Pakistani Politics

The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." A. Einstein.
Natural resources are vital for the sustenance of a nation but  in modern economy survival of a nation is more dependent on the vision and pragmatic approach which its intellectual successfully incorporates in its social psychology. So the powerful status , which some nations enjoy in today's world, is the grip of its intellectuals on the helm of power. Pakistan is in a state of chaos, a proof of a nation's intellectual bankruptcy. Intellectuals are the eyes, the beacons and the architects of a nation. They inspire and lead the nation to turn their dreams into realities. Without such visionaries the nation is blind. A critical analysis presents some of the following reasons of Pakistan's failure to produce influential intellectuals to lead the nation in the right direction. 1. Dictatorships: Out of seven decades, since Pakistan's creation, for three decades there had been marshal law which suppressed freedom of expression and for rest of the time establishment had been in control of the democratic process according to their whims and wishes Especially ten years of Ziaulhaq's Marshal Law fundamentally changed the nation and took it back to dark ages. In Zia's regime theocracy was promoted in all walks of life.  3. Media: It is controlled by establishment so intellectuals who dare to challenge the mindset of establishment is efficiently and effectively dealt with.

The political culture literature is afflicted with an orientational and attitudinal bias in which cultural dynamics reign supreme, while political values and beliefs are relegated as an epiphenomenon. The present article arrogates the ‘political’ as the superior analytical variable in estimating political culture in Pakistan. While political culture studies attend to the behavioural methodology focused on individual cultural attitudes and orientations towards the political system, analysis of Pakistan’s political culture is attempted at the meso-level, that is, political parties and is in this sense a top–bottom approach. A seminal focus on political parties attends to a major gap in the political culture literature: the non-attention to agency. That is, while the literature thrives on cultural attitudes and orientations that feed into the political system, it is largely silent on the much thornier question of how such attitudes and orientations are engendered in the public sphere in the first place. In this sense, the article attributes agency to political parties as shaping and influencing political culture, that is, how do people view and think about politics in the country. Finally, in conformity with the political culture literature, the fact that political culture is never uniform and homogenous rather stratified into various competing political sub-cultures is brought out with respect to three mainstream political parties in Pakistan as manifested in their 2018 election manifestoes. Because political parties are ideational agents that shape beliefs and values in the public sphere, it makes sense to deep dive into competitive political sub-cultures placing ‘politics’ at the core of political culture analysis.

By drawing upon a series of immensely popular Punjabi films that centre around the character of Maula Jatt, this paper explores the code of masculinity depicted in the genre of rural based Punjabi vendetta films. The character of Maula Jatt and other similar characters in Punjabi films are approached here as constitutive of a specific male cultural type. Films, it should be noted, are studied as sources through which to understand wider cultural discourses of masculinity that are compelling at a particular historical juncture. It is stressed here that in critically engaging with masculinity one has to discard notions of natural, fixed or unitary notions of maleness. Not only is masculinity in itself a relational construct, there are also numerous codes of masculinity that co-exist in a particular context. Hence, this paper is attentive to ways in which Punjabi films present a series of actions and qualities as being the sole domain of manly men as well as to the celebration of a particular code of masculinity over others and its presentation as the standard to judge the worth of all men by. For instance, the ability to protect one’s izzat (honour), which is vested in the body and chastity of women (who are under the guardianship of men), openly display arms and ammunition, exact revenge and rise against the state’s law and order machinery are heralded as markers of masculinity. Beyond examining the presentation of men in relation to women, this paper asserts the importance of examining masculinity in terms of caste identities. Approaching gender in relational terms entails the study of how hegemonic masculinities function by demonstrating their superiority not only over women but also ‘other’ men. In the films studied here, the Jatt protagonist is portrayed as representing the hegemonic masculinity. Other caste groups are measured according to their ability to live up to this form of masculinity. In turn, the Jatt’s superior masculinity is itself reified by the very fact that other caste groups are valued according to characteristics that are supposed to mark out a manly Jatt.

