The Strange Case of Laibah Ahmad Marri – by Sumantra Maitra

For the uninitiated, Laibah Ahmad Marri is a US based, Baloch activist, who was suspended from Twitter. The interesting part is, she was suspended, for the “fourth” time, after being reported as a “bot”…even though she shows no characterestics of a bot, which I will come to later.

It started like this. I noticed hashtags #Laibaah and #FreeLaibaah trending in Twitter for sometime, and then came to know it belonged to an account, of a certain activist, named Laibah Ahmad Marri. I interacted with her, and came to know that she holds pretty strong views about minority rights in Pakistan, and with her tweets successfully managed to rub a few Human Rights bigshots in Pakistan, the wrong way, and was also banned from Twitter thrice before.

The suicide path – By I.A Rehman

A SERIES of atrocities recently committed against members of minority communities shows that the canker of sectarian violence is posing for Pakistan a much greater threat than is generally realised, especially by the establishment.

The killing of 29 Shia pilgrims near Mastung set some kind of a record in bestiality; the innocent travellers were forced to alight from their bus, lined up and cut down in cold blood. That this was no isolated act by some mentally

Why Pakistan’s Shiites are worried to death – by Leela Jacinto (France24)

With barely a month going by without a sectarian attack, Pakistan’s Shiite minority is now a terrified community. But are the Pakistani state and the all-powerful military to blame?

Editor’s note: Lately there is some evidence that Pakistan Blogzine’s advocacy for Pakistani Shia Muslims (the most target killed faith group in the country) is receiving some attention in Pakistani and international media. Two weeks ago Sadanand Dhume wrote an article in the Wall Street Journal on the plight of Pakistani Shias referring to the online petition on Shia killings which was initiated by Pakistan Blogzine. Today, Leela Jacinto of France24 has written an excellent article which refers to the Pakistan Blogzine’s article that criticized HRCP’s weak statement on Shia killings. There is another important piece on Shia killings in today’s Dawn by I.A.Rehman in which he notes: “Many instances of collusion between sectarian killers and

Similarity between Ayatullah Durrani and Pervez Musharraf

16 September 2005 (BBC News)

Pakistani activists have reacted with outrage to recent comments on rape victims by President Pervez Musharraf. He said that rape was a “money-making concern” and many argued it was a way to get money and a visa to emigrate. Pakistan’s most-high profile rape victim, Mukhtar Mai, told the BBC no woman could subject herself to “such a horrendous

Fourth suspension of Laibaah’s Twitter account – by Alamdar Mengal

Related posts: ‘It’s totally democratic to block Laibaah, the Darth Vader of the Twitterverse’ – says Ali Dayan Hasan

Human rights activist @Laibaah silenced by Urban Elite Tweeples – by Alamdar Ahmad Mengal

Petition: We Support Free Speech for @Laibaah

Laibaah’s Twitter account has been, once again, suspended because of mass blocking and reporting by urban fake liberals of Pakistan who are a bit too fragile to handle free speech and disagreements.

Here is a glimpse of the context as well as enormous support for Laibaah on

Appeal to international community: Impose travel restrictions on all senior officers of Pakistan army

Related posts: Human Rights of Pakistan Army – by Riaz Malik

Urgent Petition: Stop Pakistan Army’s Crimes against Humanity

The world may help Pakistan through United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission on Pakistan (UNMOVICP)

On BBC’s Secret Pakistan and Ejaz Haider: Their denials and propagandists – by Abbas Daiyar

A comment on Bruce Riedel’s proposed accountability of Pakistan army

Secret Pakistan: BBC documentary on how Pakistan’s ISI trains and arms Taliban

Given the ongoing patronage of jihadi and sectarian networks by Pakistan army and its various agencies (ISI, MI etc), particularly in view of the discovery of Osama bin Laden right in the heart of Pakistan army complex in Abbottabad and the recent evidence reconfirming ISI’s involvement in attacks on Afghan and NATO officials in Afghanistan, also in the light of the ongoing massacres of the Baloch, Pashtun and Shia Muslims by Pakistan army and its various proxy

Pakistan’s little Great Game — II — by Dr Mohammad Taqi

One such consequence of Pakistan’s little Great Game in Afghanistan will be a repeat of 1990s-style civil war, sucking in not only the Afghans but also regional and world powers. The blowback into Pakistan of such misadventure — like the 1990s — is inevitable

Discussing a recent report on Afghanistan by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) and Jinnah Institute (JI), Pakistan, I had noted last week that nothing kills inquiry and scientific method like prejudicial certitude, and had pointed to the very first sentence of the

report: “The importance of Pakistan’s role in Afghanistan and as a US partner in South Asia is indisputable.” This is a pretty strong conviction to form the premise of an analysis of a situation as complicated as Afghanistan.

