Ali Malik's blog

As I have started getting firsthand accounts of devastation of flood in the province of Sindh, my concern is growing. The concern is not limited to the floods alone but the political and social implications of the floods and their aftermath too. Before I delve further into the issues that trouble me, I will like to highlight a fact that contributed to worsening of the flood situation in country’s south, a fact completely ignored in the coverage of the floods. Between 10 th and 16 th of the lunar calendar, due to the rise of sea (sea tides), the Arabian Sea does not accept any water from River Indus. In fact, the sea water gets pushed about 30 miles inside the Indus Delta. So if the floods were not disbursed during these days and were let downstream, Karachi was at risk of a very heavy flooding. To save this, the water had to be disbursed more in upstream. With this explanation, let me move to the issue at hand, and a grave one. First and foremost, the demolition of dykes and levees h...

Pakistani media and country's right-wing is ripe with stories about poor aid response and poor donor response. It is about time things be put in perspective. For nothing has the potential of hurting rehabilitation more than this smear campaign. First, as I have dealt with it earlier, the issue of poor response. The disaster is way bigger than the earthquake of 2005 or any other disaster known in human history. A lot of areas needing rescue and relief are still flooded and are hard to access. The disaster is spread across 1/5th of the country or an area of appox. 160,000 sq. km. No state would be equipped to deal with any disaster of such magnitude. Our state, with its limited resources, is trying her best to do what it could. We must thank our Western allies and particularly United States for their help and any help in this regard should be welcome (including Indian). The floods are not over and there still are many important installations and populated cities/towns that need...

The dry spell of almost 10 years ended with torrential outpour that led to the worst flooding in the recent history. On the eve of Independence Day, 15 million people are left affected by one of the worst floods in human history. On the eve of Independence Day, the words of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, said in Chittagong on Pakistan Day of 1948 elaborate the best, the struggle and resolve of this land and its inhabitants: "The Story of Pakistan, its struggle and its achievement, is the very story of great human ideals, struggling to survive in the face of great odds and difficulties." This is what we have been and this is what we will always be - the survivors in the midst of all odds.  I wished my piece here, in the midst of this tragedy, on the eve of nation's 63rd Independence Day, did not talk of divisions, but divisions I have to be talked about. For the existential threat that this country of ours is facing, is trying to turn this tragedy to its advantage. F...

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 ...