I develop an approach to the “poetics” of music and
movement, vis-`a-vis language, in the context of
popular Sufism in South Asia. Bringing Michael
Herzfeld’s notion of “social poetics” into creative
dialogue with Katherine Ewing’s notion of the
experiencing subject as a “bundle of agencies,” I
attempt to cope with the problem of “meaning” in a
highly heterogeneous event, the ‘urs in Lahore,
Pakistan, commemorating the death of the Sufi saint
Shah Husain. My pragmatic approach to navigating
through an excess of meanings is to focus on what I
call “common terms of understanding.” The analysis
illuminates how Islam is popularly grounded in
South Asia, more generally, and is suggestive of how
music and movement might be construed as forms of
religiopolitical “embodiment.”

Review of MUSLIMS AGAINST PARTITION OF INDIA by renowned author and journalist Rasheed Kidwai
"The Bullies of Partition: How the Muslim League silenced the majority of Indian Muslims strongly opposed to the creation of Pakistan. The Muslim League unleashed a reign of terror that attacked secular leaders such as Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. In their aggression, they often found support from the British, the Hindu-Right, even sections of Congress
A majority of Muslims in pre-independent India were opposed to the two-nation theory and creation of Pakistan, argues a new book titled, Muslims Against Partition, written by scholar Shamsul Islam."
https://www.dailyo.in/politics/partition-indian-muslims-mohammad-ali-jinnah-shamsul-islam-indian-muslims-muslims-pakistan-iqbal/story/1/29793.html
With thanks to www.dailyo.in
This book is currently available in Hindi, Urdu and Bengali.

Religion and ethnicity are the two key dynamics of the politics of identity in Pakistan. The emergent significance of religion as an architect of identity and an instrument of political mobilization is reshaping the political landscape of ethno-religious conflicts in Pakistan. This research paper expounds that in case of Pakistan, religion is more influential to shape a violent ethnic and sectarian divide as compared to other bases of ethnicity like language, race, and region. Over emphasis on religious paradigm by authoritarian state discourses as the primary source of integration and its relevance to regime legitimacy made Islam a significant identity of various groups to contest power and influence. The evident ability of religion to form a group identity in Pakistan is leading to form a new ethnicity, which is exclusively based on the contrary, Islamic interpretations where the concept of 'others' seems to be less compromising, more antagonistic as compared to linguistic and regional forms of ethnicity. It identifies another aspect where religion and ethnicity are largely intermingled in Pakistan as different ethnic categories largely built on language and region are also associated with various forms of Islam. The underlying study expounds that over the time due to growing potential of Islam as source of protest and mobility in the politics of identity, it has become one of the key expressions of ethnicity which led to design an ethicized form of religion in Pakistan.

Democracy is a form of government which supports extensive participation of people in government and also promotes the views of citizens for the smooth functioning of society. The form of Democracy in Pakistan is one of the best and unique democracies in the world but unfortunately its future is bleak due to the non observance of what is actually the true essence of democracy, the informed choices. The main reasons that informed choices are not made is due to the unawareness of the people about the form of democracy in Pakistan, flawed political culture, and legal pluralism.

The challenges of federalism in Pakistan are multidimensional in nature and largely associated with various dynamics of politics. Lack of democratic practices, political instability, low political culture and type of government exercising its control at the federal level are those factors which considerably affect the federal politics in Pakistan. The repeated dissolutions of the National Assembly and the consequent fall of provincial assemblies during the decade of the1990s also stressed the federal notion in Pakistan. The problems of federalism in Pakistan were further augmented by the arrival of a military administration in power on October 12, 1999.Even though, a constitutional government was established as a result of the general election of 2002but it did not diminish the centralization and authoritarian trends as the center of political power was still a military man. This paper expounds that under Musharraf regime, prime intent of devising policies was to secure legitimacy of his rule and federal issues were not dealt with federal and political means. This research expounds that type of regime is relevant to federal practices in Pakistan and military led regimes in Pakistan are less responsive to federal challenges and ethnic demands as under their conception of unity in command, federal consensus and bargain are less pertinent. This led to decline the role of elected legislatures and federal institutions as the federal notion of the state was largely hampered. This study aims to address the issue that how military intervention into politics augmented the federal problems in Pakistan and to what extent type of regime is relevant to federal practices in Pakistan?