Amnesty’s statement masks the role of the Deep State in Shia massacres in Pakistan

Amnesty's report fails to identify the role of the Deep State in Shia massacres in Pakistan.

It was amusing as well as educating to see how some urban (seemingly) liberal Pakistani tweeps and media persons uncritically recycled and reported the Amnesty and HRCP’s recent statements on the systematic and ongoing Shia massacres in Pakistan.

While I have already expressed my fellow activists’ and my views on the HRCP’s statement, the aim of this post is to analyze the Amnesty International’s recent statement.

I have now had a chance to read the Amnesty’s statement (21 September 2011) on Shia Massacres in Pakistan.

Here are some comments.

1. The Amnesty’s statement misrepresents the ongoing Shia massacres by the TTP-SSP-LeJ proxies of the Deep State (army-ISI) as ‘sectarian violence’ between Sunni and Shia, a routine law and order issue. Amnesty states: “Continued failure to address sectarian violence will only exacerbate

‘It’s totally democratic to block Laibaah, the Darth Vader of the Twitterverse’ – says Ali Dayan Hasan

Related post: Fourth suspension of Laibaah’s Twitter account – by Almadar Mengal

Announcement
Some apologists or affiliates of the Deep State are currently trying to get my twitter account suspended. They did it thrice before. For example: bit.ly/r8lDao and also: http://www.petitiononline.com/Laibaah/petition.html

Unfortunately this time the mafia active to get my Twitter account banned is led by none else than Ali Dayan Hasan, the controversial director of HRW in

Will CJ Iftikhar Chaudhry, General Kayani and CM Shahbaz review this?

Hafiz Ashrafi has been tasked by Shahbaz Sharif to convince LeJ "to operate" outside Punjab

Related posts: Begging Taliban for mercy: Shahbaz Sharif is loyal to Punjab at Pakistan’s expense?

Google this, Your Honor! – by Nargis Khan

Will CJ Iftikhar Chaudhry, General Kayani and CM Shahbaz examine this material on activities and promotion of LeJ-SSP terrorist Malik ishaq?

(images: courtesy Shahid Saeed)

Malik Ishaq has been recently featured in Al-Hurriya, a pro-Sipah-e-Sahaba magazine edited by Tahir Ashrafi, Chairman Pak Ulema Council, who was a liberal heart-throb of sorts in wake of Salmaan Taseer’s murder by

Punish ISI, not Pakistan – by David Rohde

Related post: 7 Months, 10 Days in Taliban’s Captivity: Story of David Rohde

Help Pakistan rein in the ISI
Source: Reuters

Admiral Mike Mullen’s blunt declaration on Thursday that a Taliban faction known as the Haqqani network was a “veritable arm” of Pakistan’s military intelligence agency is a welcome shift in U.S. policy. After a decade of privately cajoling the Pakistani military to stop its disastrous policy of sheltering the Afghan Taliban, the United States is publicly airing the truth.

Pakistan’s top military spy agency, the Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), supported the Haqqanis

On Rezaul Hasan Laskar’s dubious reporting from Pakistan

Embedded in the narratives of Pakistan's military establishment and urban elite

Update: After critical comments by Laibaah, Mr. Rezaul Hasan Laskar was a part of an ugly campaign to get her account banned on Twitter.

Rezhasan Rezaul Hasan Laskar
Dear all, this is a request: kindly report @Laibaah as spam to #Twitter. her latest tweet describes me as spox “of ISI and Taliban”. folks i think it’s about that time when we should seriously think of reporting @Laibaah as spam to #Twitter. I’m going to start.

https://pakistanblogzine.wordpress.com/2011/09/28/fourth-suspension-of-laibaahs-twitter-account-by-almadar-mengal/

Will Mr. Laskar agree with the silencing of his own voice from Twitter or media only because some of his readers may not agree with his reports and narratives? A media person must never be a part of a campaign to curb free speech.

********

Critical readers of Pakistani and international media are aware of how certain foreign correspondents based in Pakistan are carefully sucked into pro-military establishment narratives by a tight network of urban (seemingly liberal) writers and activists, who remain very soft on Pakistan army/ISI while very harsh on politicians and the civilian government.

For example, read this post: Foreign journalists in Pakistan: Embedded in the narratives of military establishment and urban elite

Indian journalist Rezaul Hasan Laskar is one such journalist who is commonly seen in Islamabad and also

Najam Sethi’s role in the Balochistan resistance movement of 1970s

Three time tested civilian allies of Pakistan army

Najam Sethi, according to some of his “urban liberal” colleagues (some of whom are employees/columnists of The Friday Times or Daily Times), is one of the most credible name in Pakistani journalism today. While the myth of Mr. Sethi’s credibility has been effectively shattered elsewhere, the aim of this post is to examine one last urban legend which is uncritically circulated about Mr. Sethi’s valuable services in the Balochistan movement in 1970s.

