Ali Malik's blog

First and foremost, my heartfelt condolences to Mian Iftikhar Husain, whose son was gunned down by the terrorists. It is yet another example of the sacrifice, the liberal political leadership of this country is giving to save this country from falling into the darkness of Talibanization. Secondly, regarding the extension of General Kayani, the information I had was that all the stakeholders wanted to give General the extension and he was a little apprehensive in accepting it. If my sources are to be believed the decision of extension was finalized around May and coincided with General's visit to Washington D.C. Just when United States was interested in ensuring an extension of General's tenure, it was also desired by the ruling coalition here in Pakistan. The extension, unlike an extension of a previous liberal, professional soldier Gen. Kakar, was not going to draw strong criticism from the opposition as well. Despite some criticism from Jamat-i-Islami, the response more or ...

The media circus that has ensued in Pakistan post-private media is beyond any sane head. Since the opinion-making and evangelism in the nation has been given in the hands of people with 3rd Division BA/FA degree holder journalists, the country appears a chaotic fragile mess on idiot box. Recent mayhem, starting in reaction to Punjab Assembly's unanimous resolution against irresponsible journalism, has had media up in arms portraying the resolution as an attack on freedom of expression. In the whole one-sided hue and cry, what is ignored is whether the elected representatives sitting in the sovereign bodies have any right to express themselves or not? It was a resolution presented by an individual elected representative and was adopted unanimously by the house. It manifests the will of the house which is the only representative body of the people of the province of Punjab. Rather than leading to any soul searching as to what went wrong, media is up in arms discrediting the so...

I came to know about the blasts at Data Darbar at about 4:30 in the morning. My reaction then was normal and remained so till late afternoon. Then when I was driving back home from Gulberg, around 6, something hit me. I am not sure if I was crying or not, I think I wasn't but I don't know for sure. For I was driving and was thinking and image after image passed my eyes. It was not the feeling of sadness or disappointment or anger. It was sheer nostalgia. And with the nostalgia came the hopelessness. I have been given a Muslim upbringing with a strong sufi flair. The family I have been raised in had strong sufi inclinations and central to, it like any such family in Lahore, was the shrine of Ali Hajveri. I remember going to the shrine with my grandmothers, my mother, my cousins, my aunts, my uncles. Going there during day, at night and even at midnight. I remember the place from the days when it was painted in pink and had congested halls for males and females and didn't h...

Two phenomenons that are taking shape in the region to our West hold extreme significance for us. One is the continuing isolation of Israel and the other is nuclear ambition of Iran. Before I analyze these and suggest what in my view is the best course of action, let me make one thing clear. In no way, we should commit the same mistakes of the past of trying to force our solution, exporting militancy to deal with the potential threats, and to close channels with one or more sides of the crisis. Both these issues are likely to damage the balance of power in the region which will have severe consequences on our western borders. Not only that, but because of the global spread of sectarian militancy, the ripples will be felt all across – with Pakistan being at the helm of the fallout. A nuclear Iran is not in the interest of Pakistan. There cannot be any contrary rational argument on this. And it does not have to do with an Ayatullah-controlled Iran, even an Iran under Shah with nukes woul...

Yesterday was a very sad day in the history of Pakistan. A country created by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, a staunch liberal and supporter of modernist values saw in despair a court banning internet websites. And the bureaucracy acted with an unprecedented haste. In between, it seemed Pakistan has no chief executive. It's a successful test run of a judicio-bureaucracy coup. With this successful test run, now it will be easier for the court to sentence elected officials, for the bureaucracy to execute the orders without a single armed man moving. It in itself is a scary thought. Add to it the report that some of the blogs and political websites, with strong anti-militancy lines and audio of Hamid Mir's conversation, have also been blocked. My sentiments on the whole issue are of anger. It is my first realization that I do not have freedom living in this land and that if I have to live here, it has to be as per the judgement and values of a hardcore, fundamentalist, militant right-wing...

Worst fears of many of us in Pakistan and in the United States realized on May the 1st when a car full of explosives was found on Times Square in New York City. Much to the relief of many in the United States and Pakistan, the authorities got alerted timely and a major fiasco got averted. Two narratives have emerged so far of what had happened. First narrative suggests that Faisal Shehzad, the accused, was a lone wolf, who as a result of a multitude of factors including economic depression, incitement by a radical cleric, and brainwashing by right-wing media of Pakistan, committed himself to blow-off infidels. Second narrative suggests that he was working in close collaboration with Pakistani Taliban and has been trained in the sanctuaries of North Waziristan. The incident will put focus on Pakistan, its tribal areas, and the Pakistanis living in the West. A ghost, which we have been trying to part-kill, part-brush under the carpet, is facing us right into our face. T...

