‘I fear they will kill me for talking’: The Pakistani poet abducted for his activism

Ahmad Farhad’s abduction sent ripples across Pakistan. After being released on bail, he insists on telling his story Shah Meer Baloch in Islamabad and Hannah Ellis-Petersen in Delhi It was late at night in Islamabad and Ahmad Farhad was returning from a quick trip to the shops when someone walked up behind him. “Don’t be… Read More ‘I fear they will kill me for talking’: The Pakistani poet abducted for his activism

EXIT GOD, ENTER MADNESS: Nadeem Paracha on religious extremism in Pakistan (2012)

First posted July 06, 2012 As one distraught friend of mine once prayed: ‘May Allah save Islam from Pakistan.’ The self-claimed ‘bastion of Islam’ has gradually mutated into becoming a bastion of deluded messiahs and mindless, violent ranting machines to whom anything, from incoherent malangs to the reopening of Nato supply routes, are conspiracies against Islam. On… Read More EXIT GOD, ENTER MADNESS: Nadeem Paracha on religious extremism in Pakistan (2012)

Pakistani poet was abducted because of human rights activism, says wife

Ahmad Farhad was pushed into vehicle hours after posting about threats from country’s spy agency, says Syeda Urooj Zainab Shah Meer Baloch in Islamabad The wife of a Pakistani poet and journalist who was abducted from outside his house last week has accused the country’s spy agency of responsibility, saying it acted because of his activism.… Read More Pakistani poet was abducted because of human rights activism, says wife

Jogendranath Mandal hoped for Dalit-Muslim unity in Pakistan. He’s remembered as a ‘villain’

NB: Those of us who see the events of the late 1940’s in black and white terms ought to study the complexity of historical events as well as of the views of the actors in those events. Some may be surprised to read B. R. Ambedkar’s views on the transfer of population on a communal… Read More Jogendranath Mandal hoped for Dalit-Muslim unity in Pakistan. He’s remembered as a ‘villain’

Pakistani Dalits struggle for dignity in their land of birth

Members of Pakistan’s Scheduled Caste communities are making inroads in the country’s political landscape and being honoured at the highest levels. But without affirmative action, systemic change and implementation of laws and court orders that uphold rights, their struggle for equality continues. By Shaeran Rufus SOURCE: Sapan News www.sapannews.com Kishore Kohli*, 39, an agricultural labourer in Pakistan… Read More Pakistani Dalits struggle for dignity in their land of birth

Jogendra Nath Mandal: Chosen by Jinnah, banished by Pakistan’s bureaucracy

Akhtar Balouch; November 4, 2015 Jogendra Nath Mandal has the distinction of representing the Muslim League as minister in the 1946 pre-partition political setup of India. Later, he presided over the historic session of the Constituent Assembly on 11th August 1947, where Mohammed Ali Jinnah was sworn in as the first Governor-General of Pakistan. Jinnah… Read More Jogendra Nath Mandal: Chosen by Jinnah, banished by Pakistan’s bureaucracy

The Blood Telegram

First posted November 28, 2011 Archer Kent Blood (March 20, 1923 – September 3, 2004) was an American diplomat in Bangladesh. He served as the last American Consul General to Dhaka, East Pakistan. The Blood telegram (April 6, 1971) was seen as one of the most strongly worded messages ever written by Foreign Service Officers to the State Department. It was signed… Read More The Blood Telegram