A Successful Pakistani Offensive?

This past weekend, news of the new Pakistani offensive against militants in the northwest dominated media coverage of the country. On Sunday, media outlets reported that Pakistani paramilitary forces “pushed fighters belonging to an Islamic militant group farther from Peshawar…and destroyed unoccupied bases and houses belonging to members of the group.” Headlines following these developments [...]

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Reining in the Militant Threat

Although political developments (i.e. the Nawaz Sharif by-election controversy) caused quite a stir in media coverage of Pakistan this week, reports related to the militant and Taliban threat also garnered significant news attention. On Thursday, militants in the NWFP reportedly torched a state-owned hotel/ski resort in Swat. According to BBC News, “The nighttime attack follows [...]

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Sharif By-Election Postponed by Supreme Court

On Wednesday, Pakistan’s Supreme Court postponed the by-election in the constituency where PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif would have run, before the  controversial Lahore High Court ruling on Monday, [see previous post].  Following Monday’s development, supporters of Nawaz’s party reacted with outrage, and PML-N lawmakers staged a walkout from the National Assembly on Tuesday. According to [...]

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Hijras, the Third Gender – Nabiha Meher Shaikh

Kamil Hamid, a student from Islamabad, passed on a contribution piece to CHUP by Nabiha Meher Shaikh, a graduate from York University, where she majored in women’s studies. Below, Nabiha delves into a discussion about the subcontinent’s hijra community, known as “the third gender,” [the full article was originally posted on Nabiha's blog, I am [...]

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By(e)-By(e) Nawaz?

On Monday, media outlets reported that a high court in Lahore disqualified former Prime Minister and PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif from contesting in this week’s by-election. According to Reuters, “Sharif was barred from the general election in February because he had been convicted for the hijacking of then army chief General Pervez Musharraf’s plane in [...]

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A Spotlight on Pakistan’s Minorities

Media outlets reported that 16 Pakistani Christians were kidnapped by militants in the NWFP on Saturday, although sources reported that they were released hours later. News reports differed on the number of people kidnapped. Although several sources, including The News, reported that 25 Christians were abducted, more recent wire services confirmed that the number was [...]

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Pakistan’s First Slasher Flick, Zibahkhana

Today, I happily stumbled upon an article on the DVD release of Pakistan’s “first slasher film” in the Washington Post’s metro-targeted publication, The Express. Originally entitled Zibahkhana, [which literally translates from Urdu to "Slaughterhouse"], the film’s official English title for Western consumption became “Hell’s Ground,” and was released last year. The Express, in its review [...]

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Zardari, the Godfather?

Today, PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari announced that “he would decide when the judges sacked on November 3, 2007 would be reinstated.” Interesting, coming from a man who isn’t an elected member of Parliament, but who still calls the shots. I couldn’t help but be reminded of the iconic 70’s film, The Godfather. Granted, Zardari is not [...]

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Pakistan’s “Long Weekend”

It has been quite an eventful few days for Pakistan. First, following the end of the lawyers’ “Long March” [see related post] this past week, the movement’s top leader, Aitzaz Ahsan promised more protests today. Although he did not provide a future date for these protests, “his comments indicated that the lawyers did not intend [...]

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The Guardian of Karachi’s Perspective on Pakistan

CHUP recently had the opportunity to conduct an interview with renowned newspaper columnist, Ardeshir Cowasjee. He is the author of Dawn’s Cowasjee Corner and the chairman of the Cowasjee Foundation, an organization that provides scholarships to students seeking higher education opportunities. Born in Karachi in 1926 to a Parsi family, Cowasjee is regarded as the [...]

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