Looking back at the Lawyers’ Movement

Did the movement bring a fundamental change in the state and the society and the relationship between the two? by Ayesha Siddiqa The protests, rallies and demonstrations by the legal community from 2007 to 2009 took everyone in and outside Pakistan by surprise. People were impressed with the perseverance of the lawyer’s from around the [...]

KESC Privatization Responsible for the Present Power Shortage Mess in Karachi

Power crisis in Karachi — an offshoot of privatization by Lateef Mughal It is a fact that uninterrupted supply of electricity is the responsibility of a power utility, mostly owned by the governments across the world, but unfortunately in 2005 the Musharraf government handed over the management of one of the major institutions of the [...]

Why Does Not the New NAB Chairman Start by Digging Into the NCHD Scam?

Musharraf Engulfed in Biggest Emerging Financial Scandal of His Tenure One of the biggest financial scam of Musharraf’s tenure involves the NCHD. The scandal involves massive wastage of almost Rs2 billion of Pakistani taxpayers’ money handed over practically to one individual, without any official oversight or accountability. The latest published statistics reveal much more than [...]

Are the Militants Accused of Trying to Kill Musharraf Getting a Fair Trial?

It is first time that during a democratic government, when all organs of state are functioning under the constitution, the decisions of military courts established by Musharraf, is going to attain finality. Black period when hundreds of people went missing and still their nears and dears are on the roads with a hope to see [...]

Ayaz Amir Lashes Out At the NGOs

Will ‘civil society’ please take a rest? by Ayaz Amir  The lawyers’ movement fostered many illusions, none more powerful than the myth that there was something called civil society in Pakistan, good people out to do good and inspired by the best of intentions. Retired bureaucrats, professors of academia in search of a cause, society [...]

Stop Musharraf Bashing

by Col. Riaz Jafri (Retd) Musharraf bashing has suddenly acquired a renewed hype in the media -more in the electronic than the print – ever since he announced entering into Pakistan politics. The interested parties and their cronies are busy day and night in slinging mud upon him and his ‘dictatorial’ rule of nine years. Use of negative [...]

List of Land Held by Army Generals in Just One Punjab District

List of Pakistan Army Land Lords  This list will highlight the share of some of the Army Generals in the resources of the country.  BAHAWALPUR: SA Tribune has got a list of over 100 armed forces men who allotted to themselves at least 400 or more acres of prime land in Bahawalpur.  On the name [...]

Criticism of the Supreme Court by Shafiq Awan

Justice should be blind, not deaf and dumb Shafiq Awan/ Daily Times Nodoubt the Supreme Court did a wonderful job and for the first time in history, we saw sacred cows at the mercy of the court, otherwise they were considered to be above the law and we salute the Chief justice Mr Iftikhar Muhammad [...]

Is the Chief Justice Acting on His Own?

In a country where politics can get very personal, the Chief Justice’s relationships with the pillars of civilian and military power, President Zardari and Army Chief of Staff General Ashfaq Kayani respectively, could be important in shaping Pakistan’s transition from de facto military rule to civilian democracy.  And those relationships are likely to be tested [...]

Judicial Crisis: Appointment of Judges

Again a judicial crisis – not a bonafide crisis but a crisis created for ulterior reasons Ostensibly the crisis is the elevation of chief justice for the Lahore High Court in the Supreme Court, the elevation of the next senior most judge Justice Saquib Nasir, as acting Chief Justice of Lahroe High Court (a la [...]