Peeping through The Past

Najam Sethi, editor of the Friday Times , was arrested at his home in Lahore on May 8 and held without charge for nearly a month by Punjab Police on the instructions of  Nawaz Sharif. Government officials stated that Sethi was being held in connection with a speech he had delivered in New Delhi in April. The Friday Times claimed the real reason for his arrest was a series of editorials he had written about loan defaults by senior government officials and an interview that he gave the BBC team. The Lahore High Court dismissed a habeas corpus petition filed by Sethi’s wife, Jugnoo Mohsin, ruling that it did not have the jurisdiction to “interfere in the affairs of the armed forces.” more…

Empowerment and media in Pakistan

By Zahid Abdullah

With apologies to Shakespeare, the hurly-burly of elections is done, and the candidates have lost and won. People have put an end to the doubts that they cannot exercise their vote power in a wise and judicious manner. Well, they have. However, the democratic process is long-drawn-out and casting of votes is just one component. In other words, if we take empowerment of the masses as the key objective of the democratic process, the exercise of the right to vote on the polling day is a means to empower the masses, no an end in itself. more…

Defending Pakistan’s Musharraf

By PARVEZ AMIN

LAHORE, Pakistan—I understand Musharraf’s critics. I feel the pain that many Pakistanis feel when they talk about where President Musharraf went wrong. But I ask you to step back and see if the events can be put into a fairer perspective. more…

Musharaf, U.S., and Pakistan

By MUHAMMAD HAFEEZ, PhD

LAHORE, Pakistan—It is generally believed that the United States is continuously and persistently supporting President Pervez Musharraf to keep him working as the president of Pakistan. This is false.America did support Musharraf as long as the U.S. perceived that its interests were actively being served by him and Pakistan.

The situation has changed over the last three years. Since then, the U.S. wanted change in the government in Islamabad but the incumbent government successfully hanged on and sustained the American pressure effectively. Several intrigues were witnessed in the recent years and the most significant conspiracy involved the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. Pakistan passed through that subversion. The support from the U.S. recently started dwindling as our services to them became contradictive to the emerging national interest of Pakistan. more…