Ali Malik's blog

The siege at Manawan Police Academy in Lahore has ended. It is reported that 4 terrorists were killed and 4 captured. The attack killed 8 policemen and 95 injured reports The News. BBC's Jill McGivering reported the following from outside the Academy as the operation was underway. "This was a well-organised attack that will raise concern about the sophistication of the group behind it. Pakistan is facing a broad insurgency from groups linked to al-Qaeda, the Afghan Taleban and the Pakistani Taleban, as well as from religious extremists and criminals taking advantage of the situation. It is unclear who was responsible for this attack, but its co-ordinated nature could point to one of the more international groups." Now this raises some serious questions for us including: 1. Is it an all out war? And should we stand divided on justifying the terrorist attacks or fight it? 2. Can this common threat become an opportunity to unify the nation across ethnicity, provincialism, a...

Let me begin by congratulating those of you who fought for reinstatement of Iftikhar Chaudhary. I deliberately decided to delay this writing so that emotions in me and in you calm down. For last one year, I was standing on the other side of the divide. I and you have been in sync on almost all issues except the one where you won. I still think our ideals and causes are the same and so I write to you to express my concerns to you and to explain to you why I was not with you in this struggle, which we started together a couple of years back but I decided to move out a year ago. First my concerns. You have won and it is a victory well deserved. However, there are three things which concern me. First, I am not in Pakistan, but the reports I had indicated a mutiny in local administration by loyalists of Nawaz. You and I both know that it has never been hard for our administrations to stop a few hundred people from breaking the house-arrest. But if some officers in administration dec...

In January 2000, Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry then a serving judge on the Balochistan High Court (BHC) was one of the first judges to take an oath on the PCO. This allowed him to be elevated to the Supreme Court to fill one of the vacancies left by the 11 judges who had resigned in protest at taking this oath. On May 13 2000, Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry was one of 12 Supreme Court judges who validated the military coup of General Pervez Musharraf. They ruled that the removal of the elected government of Nawaz Sharif was legal on the basis of the "doctrine of necessity". In June 2001, Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry was one of two judges who visited the Presidency to convince the then President Rafiq Tarrar to resign, and make way for General Pervez Musharraf to assume that office. On April 13 2005, in the "Judgment on 17th Amendment and President's Uniform Case", Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry was one of 5 Supreme Court judges who dismissed all petitions challenging Presiden...

Even in the last days of her life, Benazir Bhutto used to say her fight is with relics of Zia Ul Haq. Many thought, she was dragging the name Zia Ul Haq way too far. A look at the events of last few weeks and one could see - she wasn't. It is an open battle between the relics of Zia and the party of Benazir Bhutto. What is at stake is Pakistan as we know of it today. On one hand is Mr. Sharif, who has publicly vowed to destroy everything to get rid of Mr. Zardari and weaken Pakistan Army. On the other hand is Mr. Zardari who is standing between Pakistan and Zia's jihadis' dream to takeover Pakistan. If Zardari goes, killed or removed, the country will fall into an endless conflict/civil war whose logical culmination seems emergence of Jihadis in NWFP, Punjab, Northern Balochistan, Norther Sindh and Karachi. I, for someone who has been raising voice against reckless behavior of Army over the years, must confess that anyone who wants to malign the institution of Army at a tim...

I feel like writing so much on Lahore attack - but that I will, in true Pakistani spirit hold on to, till the investigations come up with a conclusion. For now I will focus on what is happening in Punjab and why, in my view, is it happening now. Current Supreme Court verdict at least had a silent node from President Zardari. With this action, President Zardari has taken the biggest gamble of his 12-year political life. The outcome of it will determine not only Mr. Zardari's own political future but the future of Pakistan and our society. The stakes have never been higher and options never so limited. Mr. Sharif and his brother got disqualified by the SC from holding any public office. Personally, I am a hawk on PML-N and from day one my position has been that PPP should not let N form govt. in Punjab but rather should form a govt. of its own. On the other hand however I personally think, this should have been done more overtly rather than planning things around a court verdict. Hav...