The Best Pakistan-Related Quotes of 2009

As we approach 2010, blogs and media agencies everywhere are compiling their lists of the past year and decade – the best music, movies, political events, scandals, the list goes on. Rather than give you a somber top 10 for Pakistan, I wanted to list some of the funniest and most memorable quotes of the [...]

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Bombing in Karachi Kills 25

On Monday, a suicide bomber attacked a Shia procession commemorating Ashura in Karachi, killing at least 25 people and injuring 50. Today’s incident on MA Jinnah Road was the latest in a string of violence in Pakistan this past weekend. Following the assassination of mid-level political administrator Sarfaraz Khan and his family in the Kurram [...]

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Happy Holidays!

Wishing all our readers a very happy holiday season! In honor of Christmas being a wonderfully globalized holiday, see  this properly irritating yet amusing video (who knew you could desi-fy Jingle Bells?): December 25 is also the 133rd birth anniversary of Pakistan’s founding father Mohammed Ali Jinnah. Given the tremendous obstacles facing our country today, [...]

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Does an Eye for an Eye Make the Whole World Blind?

On Monday, an “anti-terrorism” court in Lahore ordered that two men have their ears and noses cut off as punishment for doing the same to a woman who refused to marry one of them. According to Reuters, “The two brothers, Sher Mohammad and Amanat Ali, abducted their 22-year-old cousin, Fazeelat Bibi, at gunpoint in September [...]

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The Root of Our Ills – Guest Post by Tariq

Image: Flickr Zahidpix Throughout Pakistan’s history, the role of the country’s military has been intertwined with the state, often playing a decisive role in the political sphere. While many perceive the military as the watchdog of the state, others disagree, arguing that the institution impedes the progress of Pakistan. Below, Tariq, based in Karachi, (who [...]

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The NRO Ruling: “Smoking Zardari Out of His Cave”?

On Wednesday, a 17-judge bench of Pakistan’s Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, declared the infamous National Reconciliation Ordinance “null and void,” a ruling hailed by media outlets as a “landmark” and “historic” decision. According to the ruling, corruption cases registered between Jan 1, 1986, and Oct 12, 1999 that were dismissed [...]

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Reacting to Reality – Mubashir Noor

On Tuesday, at least 27 people were killed and more than 60 were injured in an attack in Dera Ghazi Khan, close to the region where Pakistan’s Army is carrying out the offensive against Taliban militants. The blast, described by news outlets as a “suicide car bombing,” ripped through a market, destroying shops and badly [...]

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Trekking for a Cause: Q&A with Tamreez Inam & Asim Khan

The Citizens Foundation (TCF) is a not-for-profit organization that provides education opportunities for underpriveleged families in Pakistan. As of 2009, TCF has established 600 purpose-built school units nationwide with an enrollment of 80,000 students. TCF also encourages female enrollment and boasts a 50% female ratio on almost every campus. From October 16-25, 2009, Friends of [...]

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Five Americans Arrested in Pakistan

Five men from Northern Virginia were detained at a house in Sargodha, a town in Pakistan’s Punjab province. The house reportedly belonged to Khalid Farooq, the father of one of the young men, Umer Farooq. According to police sources cited by the NY Times, Khalid Farooq is said to have ties to Jaish-e-Muhammad, a banned [...]

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The Blasted Culture of Scapegoating

The above message, tweeted by columnist Mosharraf Zaidi (@mosharrafzaidi), does not account for today’s string of devastating bombings, targeting three of Pakistan’s provincial capitals. On Monday, 36 people were killed and 130 were injured when twin bombings struck Lahore‘s Moon Market, 10 were killed and 49 were injured when a suicide bomber on a rickshaw [...]

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