Ali Malik's blog

The pace of events in Middle East has caught many by surprise. It seems a matter of months if not weeks before the existing order in the Middle East will pave way for a new order. What shape will the new order assume is uncertain for now. However, theocracy or elected governments on sectarian lines are two very probable outcomes. Just when because of its strong political parties, Pakistan does not face the direct threat of Middle East style revolts, the ripples of the above-mentioned eventualities have dire consequences for Pakistan. We are already too late into foreseeing what could happen in the world around us and have paid a heavy price for being blinded. Yet again, the changes that are going to happen in our west are likely to be costly unless we take the necessary measures to control the damage. If there has even been a reason for Pakistani establishment to push for a secular, liberal democratic Pakistan, it is now. Asian Middle East is the only region in the Muslim world with Sh...

This piece is dedicated to Governor Taseer. A man who had the conviction in his belief and fought for it till the very end. A brave man whom, in the words of Shakespeare, the death took with pride. It is a death that should be mourned for the bravery and courage of the dead, and for the loss of  multi-faceted life full of positive energy that has been lost. My knowledge of Governor Taseer was of third person. In fact, I was not a fan of him when he became Governor and yet in few weeks, he made me his fan. His candidness, confidence, quick wit and analytical mindset coupled with his popular politics made him a trend-setter in the politics of Punjab which has been marred by pseudo, scripted, thoughtlessly conservative and tunnel-visioned politicians for most part. That he was a successful entrepreneur and business tycoon, a dedicated political worker, a successful political administrator (whom his opponents feared), and had a social circle spanning from cart-food owners to the ...

The events of Tunisia have stirred the whole world and have raised questions about the future of Tunisia, the Arab world, and the developing world's bastions of stability in the cyclical boom of 90s and early 2000s. As the events keep unfolding in Tunisia, the world awaits answers to four key questions. What Happened? Whether what happened was a consequence of something deep rooted or was it a knee-jerk reaction is yet to be seen. Arab world, rewinding back 4-5 decades or so, has a tendency for knee-jerk revolutions without any unifying agenda or leadership. Whether what happened this time was a repeat of 60s or is it a more aware revolution with a defined set of compatible and workable ideals is yet to be seen. Another perspective on events, and with significant credibility, is that the Army in Tunisia realizing that the anger on streets is getting out of hand decided to make Bin Ali the scapegoat. If this is true then the success of the revolution in achieving its objective...

A picture says it all!

Born and raised in a society of impulsive/emotional (and often wrong) responses, I, too, have this tendency to respond impulsive and this reflects in some of my posts on this blog too. When Benazir Bhutto got killed, my response was of anger and grief. I wanted to write so much on it here, driven by that anger and grief. But somehow something within me stopped me from writing immediately. I didn't realize it then what it was. My piece on that came good four days after the assassination and it was not driven by the impulsive emotion and had the impact of the reality seeped in well. When I heard the news of the assassination of Governor Taseer (may his spirit be in peace), my response was of anger, of grief, and of shock. And yet something, from within, stopped me from writing impulsively on this too. My inner voice says it is maturity. Similarity between Governor's death and BB's death doesn't end here. In case of BB, same anchors on national media tried to justify suici...