Megalomaniac

Hamza Ali Abbasi, an actor close to the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, tweeted earlier this month: “I am beginning to feel that PAKISTAN needs presidential system to get rid of the powerful MNA/MPA (members of the National and Provincial Assemblies) influence, abolition of large Provinces & Administrative Divisions made into smaller Provinces with powerful/empowered directly elected local body Governments.” Mr. Abbasi’s tweet led to a debate about a presidential system in Pakistan, from social networks to the mainstream media. Some people were of the opinion that this was coming from powerful quarters. Mr. Abbasi clarified on his tweets that when people accuse him of being “a stooge of the establishment” and that his words are “dictated” by the military and intelligence agencies “to help mould public opinion”, he likes it as it makes him feel way more important than he actually is. Mr. Abbasi is not the only one who has been talking about the presidential system i...

The government had earlier denied news of a shake-up Pakistan’s Finance Minister Asad Umar stepped down on Thursday as part of a reshuffle of the Cabinet initiated by Prime Minister Imran Khan. “As part of a Cabinet reshuffle, PM desired that I take the Energy Minister portfolio instead of Finance. However, I have obtained his consent to not take any Cabinet position. I strongly believe @ImranKhanPTI is the best hope for Pakistan and inshallah will make a naya Pakistan,” Mr. Umar tweeted on Thursday. Abdul Hafeez Sheikh will be Adviser on Finance. Sources said Petroleum Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan was also asked to step down, but he refused to do so. He reportedly said that he will leave Prime Minister Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party if he’s forced to quit the Cabinet. He has now been made Federal Minister for Aviation. More changes Shehryar Afridi, State Minister for Interior, has now been made Minister for States and Frontier Regions. The new Federal Minister ...

“We have lost the narrative on Jammu and Kashmir.”— Abdul Basit Former High Commissioner of Pakistan to India Q. Why do you think India attacked Pakistan? AB: There is a context to the attack, post-Pulwama. One is domestic politics, i.e. the Indian elections. We say this, and so does the Congress Party. The second is to present Kashmir through the prism of terror and to isolate Pakistan. Had India given us the dossier earlier, they would not have been able to take the action that they did. Diplomatically it would have been difficult for them. I don’t know what the dossier contains but if we look at the old dossiers [they presented], there wasn’t much in them either. Some newspaper clippings and circumstantial evidence but no irrefutable evidence as such. Q. Realistically speaking, do you think there will ever be a resolution of the Kashmir dispute? AB: I think we will definitely see a resolution of the Kashmir dispute. How it happens…that remains to be seen. The Kashmir valle...

The recent conversion of two girls from Hinduism to Islam in Sindh has once again compelled the country to explore the possibilities of enacting a law to prevent forced conversions. But it is an uphill task, reports Mehmal Sarfraz For the Hindus of Sindh in Pakistan, March 20, the day Holi was celebrated, was a riot of colours. But for the Meghwars, it marked the beginning of a nightmare when two sisters, Reena Meghwar and Raveena Meghwar, suddenly disappeared from their home in Daharki, a city in Ghotki district of Sindh. Their disappearance not only brought back the spotlight on a persisting problem in the country, but also led to an online spat between Pakistan and India, which only recently saw simmering tensions reach a dangerous peak. After a fruitless search for his sisters, Shaman, his father, and others from the community finally decided to go to the neighbourhood police station to lodge a complaint. The Station House Officer (SHO) there assured them on March 20 that the c...

The bloodshed came two days after authorities freed Ramzan Mengal, a top leader of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ). At least 20 people were killed and 48 injured when a blast hit the Hazarganji market in Quetta, Pakistan, on Friday. Nine people from the Hazara community and one Frontier Corps soldier were among the dead. Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted that he was deeply saddened by the attack. “I have asked for an immediate inquiry & increased security for the people. Prayers go to the families of the victims & for early recovery of the injured.” At the site of the blast, DIG Quetta Abdul Razzaq Cheema told the media that every day, people from the Hazara community come to this market from Hazara Town to buy groceries. Police and Frontier Corps personnel escort them and take them back as well. On Friday, there were 11 vehicles and 55 people in that convoy. To a question whether the Hazara community members were the targets, Mr. Cheema said that while the Hazaras have been ta...