This paper will explore the reasons why the formula was not accepted by major political powers in Pakistan, why the formula might have been a success if not for the fall of Musharraf from power, how the formula can be transformed to achieve a pragmatic solution to the core issue, followed by conclusion.

Pakistan’s federal structures have been the subject of controversy since independence. Longstanding demands for change have been made, particularly changes to the vertical and horizontal division of resources and demands for a reorganization of provinces along ethno-linguistic lines.
The 18th Constitutional Amendment of 2010 introduced major changes to the federal system, agreed by consensus. But have these changes gone far enough? This article analyses the changes that were made, engaging with debates concerning the wisdom of creating ethnofederal units, dividing core groups, as well as the optimal number of units. It concludes that while major changes have been made, they have not yet gone far enough. The diversity of Pakistan should be seen as a source of federal strength rather than as a weakness.

The Pakistani military is widely regarded as the most powerful institution in the country, more than the legislature, the judiciary, and the executive. Observers regularly decry the 1 military's interference in politics for its detrimental affects on democratic growth, but there has been little emphasis on identifying the cause of the civil-military imbalance. This paper contends that the Pakistani military's political influence, contrary to widespread perception, is not a product of uniquely predatory or power-seeking tendencies within the military, but stems primarily from the relative weakness of civilian institutions themselves.

Islam is a religion, but it is also a philosophy. An analysis of surveys in the Arab world, Indonesia and Pakistan reveals that the mission and values of journalists in those Muslim-majority regions closely track Islamic obligations to tell the truth, seek justice and work toward the public interest. This article provides empirical data to bolster the argument that the values of Islam are the prism through which journalists in Muslim majority countries approach their profession. Those findings add to the body of research supporting the theory that journalistic norms are contextual, shaped by a hierarchy of influences that include global standards and local values such as culture, political climate and religion. But the findings also indicate that in regions where a professional journalistic culture is in the process of emerging, the influence of personal versus professional values is in reverse proportion to those found in more mature journalistic markets.

Despite India's status as the world's largest democracy and increasing turnouts in many of the countries of South Asia, recent elections raise concerns about the threat to democracy in the form of majoritarianism. Many of the countries of South Asia are extremely diverse and (mainly) informal mechanisms of accommodation of minorities have been deployed. At the same time concerns about the threat to minority rights in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have been strongly articulated. It is notable that those countries of South Asia, such as Sri Lanka and Pakistan, which have not accommodated their non-dominant groups, have witnessed high levels of conflict. India has been more accommodative, of both linguistic and religious minorities. However, it is precisely this process of accommodation that many in India now worry will be undermined by Hindu majoritarianism.

A government branched into national, provincial and local has its own functions and local self-government despite having enormous effects on the citizens has been paid very less tribute to! A local government needs to be strengthened out if democracy is to be kept alive. Decentralization has been opted by various countries for nation-building purposes and programs. In Pakistan, military government supported devolution process and it was pioneered by Gen. Pervaiz Musharraf. It resulted into making of a new scheme of local government and this article is a peep into the making, working and results/outcomes of this process and focuses on the relationship between provincial and local governments from 2001 to 2009. The devolution cannot function if local governments are not granted the power of making their own decisions which has been mostly done by provincial governments early on. This article attempts to throw ample light not only on the relationship of the said governments but also on what levels the manipulation occurred, how did it hinder the development process and troubled the spirit of devolution? Harmonization in all concerned areas is the need of the hour.

