Ali Malik's blog

I found this amazing video of a guy (I am trying to figure out who he is and from where he is) doing one man orchestra. It's just amazing. If you have heard the original songs, you will appreciate it even more. The performer is blind yet he is the most sensational talent I have seen in years.

I wonder why this sudden rush of blood? Nawaz Sharif who has not visited Balochistan once in last 10 years has suddenly become too concerned about Balochistan. Not only that, but the right wingers have again become obsessed with the agenda of “Speedy Justice”, just when the man at the helm of Justice System of Pakistan is their hero. And I wonder why now? Just when our men in uniform are fighting the existential threat to not only our state but our society and way of living, these right wingers have started blowing the trumpets of other issues, Balochistan, Speedy Justice. As far as Balochistan goes, it goes without saying that all that the rightwing in our country has done is talk. No leader of theirs has visited Balochistan in last year or so. They distanced themselves from the efforts of normalization being carried out by PPP-led government. The only mentioning of Balochistan is to hang Musharraf for killing of Akbar Bugti. Bugti Sahab, a great statesman, is just used as a pretext t...

Just before President Zardari left for a critical visit to US; Pakistani and US media were rife with the news that US wants to bring in Nawaz Sharif at a position of influence in Pakistan's Govt. set up. There have been three explanations about timing of this story. Some think that to get a better leverage on Zardari during his visit, US administration decided to play hardball. Others say that to undermine the significance of President Zardari's visit, his political opponents (specially PML-N) spread this news story. If either of these is true, Pakistani media was very irresponsible in undermining the national interest by playing up this story. And for Americans, playing hardball at this critical juncture when the whole order is at stake is outright stupidity. In the quest for survival, you do not look for bargains. However, it is the third theory which bothers me the most. What if US and Pakistani establishment have seriously made up their mind for having a Zardari-Nawaz or Na...

Pakistan Armed Forces have launched a major offensive against Militants in Swat, Dir and Bunir. The fighting has caused many people to leave their homes and belongings and move to safer places. We hope that this situation will be temporary and the people will be able to return to their homes at earliest. In the mean time, these men, women, and children of ours need our help. Please donate generously to help these countrymen of ours. You can send in your donations through National Disaster Management Authority ( http://www.ndma.gov.pk ) contributing to National Disaster Management Fund ( http://ndma.gov.pk/NDMFund.html ).

Demopak has not covered anything in the realm of entertainment thus far. But then I thought why not? So, here is our first ever coverage of entertainment - and just when we have had many great names in performing and fine arts in Pakistan, no one is more befitting a Pakistani Story than Reshman! Voice of the desert - her melodies grip you and the depth of her husky voice leaves you spellbound. Born in Bikaner India in 1947, Reshman was discovered by Radio Pakistan and became a singing sensation right away. She is illiterate and yet through sheer talent, commitment and dedication, she has achieved artistic glory that very few in Pakistan have managed to achieve. Renowned singers in India and Pakistan have sung the pirated versions of her songs (including piracy of Chori Chori by legend Lata Mangeshkar). Though most of her singing has been in Punjabi, her claim to fame was Lambi Judai (an Urdu song) which was part of soundtrack of movie "Hero (1983)". Being illiterate, she sho...

Pakistan Armed Forces have launched a major offensive against Militants in Swat, Dir and Bunir. The fighting has caused many people to leave their homes and belongings and move to safer places. We hope that this situation will be temporary and the people will be able to return to their homes at earliest. In the mean time, these men, women, and children of ours need our help. Please donate generously to help these countrymen of ours. You can send in your donations through National Disaster Management Authority ( http://www.ndma.gov.pk ) contributing to National Disaster Management Fund ( http://ndma.gov.pk/NDMFund.html ).

Wall Street Journal APRIL 29, 2009 How Pakistan Is Countering the Taliban The pacification model that worked in Iraq can work in the Swat Valley. By HUSAIN HAQQANI The specter of extremist Taliban taking over a nuclear-armed Pakistan is not only a gross exaggeration, it could also lead to misguided policy prescriptions from Pakistan's allies, including our friends in Washington. Pakistan and the international community do face serious challenges in confronting terrorists and the ideologies that sustain them. But panicked reactions of the type witnessed in the U.S. media over the last few weeks -- after the Taliban drove into Buner, a town 60 miles north of the capital Islamabad -- are not conducive to strengthening Pakistani democracy or to developing an effective counterterrorism policy for Pakistan. Now that the Taliban have been driven out of Buner, and Pakistani forces have militarily engaged them just outside their Swat Valley stronghold, it should be clear to all that Pakista...

