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‘Good Taliban, Bad Taliban’
As the US battles those it equated with its 'founding fathers' in Pakistan and invites them to dialogue in Afghanistan, we must lay to rest the 'Good Taliban, Bad Taliban' hypothesisA forgotten image...
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The Qadri conviction: A collective indictment
To those who continue to venerate Qadri, all we can really do is point out the blatant falsehoods and contradictions that riddle the path of this entire blasphemy debacle.There is something very...
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Punjab’s Power Rebellion
The Machiavellian PPP government faces a unique form of resistance over the power crisis: a discontented, aggrieved, rebellious and forgetful PunjabThe Chief Minister of Punjab has decided to lead...
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PTCL: A case for re-nationalisation
The struggle of the PTCL workers reminds us of the financial misdeeds at the heart of PTCL’s privatization“The deal to privatize PTCL was not transparent. It was made contrary to rules and...
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Forgetting Sindh's flood victims
While the people of Sindh suffer; and are forgotten by the media, there is a need is to take those responsible to taskHashim bin RashidOh God of birds, don’t gift feathers to eagles; if you can’t stop...
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Imran Khan: A new face for the old guard
While the Minar-i-Pakistan rally indicates a change of face in Punjab, the context of Imran Khan’s rise offers questions for PTI supporters to ask their ‘clean cut’ KaptaanFor a while now I have been...
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Speaking of Eid from its Margins
The discourse around Eid is constructed for those who ‘have’ – what does Eid mean for those who ‘have not’. And can we re-new its’ meaning every year?A THINKING EXERCISE:As an exercise of the mind,...
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Rail-jammed: Tracing the roots of the Railways Crisis
It is ironic that those to whom the PakistanRailways is looking towards for a solution to the crisis are very much a part of the problem themselvesOn 25 October 2011, Pakistan Railways (PR) pensioner,...
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Save the Railways or agitate for wage?
At a meeting of the Railway Workers Union, union members discuss the future of the Railways and the role they must play in helping to save it“It is in the workers’ interest to keep the Railways’ wheel...
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By the student, for the student, of the student!
The argument for restoring student unions in PakistanThe need to revive plurality of opinion, debate and democracy in university campuses means student unions must be brought backPrime Minister Yousaf...
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Memo-gate: Beyond (T)reason
A silly memo has knocked out the Ambassador to the USHussain Haqqani as the military re-asserts to the civilian government who is bossThe word ‘high treason’ rose again and was directed at Pakistan’s...
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Beyond Salala: Counting every Pakthun killed
The honouring of the 24 soldiers killed by NATO, forgets the unnamed and unnumbered Pakthuns killed during the army’s own strategic games in the North WestIf ever we brought humans down to agree on the...
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Pilgrimage to Mother Mary
Catholic Christianity adopts the culture of the urs as hundreds of thousands of Pakistani Christians walk barefoot, cycle and even cartwheel to MariamabadMisha Rehman/Hashim bin RashidWhen we imagine a...
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In Defence of Zardari
Despite its failings, the current PPP-led government represents the first bout of mature democracy in Pakistan since the early Bhutto periodThis is an article that is best begun by reversing time to...
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As we remember Jinnah...
135-years after the birth of Jinnah, the need to go beyond him to secure our collective future is apparentAt a young age, we are taught to imagine a personality called Quiad e Azam (Great Leader). It...
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Review: 15 events that shaped Pakistan's 2011
I.The assassination of a liberal:2011 begins: Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer is murdered by one of his security guards. The rest of the nine guards had merely watched and then arrested the surrendering...
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Coronation of a carcass
Business Express or Bourgeoisie Express? “This is a milestone in railways history,” the elected leader of the people said before cutting the red tape. He was surrounded by dignitaries, businessmen,...
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Ye kaun sakhi hain/Who are these benevolent youth
Faiz Ahmed Faiz(Translated by: Hashim bin Rashid)Yeh kaun sakhi hainjin ke lahu ki ashrafiaaN, chhan chhan, chhan chhan,dharti ke peham piyaasekashkol meiN Dhalti jaati haiN kashkol ko bharti haiNwho...
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The price of Baloch blood
The ‘clink, clink’ reverberatesHashim Bin RashidYe kaun sakhi hain Jin ke lahoo kiAshrafiyaan, chan chan, chan chan,Who are these benevolent youthThe gold coins of their bloodClink clink, clink clink...
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Celebrating acid attacks
Pakistan’s first Oriental award…Hashim bin RashidI certainly did not intend to write an Op-ed on the matter when I shared a friend’s Facebook status on Sharmeen Obaid’s Oscar win on the...
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