Stosunki indyjsko-pakistańskie od powstania niepodległych państw w 1947 roku można scharakteryzować jako jeden z najdłużej trwających konfliktów międzynarodowych współczesności. Kilkukrotnie przeradzał się on w otwartą wojnę konwencjonalną. W latach 1947-48 pomimo znaczącej dysproporcji sił, udało się Pakistanowi przejąć kontrolę nad blisko 1/3 spornego terytorium dawnego księstwa Dżammu i Kaszmiru i utrzymać ją do przyjęcia przez Radę Bezpieczeństwa ONZ rezolucji dokonującej jego oficjalnego podziału.

Militant tendencies in Pakistan have been a leading security challenge because of its adverse effects on political, economic, social and ethno- religious landscape of Pakistan. The case of Balochistan explicates the multivariate nature of militant manifestation in which nationalist and separatist aspirations tend to be a major tributary of militancy in Balochistan. The formation of militant groups on nationalistic and religious identities explains the two main sources of militant groups. Their linkages and networking further recognizes their operational capability and presence in the province. Moreover, geographical realities of the province along with its relationship with the federation and weak infrastructure, all contributes in shaping an environment which is conducive to militant tendencies in the shape of low intensity conflict. This article is based on a qualitative analysis which identifies genesis of militancy in Balochistan keeping in view the current changing geopolitical realities. After examining the facts, it is being concluded that traditionally call for separation is the driving force of militancy in Balochistan, however, ever since a decade, certain concentrated pockets of religiously grounded groups have been involved in target killing and suicide bombing.

Salman Rushdie has become a controversial author in the Islamic world because of the frequent instances of satirising the institution of Islamic religion and the concept of God Almighty in his novels. According to the Islamic Law he has several times committed the crime of blasphemy.

Pakistan is one among the countries terribly affected by the novel contagious disease named “COVID-19”. The severe economic shortfall caused by the pandemic is likely to worsen the already frangible situation of political stability. A country of over 220 million people with a fragile democracy, brittle health system, and the sinking economy is vulnerable to the drastic politico-economic implications of COVID-19. Hence, the present study aims to analyze the politico-economic implications of this on-going pandemic for Pakistan. Mixed-method research design has been employed to investigate the research question, as the only quantitative or qualitative analysis was not much appropriate to develop a better understanding of the problem investigated in the study. The simultaneous application of both the numerical and opinion-based data provided a comprehensive framework to reach logical findings. The study concludes that the inadequate health facilities and less coordinated response, along...

आरएसएस-भाजपा द्वारा पोषित और प्रायोजित उपद्रवी तत्वों ने जिन्नाह की तस्वीर को मुद्दा बना कर अलीगढ़ मुस्लिम विश्वविद्यालय (अमुवि) पर बीते दिनों जो हमले किए, उनके बाद दो-क़ौम सिद्धांत या दो-राष्ट्र सिद्धांत (इस के अनुसार हिन्दू धर्म और इस्लाम के अनुयायी दो अलग राष्ट्र या क़ौमें हैं) एक बार फिर चर्चा के केंद्र में है। विश्वविद्यालय छात्र संघ कार्यालय में मुहम्मद अली जिन्नाह की यह फोटो बीते 80 सालों से लगी है, जिस पर आपत्ति कर हिंदुत्व ब्रिगेड अपनी कुटिल परंपरानुसार मुसलमानों की देशभक्ति पर सवाल खड़े कर रही है। हैरान करने वाली बात यह है कि यह काम बीएस मुंजे, भाई परमानंद, विनायक दामोदर सावरकर, एमएस गोलवलकर और अन्य हिंदू राष्ट्रवादियों की परंपरा के वारिस कर रहे हैं, जिन्होंने न केवल दो क़ौमी सिद्धांत की अवधारणा प्रस्तुत की बल्कि उन्होंने आक्रामक रूप से मांग की कि मुसलमानों को भारत जो हमेशा से हिंदू राष्ट्र रहा है से निकाल दिया जाए, । इस टोली का आज भी विश्वास है कि हिंदू व मुसलमान दो अलग राष्ट्र हैं। भारत के राजनीतिक परिदृश्य पर जिन्नाह या मुस्लिम लीग का उद्भव होने से बहुत पहले आरएसएस के लोग, जो आज सत्तासीन हैं, सतत् यह मांग करते आए हैं कि मुसलमानों व ईसाइयों से नागरिक अधिकार छीन लिए जाने चाहिएं।
दो क़ौमी सिद्धांत पर यह निबंध इस उद्देश्य से लिखा गया है कि इस सिद्धांत के जन्म, विकास, मौजूदा चलन और इस से जुड़े पूरे विमर्श को भली-भाँती समझा जा सके और किस तरह हिन्दुत्वादी शासक टोली इस कुत्सित सिद्धांत को देश बाँटने  के लिए लागू कर रही है, उस साज़िश को जाना जा सके।

