Twenty five years ago, on May 28, Pakistan conducted five nuclear tests (a sixth was done on May 30). The tests were a response to India’s five nuclear tests, conducted on May 11 and 13. Both governments, after the tests, declared a moratorium on further testing. A quarter century since
Tag: Pakistan
The Parliament that murdered democracy in Pakistan
There can be no doubt about the fact that parliamentary democracy in Pakistan will take years to recover from the devastation inflicted upon it in the last five years. Over the last few years, Pakistan’s parliamentarians, individuals who have sworn to protect and uphold the Constitution, have betrayed both the letter
Pakistan parliament to dissolve for an election without ex-PM
Pakistan's parliament was due to be dissolved Wednesday, ushering in a technocrat-led interim government to oversee an election that will not include the country's most popular politician, Imran Khan. The country has been in political turmoil since the former international cricket star was booted from power in April last year, culminating
Is democracy impossible for Pakistan?
The PTI's recent run in with the establishment has brought Pakistan's innumerable fault lines to bear on the country's already fragile politics. Is a democratic trajectory even possible under these circumstances? The crisis consists precisely in the fact that the old world is dying and the new cannot be born. In
Imran Khan’s ‘Vandana’ for Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib
For more than a decade there was a simmering debate spearheaded by the netizens, academicians, journalists, researchers, social justice activists and civil society in Pakistan on war crimes, genocide and rape as a weapon of war by marauding Pakistan military during the brutal birth of Bangladesh in 1971. Long before the
Pakistan’s SC orders release of ex PM Imran Khan
Pakistan's Supreme Court has ordered the release of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, two days after his arrest sparked countrywide violence. Supreme Court chief justice Umar Ata Bandial also asked Khan to issue an appeal to his supporters to remain peaceful, as the country faced growing turmoil in its streets. The supporters
Counter Narrative — Operation Searchlight
“The Moving Finger writes; and having writ, Moves on: nor all your Piety nor Wit Shall lure it back to cancel half a line Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it” (Rubaiyat, Omar Khayyam) Chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, made a startling announcement on landing in Karachi,
No breakthrough in India-Pakistan ties
In December 2021, Pakistan’s first-ever National Security Policy (NSP) understandably hit the headlines in India, which was mentioned more than any other nation in it—at least 16 times. The 62-page document prepared after what was described as a seven-year ‘strategic thought’ referred to a policy of peace at home and abroad.
Minorities Live In Fear As Allegations Of Forced Conversions Rise In Pakistan
The tiny community of Hindus and Christians continues to live in fear as incidents of forced conversions of under-aged girls are on the rise in Pakistan, especially in Sindh. Human rights activists are concerned that forced conversions and marriages take place under threat and violence in Pakistan. In March 2022, 18-year-old Hindu
Pakistan blocks Wikipedia, says it hurt Muslim sentiments
Pakistan's media regulator said Monday it blocked Wikipedia services in the country for hurting Muslim sentiment by not removing purportedly blasphemous content from the site, a move critics say is a blow to digital rights. Under Pakistan's blasphemy laws, anyone found guilty of insulting Islam or its figures can be