The legend is: Sethi bravely fought with the people of Balochistan in their struggle against the military

George Fulton ka Imran Khan – by Riaz Malik Hajjaji

At first I though George  Fulton was critisizing Imran Khan but overall, the article is good.

Imagine comparing Imran Khan to that Hindu scocerer, Bhutto. Imran Khan has the support of the educated people and is talking about Islamic democracy. Bhutto was popular amongst a few dozen mud people, the sweaty illiterate RAW agents of Sindh who do shirk dancing at shrines in their spare time. Unlike Musharaf who is atleast a brave Ghazi warrior, Bhutto sneaked in through the back door and had the audacity to think he could do something just because a few dozen sweaty, stinking jahil mud people were hynotized to vote for him.  Had it not been for these bloody civilian Bhuttos, Imran Khan would have swept the polls in 1996 and 2002. For that matter, imagine comparing Imran Khan’s

For Pakistan to change, army must change – by Ayaz Amir

The discovery of Sheikh Osama bin Laden in the sylvan surroundings of Abbottabad should have been a wake-up call for the guardians of national security. Having been caught with their pants down some humility was in order. But they seem to have slunk deeper into their bunkers.

The army and its strategic adventures have brought Pakistan to its present pass. The footprints of the terrorism now haunting the country go back to the first Afghan ‘jihad’, the one army-inspired event which pushed Pakistan to the frontiers of insanity. The phoenix won’t rise from its ashes, and there will be no return to sanity, unless the army can bring itself to change its outlook and reinvent some of its mental apparatus.

Civilians have been poor administrators, in no position to escape their share of the blame for the mess the Fortress of Islam is in. But in the driving seat of Pakistan’s steady march to the brink have been our holy guardians. There is little room for quibbling on this point.

Even so, despite the mounting evidence of disorder, the army refuses to change, still obsessed with the threat from the east, still caught up with the quixotic notion of exercising influence in Afghanistan. God in heaven, why should it matter to us if a president of Afghanistan is a Tajik, an Uzbek or a Pathan? Can’t we keep our eyes

An open letter to Kenneth Roth, Executive Director of HRW: A call for help from Pakistan

 The following is an exact copy-paste of the ad hominem, straw man and abuses which were showered at me by Mr. Ali Dayan Hasan, Director of Human Rights Watch, Pakistan, on Thursday, 22 September 2011 in full public sight. What was my crime? I had written the following critical post: : Pakistani Shias, rights activists reject HRCP’s statement on Shia killings in Pakistan.

In summary, the following was my criticism of the HRCP statement in

Laibaah, the liberal fascist, must refrain from attacking human rights defenders – by Ali Dayan and Beena Sarwar

Hazara Shias are preparing to bury their loved ones massacred by SSP-TTP proxies of the Deep State in Mastung.

Editor’s note: In the light of some feedback received from various activists within and outside Pakistan, I wrote a brief, critical post on HRCP’s statement on the massacre of 30 Shias in Mastung. Apparently, my post was hugely disliked by some leading champions of human rights including Ali Dayan Hasan (HRW), Beena Sarwar (CFD) and Raza Rumi (PTH/TFT). Beena called me a liberal

Bold statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on Shia massacres in Pakistan under the patronage by Pakistan army

Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on Shia massacres in Pakistan
PAKISTAN: Members of Shia community were under attack while the military forces look on
Source: http://www.humanrights.asia/news/ahrc-news/AHRC-STM-124-2011

Members of one of the largest sects of Islam, the Shiaite community, came under attack from militant Islamic organizations which, in the past had the patronage of Pakistan army and its intelligence agencies who offered

Pakistani Shias, rights activists reject HRCP’s statement on Shia killings in Pakistan

Related posts: Intellectual dishonesty in misrepresenting Shia massacres in Pakistan

Petition: Silence of Human Rights Organizations on Shia Genocide in Pakistan

Laibaah, the liberal fascist, must refrain from attacking human rights defenders

Pakistani human rights activists including Shia activists have rejected a very weak, formal statement by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan on the Mastung massacre, which:

1. fails to name and condemn the Deep State for its institutional support to the SSP-TTP

Who would speak up for a dead Shia? – by Adnan Khalid Rasool

A man cries while sitting next to the coffins of 28 Shias who were killed by TTP-SSP gunmen a day earlier, before their burial in Quetta September 21, 2011. PHOTO: REUTERS

Source: ET

As a nation we are getting sicker – we refuse to accept the existence of our disease. We call ourselves humans; we call ourselves people of faith and many other names. But what we don’t call ourselves is what we have become: soulless.  And yesterday’s brazen Nazi style attack on a bus full of pilgrims proves exactly that.

Twenty six people were lined up and shot because of their faith.

Three people were killed while trying to save the lives of others who were shot during this