Abstract: The years 1975 and 1977 witnessed a wave of de facto military
regimes in Bangladesh and Pakistan, respectively. In Pakistan, General
Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq operationalized the country’s preexisting Islamic
identity from emblematic to substantive at both domestic and international levels. General Ziaur Rahman and General Ershad of Bangladesh revived the country’s Islamic identity at the domestic and international levels and reopened the space for religious fractions that were banned from politics constitutionally in the previous regime. Focusing on military regimes in Bangladesh and Pakistan between 1975 and 1990, this paper aims to bridge that gap by specifically examining the use of Islam. This study argues that dictators in both countries used Islam to support their survival strategies of legitimacy, repression, and social control. Authoritarian rulers did not have to use Islam to maintain military coherence, because of the military’s culture of subordination to superiors

Pakistani politics is full of political rhetoric. Attractive slogans are used by leaders of political parties to inspire and set the mood of public about a particular issue. Even parliament is neglected by politicians. This political immaturity led the nation towards street politics and polarization in the society. Due to elements of intolerance in politics, leadership could not find consensus and viable solutions. The paper analyzes political rhetoric; slogan politics and role of parliament in Pakistan especially focusing on the first one year of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz's (PML-N) current government. In this context, political parties and their leaders' popular statements particularly in print media containing rhetoric and slogans to resolve two important issues i.e. electoral reforms and energy crisis has been examined. Political parties' initiatives in the form of calling attention notices, questions, resolutions, bills, motions and point of orders in the parliament have also been assessed followed by recommendations. The paper highlights that politicians generally use rhetoric and slogan politics instead of using parliament to satisfy the public on various issues. The paper recommends that political parties should enhance intellectual depth of party members and leaders so that they can effectively use the forum of parliament for resolving issues.  Since its independence, Pakistan's politics have been shuttling between democracy and dictatorship like a pendulum where political rhetoric and slogan politics are mostly used to inspire and win public support. Pakistan's current politics mostly focus on various key issues namely panama leaks, electoral reforms, energy crisis and law and order situation in the country due to terrorism. Many other issues like corruption, unemployment, education, health, poverty, price hike and inflation etc. are, however, at low priority agenda of political parties at the moment. These issues are mostly highlighted by political leaders on streets through demonstrations and media coverage. In developed democracies, politicians mostly use parliament as a forum to discuss various political, security, social and economic issues in order to reach at solutions and frame legislations. Furthermore, in advanced states, parliament works to detached people from staging demonstrations in streets and helps them to send their representatives in the legislature (Waseem, 2016). However, it

Pakistan’s federal structures have been the subject of controversy since independence. Longstanding demands for change have been made, particularly changes to the vertical and horizontal division of resources and demands for a reorganization of provinces along ethno-linguistic lines. The 18th Constitutional Amendment of 2010 introduced major changes to the federal system, agreed by consensus. But have these changes gone far enough? This article analyses the changes that were made, engaging with debates concerning the wisdom of creating ethnofederal units, dividing core groups, as well as the optimal number of units. It concludes that while major changes have been made, they have not yet gone far enough. The diversity of Pakistan should be seen as a source of federal strength rather than as a weakness.

