“The notion of Pakistan as a “failed state” has roots far deeper than the last few years; it was first deemed to have “failed” in the early 1960s, and this framework has dominated discussion of Pakistan in America from the days of the Cold War to the War on Terror.“ From Manan Ahmed‘s “Legends of [...]
Posts Tagged as ‘Lawyers Movement’
May 1, 2009
Help those who ask for it.
Americans are only learning about Pakistan from Americans, and that’s a problem. Too much of what passes for “news” about Pakistan is really just one American telling the other about how the Taliban are on the verge of taking over the nation. Nevermind that there might be 10,000 Taliban troops and 170 million Pakistanis. One [...]
April 30, 2009
Reacting: William Bradley on Huffington Post
I couldn’t help but react to William Bradley’s April 30th Huffington Post column on Afghanistan and Pakistan. It had some interesting points, but it was also filled with vaguely orientalist notions of Pakistani security issues. There were the noble generals, the scary ISI, and the invisible 170 million civilians who would soon fall to a [...]
April 27, 2009
Failed State Fetish
The news is certainly troubling. Taliban fighters get a “peace” treaty from the national Pakistani government, and then expand from Swat to neighboring Buner. A vast national military seems unable or unwilling to respond, and everyone scratches their heads wondering what is next. But does this really mean that Pakistan is on the verge of [...]
March 30, 2009
With a friend like this, who needs democracy?
A repost of my comment at Sepia Mutiny and Chapati Mystery: On the intersection of U.S. policy and Pakistani politics, I was particularly surprised to read this link off a Pakistani news twitter feed: Obama calls Zardari, discusses mutual cooperation Pakistan News.Net / Friday 27th March, 2009 (ANI) Islamabad, Mar. 27 : US President Barack [...]
March 12, 2009
Opinion: Marching for democracy in Pakistan
Viewpoint: Marching for democracy in Pakistan By Sahar Shafqat The Baltimore Sun (online) March 12, 2009 Imagine this scenario: What if a U.S. president, in blatant contravention of the U.S. Constitution, fired every Supreme Court justice because he didn’t like their decisions, and filled the court instead with his own cronies? What if a new [...]
March 11, 2009
Opinion: Democracy movement in Pakistan
U.S. has chance to help real democracy in Pakistan Atlanta Journal-Constitution Thursday, March 12, 2009 By Sanjeev Bery, Wajiha Ahmed Today, a major Pakistani movement for democratic reform will challenge Pakistani President Asif Zardari with a call for government accountability. Known as the Lawyers Movement, this coalition of civil activists will give America a chance [...]
March 10, 2009
Arresting Freedom
Plain-clothes police officers detain a PML-N protestor outside the Punjab Assembly building in Lahore.—AP/File Pakistani President Asif Zardari has given his orders, and compliant law enforcement officers in Pakistan are arresting rival politicians and activists. Team Zardari is taking pre-emptive measures to block Pakistan’s Lawyers Movemnt and allies from pursuing their Long March.
March 10, 2009
Twittering Freedom
As Pakistani President Asif Zardari cracks down on pro-democracy activists, a handful of Pakistanis are posting short bursts of information on Twitter. You can follow their “freedom tweets” online. The best tag is probably #Pakistan: http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23Pakistan But you can also go with either of the following…