In 1947, when the Indian subcontinent got divided and emerged two nation-states of India and Pakistan, it was Pakistan which was the natural ally of the Anglo-Saxon block. The leadership which created India, on the other hand, was more inspired by the Socialist ideals of China and Soviet Union, and ultimately got cozy with the Soviets as a natural consequence of Sino-Indian Conflict. Ever since 1947, there has been a strong desire on part of a significant section of India, specifically business classes, to open up to Anglo-Saxon block. Similarly, both the Anglo-Saxons and their allies in the older Europe had this deep desire to have India on their side in the global great game. But India's leaning towards the Soviet Block effectively did not let the channels open up as were desired by the two Western blocks and their like-minded entities in India. In fact, India's very origin stems from resistance against the Anglo-Saxon colonization. Despite repeated attempts, the serious eff...

A lot has been said and written about Mr. Sharif's recent U-turn on constitutional reforms. A series of explanations has been given regarding what led to this sudden change of heart on part of Mr. Sharif. To me, the reason actually is lot simpler than any uttered by newsroom pundits. It's simple power politics. No matter what the media pundits make us believe, Mr. Sharif's is a 14 districts party (and that too with 50% or less votes in those districts). There is no way he can ever get an electoral majority without a combination of forging an alliance with many other regional parties, backing of powerful sections of establishment and a demoralized PPP. In this regard, he finds himself in a very sorry state of affairs. His stances on provincial autonomy and Taliban, and his personal vendetta against PML-Q and Pervez Musharraf has alienated key political forces i.e. MQM, ANP and PML-Q. Army for the debris of Musharraf era has its options cut out and also in some ways for Mr. S...

There is so much to write about the absurdities apparent in the NRO decision, on the issue of appointment of judges, and overall anti-democratic and anti-system posture of a JI/Deoband inspired judiciary that one post might not be enough for it all. However, I will try to tackle all of them one by one here. First and foremost of course is NRO issue. I would not delve into the apparent political bias in the judgment or lacuna in it as is pointed out by eminent lawyers like Asma Jahangir and Ali Ahmad Kurd and many others. I would not even talk about the timing of release of detailed judgment late into the night in retaliation to the news that the President using his discretion has stalled the appointment of Justice Ramthey's appointment as an ad hoc judge of the apex court. My concern is much bigger and overlooked in the heated political discourse around the judgment and the concern stems from continuous reference to the era of Aurangzeb and other such strictly Deobandi/ JI referen...

On January 4th, while talking to the reporters in Quetta, Mr. Nawaz Sharif said that he will not pick democracy at the cost of the country. If this was not enough, on January 6 th , three member bench of Supreme Court of Pakistan, headed by his Lordship Justice Javed Iqbal ruled that the system is on the verge of collapse and someone needs to intervene. It is obvious that the underlying theme of both the statements is dissatisfaction with the system and a deep desire to change it. These statements coming from two powerful quarters raise serious concerns. But more than being a cause of concern in a country as volatile as Pakistan, they raise serious questions for both Mr. Sharif and honorable institute of Judiciary. Mian sahib has been more explicit in his definition of the system and has not shied away from stating that he will prefer country over democracy. Now that raises the foremost question that is it not the same Mian sahib who said it time and again in Musharraf ...

As a result of cheap executive of Punjab's fascination with the cheap justice, Lahore looks like a city hit by multiple Predator strikes. Almost every road has sites of destruction and damaged buildings. There could have been a saner way to penalize the violation of laws as happens in the civilized world. However, the "speedy justice brigade", obsessed with some middle-aged justice model knows no other way. For the rest, I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

(Image Courtesy: http://www.dawn.com) Taliban have once again struck at Pakistan. The attack this time has been on the Ashura procession and target was Shia community in the sourthern city of Karachi. Whatever my views be on religious zeal and religious rituals, the underlying reality remains that this was an attack on innocent unarmed civilians who gathered to be part of a spiritual gathering. It cannot get any barbaric than this. Karachi has long been associated with Islamic Extremists. The roots of it date back to 1979 and the Jihad Inc. that emerged as a result. Unfortunately, even before that Karachi remained a strong hub of Islamist elements with strong vote bank for JI and JUP. Post 9/11 at one point, around 2004, it was dubbed as the city with most concentrated Al Qaeeda presences. Not only that but most Al Qaeeda activists in Pakistan have been captured from Karachi. In a history of sect related attacks, in 2003, a bus of SUPARCO carrying Shia worshipers was attacked. Appox. ...

We are the agents of good. We identify problems and we devise solutions. If as a result of our solutions, more problems start emerging, among us people appear and fix them. And this goes on, through times. And then come times, when the solutions devised by those among us, become too complicated the problems with time, for the vested interest in the dust of time manipulates them and turns them into sanctums. That's where the agents reemerge and cleanse the thought. Agents come and they preach and they struggle. And they take the brunt of the hostile reality that surrounds. In grief and in death, they pay for the wrongs that the solutions of the agents did - for the mistakes of theirs or for others. For those who were agents were all beloved - and for why they did what they did was with purest of intentions. It is battle for a better world, a battle for evolution of human spirit, a battle for progress and peace, a battle for a grave, and a battle to let humanity achieve what is divi...