Posts Tagged as ‘Pakistani activists’

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 Obama telephoned President Asif [...]

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 president was elected on [...]

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 to voice support for [...]

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…

March 1, 2009

Pakistan’s Long March is an Important Step to Democracy

(Post co-written with Samad Khurram,  a Pakistani citizen who participated in the 2008 Long March.  Samad is currently a student at Harvard University.)
There is something about marching for democracy that captures the imagination.  Perhaps it is because walking is the simplest of human activities.  One foot goes in front of the other, and a movement [...]