PLEASE HELP ME!
I am trying to locate writings, families, friends and places connected with the pre-partition personalities like Shaukatullah Ansari, Syed Abdullah Brelvi, Ansar Harvani, Abdul Majid Khwaja, Maulana Habeebur Rehman Ludhianvi, Maulana Hifzur Rehman and Shamim Karhani Saheban who led a glorious anti-Pakistan movement against the Muslim League in 1930s and 1940s. I call these personalities as MUSLIMS AGAINST PARTITION. Unfortunately, their writings and contribution have been forgotten for many reasons including the fact that those appeared in Urdu and families were scattered after the Partition.
KINDLY HELP ME TO CONNECT IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION WITH THEIR FAMILIES, FRIENDS AND PLACES.

Email: [email protected]

This article is based on a study of The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2007), a novel by a Pakistani writer Mohsin Hamid.  The novel is based on the  story of  transformation of an expat Pakistani living in New York from a true cosmopolitan to a nationalist. The article will explore the crisis of identity suffered by the protagonist in a new land where he reached as an immigrant  student and worker. However, he experienced a resurgence of nationalist and patriotic sentiments within him as 9/ 11 happened in 2001.  The force of American nationalism that was imperial in nature, resulting in the invasion of Afghanistan and Iran, triggered resentment in the protagonist who decided to leave America and went back to the country of his origin, Pakistan. During his stay in America, the protagonist redefined fundamentalism as an imperial tendency in the American system while rejecting the accusations hurled towards him of an Islamic fundamentalist. The article will explain that there is a loss of ...

Pakistan is one among the countries terribly affected by the novel contagious disease named “COVID-19”. The severe economic shortfall caused by the pandemic is likely to worsen the already frangible situation of political stability. A country of over 220 million people with a fragile democracy, brittle health system, and the sinking economy is vulnerable to the drastic politico-economic implications of COVID-19. Hence, the present study aims to analyze the politico-economic implications of this on-going pandemic for Pakistan. Mixed-method research design has been employed to investigate the research question, as the only quantitative or qualitative analysis was not much appropriate to develop a better understanding of the problem investigated in the study. The simultaneous application of both the numerical and opinion-based data provided a comprehensive framework to reach logical findings. The study concludes that the inadequate health facilities and less coordinated response, along...

Presented at GETTING OUR BEARING RIGHT:LITERATURE, SOCIETY AND PROSPERITY, 27-28 April 2019, IIUI.

The article explores the politics of fear and silence in Mohsin Hamid's novel, Moth Smoke. Nueman's in her theory 'spiral of silence' argues that the privileged class uses fear as a tool to oppress and silence the less privileged others. Consequently, the suppressed class gradually becomes fearful of expressing their views openly. They learn not to voice those opinions that are not in accordance with the prevailing norms of that society. The fear of marginalization, especially the fear of losing the support of the majority, kills their voices forever. Drawing on Naueman's Spiral of silence, we will further investigate how in Moth Smoke, Hamid depicts the dilemma of a nation paralyzed by fear that quills its ability to cultivate a unified voice. Hamid's characters are both the victims and the prisoners of their fears. We will also discuss the ways their insecurities cripple their thinking abilities and silence them forever. According to Nueman, only those people are capable of expressing deviant opinions in such landscape of fear, who are not apprehended by any sense of loss.

Great martyr Bhagat Singh was born in eastern Punjab and Lahore (both in Pakistan now). He was hanged with two other comrades, Rajguru and Sukhdev in Lahore. After Partition since these places went into Pakistan no interest was shown by the rulers in keeping his memory alive. Both his birthplace and place of martyrdom became obscure. However, due to persistent pressure of lovers of Bhagat Singh in Pakistan, the Punjab government has allocated funds to build suitable memorial to this great martyr. It is a welcome development.