-o-Nisa delegation’s visit to the USA, for Global Post, published  May 7, 2012: Soft power, woman power: Forging a new security paradigm in Pakistan Women work to combat extremism by closing rift between Americans and Pakistanis. Beena Sarwar It was a unique Christmas party. Eight madrassah students in Peshawar, Pakistan took giant [...]

Pakistan army should butt out of politics: Asma Jahangir says it like it is

Clip from Crossfire in which Asma Jahangir, the indomitable Chairperson Emeritus of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and President of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan, says it like it about the Pakistan armed forces, in a talk show with the  ever sensationalist Meher Bokhari, on Dunya TV on May 26, 2011. View the [...]

Pakistan flood victims export tomatoes, not terrorism

Must read. Pakistan flood victims ‘have no concept of terrorism’. Mohammed Hanif on Pakistan’s 20 million flood victims – our “invisible slave army” that exports tomatoes, not terrorism, in BBC’s ‘From our own correspondent’. Includes link to listen to or download podcast.

Conversations 11: “There is more than truth”

Dilip: I’m going to list here three random things we often hear said about Pakistan, so often that we take them to be true. Can you tell me a little about the way they are seen in Pakistan? And to return the favour, can you offer three things said about India in Pakistan, that you guys should be more sceptical about?

Conversations 10: The trust deficit

“What if Kasab stayed alive and was used in a joint India-Pakistan effort to identify and take action against the powerful instigators of terrorism who put him on that boat? Surely that’s a goal enough people in both countries want.”

Conversations 9: Perceptions, perceptions

I don’t think India is ‘stealing’ Pakistan’s water. It’s clear that the issue is being raised and hyped up by a certain lobby for a certain purpose (perpetuate hostilities). As Dr Mubashir Hasan said, the water going downstream will reach Pakistan – eventually. It’s the timing – when India chooses to release the water – that is crucial. That’s where monitoring and communication are critical, and the joint telemetric system that experts on both sides are calling for.

Aman ki Asha Press release: Dialogue on ‘A Common Destiny’

Delegates at the first of Aman ki Asha’s series of discussions on issues of strategic importance to India and Pakistan, titled “A Common Destiny”, agreed on the need for peace between the two countries, and the importance of a sustained dialogue to resolve bilateral issues including Jammu & Kashmir, terrorism, water-sharing, trade and investment.

Three ’9/11′s…

Anis Mansoori of FM 103 in his live talk show brought up the significance of two 9/11s – Sept 11, 1948, when Mohammad Ali Jinnah breathed his last, and Sept 11, 2001 when two planes crashed into New York’s Twin Towers

Target killing of doctors; my article of 2002; Dr Sarwar on censoring Jinnah, 1991

It is significant that while the doctors’ killings are labeled as sectarian because those targeted mostly belong to a particular sect, there is no sectarianism or religious intolerance at the grassroots level. ‘‘The incidents of apparently religiously-motivated violence, like the attack on the Islamabad church or the murder of Daniel Pearl, are planned and executed by individual miscreants with no popular support or public sanction,’’ says The News editorial. (excerpt from article of 2002)

Simply repealing 295-C will not stop the rot

Now, simply repealing 295-C will not stop the rot. That must be done, but along with it we have to demand strict enforcement of law and order…. Plus links to some recent reports