Comment and Analysis

Pakistan is beautiful — and it’s mine

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:30:58 +0000

By Shehrbano Taseer

2011 was a bleak year for Pakistan — even by its own harrowing standards. My father, Governor SalmaanTaseer, was assassinated by his own fanatical security guard in January for his stand on Pakistan’s cruel blasphemy laws, and minorities minister Shahbaz Bhatti, the only Christian in the federal cabinet, was gunned down in March allegedly by the Punjabi Taliban for holding a similar view.

Win or lose, Scottish independence referendum heralds a revolution in UK politics

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:20:05 +0000

By Ed Jacobs

As the debate over the future make-up of the United Kingdom rumbles on, with Alex Salmond using an interview on the BBC’s “Sunday Politics Scotland” programme to call for a meeting between him and the prime minister, one former Labour cabinet minister has called for the debate to include a re-examination of the prospects for regional devolution in England.

The quiet war in Saudi Arabia

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:15:03 +0000

By Joshua Jacobs

There are good reasons not only for the media, but for western governments to begin taking an active interest in the ongoing street conflict in Eastern Province.

Judiciary always supports army rule, rues Asma

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 21:51:31 +0000

By Agency

Former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association Asma Jahangir condemned the judiciary on Wednesday, saying it has always approved military rules in the past. She said if judges wanted a hand in politics, they should contest elections. Talking to reporters at the Lahore High Court, she said that Parliament, not judiciary, was the supreme body in the country.

Inequality must be ended to prevent another financial crisis

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 21:46:35 +0000

By Stewart Lansley

In power, one of Labour’s most significant moves was to drop the party’s traditional commitment to a more equal society. In the election manifesto, Tony Blair wrote that he had ‘no time for the politics of envy’. He wanted a society that encouraged as he put it, ‘levelling up’ rather than ‘levelling down’. Stephen Byers, trade secretary from December 1998, said that wealth creation was now more important than wealth distribution.

The Saudi response to the ‘Arab spring’: containment and co-option

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 21:28:06 +0000

By Madawi Al-Rasheed

Saudi Arabia’s response to the ‘Arab spring’ has been an attempt to co-opt movements for change in a bid to maintain the status quo. Madawi Al-Rasheed talks to Deniz Kandiyoti about the contradictions of a ruling elite that promotes a conservative Islam, that threatens women’s existing rights abroad – as in Tunisia and Egypt – while it poses as the emancipator of women at home.

Major poll finds Britons at odds on immigration

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:36:09 +0000

By Newswire

The fourth annual Transatlantic Trends: Immigration survey, out last week, showed that global economic turmoil and migration following the “Arab Spring,” had little impact on attitudes to immigration in the US and five European countries (United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Spain).

Pakistan’s real dangers are internal ─ William Milam

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:20:20 +0000

By Malik Siraj Akbar

The year 2011 witnessed a dramatic deterioration in trust and diplomatic relations between the United States and Pakistan. The two strategic partners in the war on terror traded allegations on the Raymond Davis affair, the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound, drone strikes, Admiral Mike Mullen’s assertion about ISI’s alleged contacts with the elements of Taliban who attacked the US embassy in Kabul, and the attack by Nato forces on Salala check post, which killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

India through media lens

pete@unitedwebdevelopment.co.uk (admin) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 17:43:59 +0000

By I.A Rehman

That the Pakistan media does not present a correct or complete account of what goes on in India is known and also understandable. But if anyone tries to probe what it chooses to report and what it does not, the findings will throw considerable light on its preferences and biases.

Three to eight million people work as bonded labour in Pakistan

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 17:39:34 +0000

By Agency

Activists from human rights organisations held a protest on December 30, 2011 to show solidarity with bonded labour. The protesters were holding placards and banners in front of Karachi Press Club. They were demanding the government to ensure the labourers got their rights.