This is for the people that are unable to attend on Tuesday but want to take action, either because they're out of the city/country or other restrictions. An email account has been set up at " nomoretaliban@gmail.com " . For all those that wish to participate but cant, please Copy-Paste the letter from the event page and email it to the address WITH your information filled in at the bottom. The Citizens of Lahore will be printing out the emails and mailing them on the behalf of those who've sent them. Please email at your earliest so they can print the mails out in time and send them along with the rest of the letters. Also, Please forward the letter and the event page link to all your friends and ask them to join in support. We as the Civil Society are much stronger in numbers than the Taliban and their ways, and its time to come out and show just that! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.facebook.com/al...

The citizens of Lahore are convening outside the GPO on Tuesday 28th April at 3pm to post letters to the President, PM, CJ and COAS to take military action against Taliban. Plan of Action :- Everyone flocks to the GPO,preferably 1000+ in numbers to bombard the 'elected caretakers' of our country by posting the same letter (replicated below). TV stations film us all posting the letter, with footage being specifically aired at prime time hours. Please copy,paste the letter into Microsoft Word (Mac users - you know best which software to use), print the letter, slide it into an envelope and bring yourself along with the envelope to the GPO. Postings will begin 3pm onwards till 5pm (which is when the GPO closes). Bring change for postage costs. Goes without saying, invite others to this event. SAY NO TO TALIBANISATION. Bring all your friends and family. The time to save your country is now. We stand for freedom of choice, liberty, equality, democracy and a progressive united Pakist...

Ever since the video of Taliban's brutal flogging of a 17-year old girl appeared on youtube and media, the spin doctors of fundos in their hallmark way are out to divert attention from the key issue. Some were saying it's wrong because it was not the State which authorized this punishment, others were questioning the conduct of the trial, and then came the biggest diversion that the video is fabricated and some US-conspiracy to malign Islamists. And in this spinning what has lost is the real issues and real questions. The questions are that even if we agree that the conduct of trial was wrong or the people were not authorized to sentence the accused or this particular video is American conspiracy, does under the proper trial through Mullah-described laws can this punishment be granted to any accused for any cause? And if so, is such punishment acceptable to the people of Pakistan? The answer to the first question is yes. Imran Khan or Jamat-i-Islami or Hamid Mir or heaven knows...

It is spring And have come from oblivion All the dreams and all the youth That died in quest of thy lips Blossomed are the roses Those fragrant with thy memory And colored with thy lovers’ blood It is spring And erupting are the volcanoes of guilt The grief for friends fallen The mirage of nymphs courted Open is all what laid in an ashen heart Questions unanswered Thine and mine It’s spring And open are the wounds long healed

This report by WSJ is another proof of the string-pullers of extremist insurgency in Pakistan. Pakistan Aid efforts hit Saudi hurdle - WSJ

Wonder how SC (so indebted to fundos) responds? Do they see it as a conspiracy to malign Islam or take the issue of barbaric conduct head on? This is not the first time Pakistanis have showed their disapproval of these draconian treatments. Since 1979, when Hudood Laws were first introduced, Pakistanis have resisted them. So much so that in 1989, Benazir Bhutto described Islamic Punishments as barbaric. Pakistanis, while demonstrating shock and anger, have given a clear message once again that they have no tolerance for these draconian laws and punishments.

A very disturbing video, please watch it at your own discretion. Till when can we leave these animals unchecked. Allegedly the girl just went to bazar with her father-in-law which Taliban think immoral.

Nawaz is Saudi's Plan B for Pakistan - A Chinese Perspective

OBL wanted to buy MPs to make Nawaz Sharif Prime Minister Which of the bounties of Saudis will he deny?

Below are some stories on Sharif's Jeddah deal. It starts with stories of NY Times stories published in December of 2000. Followed by stories on exile in the local press. It's clear that the exile happened with the consent of Sharif's and they had Saudi's blessing. Now the question is, if they were confiscated for pardon against crime, why were they returned without getting cleared from courts? Another question is, with this massive favor done for Sharif's by Saudis, how would they resist the Saudi influence when the biggest threats to the nation right now come from Saudi sponsored Wahabism and Jihad? More than America or India, it's the Saudi stooges which are immediate threat for us. Last but certainly not the least, doesn't this fleeing make Sharif a fair-weather leader? Pakistan's deposed leader is given pardon and exiled. NY Times Pakistan seizes assets of exiled ex-Premier. Exile Deal Leaves Pakistanis Feeling Betrayed - NY Times Pakistani Ruler ...

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...