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April 2014

TIT FOR TAT

Muhammad Javed

Yesterday ruling party’s Mushahidullah stated that the Government policy is Tit for Tat (v/s Taliban!). Three days ago the vocal darling of the mini screen the veteran politician from Rawalpindi who being born among the masses, still living amongst the masses and thus still speaks language of the masses, answering to the host Anchor termed that our Foreign Division was ruled today by “Siyassi Mayrasees”. The Anchor had questioned the guest about his recent off loading from PIA flight despite having the Boarding Card. Read More »TIT FOR TAT

History on the march and repeating itself

Ayaz Amir

Nawaz Sharif at loggerheads with the army again, the old pattern of 1999 repeating itself. Cruel destiny…is Pakistan doomed to walk the paths it has trodden before? What is at work here… the army’s overweening ambition or PM Sharif incurable?

Nawaz Sharif’s problem is not the army. His problem is himself, and his inability to be at ease with any but loyal yes-men. More than most mortals he is also given to that oldest of human vices: flattery. Since his rise to political prominence in the 1980s – when Governor Lt Gen Jilani chose him as Punjab finance minister – he has surrounded himself with the trained butler-type of civil servant. As prime minister for the third time this tendency remains unchanged.Read More »History on the march and repeating itself

MEDIA COMMERCIALIZATION

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PROFESSOR ALI SUKHANVER

AliSakhanverHow could we expect peace and prosperity in a society if there is no freedom of expression? Freedom of expression is one of the basic human rights; the world of today is emphasizing the most. If you are not allowed to speak the truth, to criticize the wrong doings of the rulers and to express your fears and apprehensions in national interest, it means you are being deprived of your basic human rights as a citizen. Unfortunately Pakistan is rapidly becoming a country where wise men have started preferring Silence to Utterance. Here you would be sent to the eternal realm of silence if you talk too much of the things which are not acceptable to those who are stronger than you. The brutal targeted Read More »MEDIA COMMERCIALIZATION

Pakistan plans huge desert solar park to fight energy crisis

AFP

BADAIWANI WALA: For years Pakistanis have sweated and cursed through summer power cuts, but now the government plans to harness the sun’s ferocious heat to help tackle the country’s chronic energy crisis.
In a corner of the Cholistan desert in Punjab province, power transmission lines, water pipes and a pristine new road cross 10,000 acres of parched, sandy land.Read More »Pakistan plans huge desert solar park to fight energy crisis

Pak Suzuki launches new Wagon-R

WagonRKARACHI: Pak Suzuki launches 1000cc Suzuki Wagon-R in Pakistan by customising it in accordance with the local environment and rules and regulations.

 

This was announced by Pak Suzuki General Manager Azam Faraz at the launching ceremony of its new vehicle on Friday. He said that the new car has been launched after amending it as per the local environment.Read More »Pak Suzuki launches new Wagon-R

Forward to the past with Windows update

windows-8NEW YORK: Even as Microsoft prepares for a future dominated by touch-screen devices, it is steering its Windows system to embrace more of the past.

 

The divide between old and new is less pronounced in the latest, free update. That’s a welcome change, as that’s one of the things that annoy me most about Windows 8.

 

As sales of smartphones and tablets grow rapidly, Microsoft reshaped Windows so that PCs came to look, work and feel more like mobile devices.Read More »Forward to the past with Windows update

WHY CAN’T IT BE A GIFT?

By Muhammad Javed

A lot is being said about a cash gift of USD 1.5 billion believed to be from Saudi Arabia. There should had in fact been no eye brows raised on it but different statements viz initially denial about any such amount and then labeling it a gift to Nawaz Sharif, for the Pakistan Development Fund, for Pakistan’s help etc made it a discussion otherwise it was a normal matter.  Our Arab brothers are long known for their generosity in coming forward helping Pakistan in one shape or the other.Read More »WHY CAN’T IT BE A GIFT?

Musharraf and the military, Part – II

By Shehzad Chaudhry

Most of the employment of the army in anti-terror operations continues under the rubric of general authorisation of force in support of the civilian government but lacks exceptional powers through newer legislation. That has denuded it of the needed legal cover for such operations.

The US seeks a Bilateral Security Agreement for its troops to remain in Afghanistan post-2014, for similar reasons. India has provided immunity to many actions of its forces through the AFSPA while deploying its forces to fight in Kashmir and in India’s north-east. Some legislation has only recently been enacted after years of delay. Read More »Musharraf and the military, Part – II

Musharraf and the military, Part-I

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By Shahzad Chaudhry

When the Kerry-Lugar-Berman Bill was finally submitted in the US Congress in 2009 for approval, it contained two clauses that especially irked the Pakistani military. One dealt with the promotion to two-star rank and beyond within the military that the bill envisaged needed approval by Pakistan’s civilian government if American aid was to continue; and second, the Pakistani military was not ever to upstage the civilian political setup.

The first clause was misplaced because all promotions are always subject to approval of the Ministry of Defence; and all promotions to two-star and higher are gazette notified by the government and announced only with the express approval of the president. The second clause was judgemental and inappropriate as a comment or condition for an institution of another state.Read More »Musharraf and the military, Part-I