The Londoner

By Sikander Hayat Indian army has today fired shells on Pakistani army in the Shakargarh region and has injured 2 Pakistani soldiers.  As usual both sides have blamed each other for starting the firing. BJP is trying to form government in Indian Administered Kashmir and this could be a ploy to concentrate minds in PDP camp. This is not a new tactic and has been deployed in the past. At the moment BJP is fighting hard to not only be part of government in Kashmir but have the post of chief minister at least on the rotation basis. BJP does not have a single seat in the Kashmir Valley & Ladakh as both of these areas are Muslim majority. All of BJP's 25 seats have come from Jammu which has a Hindu majority. BJP's hindutwa politics have worked their magic in Kashmir and have divided the state on religious level by making Kashmir & Ladaakh voting for Muslim candidates & Jammu entirely going for Hindu candidates. Few years ago Pervez Musharaf forwarded an ...

By Sikander Hayat Who is responsible? There are major fires in all major cities of the world but the frequency of such incident in Pakistan is extraordinary. Some of the reasons are as follows: 1. The role of money in granting permits to have industrial waste in close proximity to housing 2. Not near enough investment in the fire fighting equipment 3. No adequate training for the fire fighting staff 4. Corrupt nature of the political class which does not care enough for people and has no sense of public duty 5. Regional political rivalry between MQM & Pakistan Peoples Party as both parties are quick to claim Karachi as their own but where good government is required, none of these two take responsibility. People like Sherjeel Memon & Farooq Sattar were quick to apportion blame on each others parties but PPP being in the government should have taken responsibility instead of wasting time in press conferences while Karachi was on fire. Following steps nee...

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By Sikander Hayat   1.  Pakistan must not be governed by family dynasties like that of Zardari Bhuttos & Sharifs 2.        Merit must be the only qualification for getting into government posts  3.        Everyone must declare their assets (held inside Pakistan & in foreign countries) before they come into public office. These figures must be verified by election commission and when that leader leaves office, he/she must declare what they have acquired in terms of wealth during their stay in office.  4.        Election commission must be free and able to hold free elections without pressure from anyone 5.        Pakistan army must never interfere in the government’s work  6.        All corrupt government officials must be brought to justice ...

One of the strangest things about the immigration debate is the fervent belief by conservatives that President Obama is motivated only by devious partisan considerations. Immigration hawk  David Frum  notes, “ the president’s political opponents almost unanimously believe that his act of nullification is motivated by the crassest kind of political calculation. ” (Frum does not endorse this belief among conservatives, he merely passes it on.)  Michael Gerson  — like Frum, a former Bush speechwriter , and unlike Frum, a strong proponent of immigration reform — argues that Obama  “uses undocumented workers in a vast political ploy.” This is a strange belief, first of all, because it fails to recognize the blindingly obvious humanitarian motive that surely supplied much of Obama’s incentive. Obama is a liberal Democrat . Liberal Democrats like immigrants. They want to do something to help the millions of people who have committed a victimless crime in order t...

In all its fury and unanimity , the response from the right over  President Obama ’s decision to change immigration policy without the c onsent of Congress was the manifestation of a major transformation inside the  Tea Party . What started five years ago as a groundswell of conservatives committed to curtailing the reach of the federal government, cutting the deficit and countering the Wall Street wing of the  Republican Party  has become largely an anti-immigration overhaul movement. The politicians, intellectual leaders and activists who consider themselves part of the Tea Party have redirected their energy from fiscal austerity and small government to stopping any changes that would legitimize people who are here illegally, either through granting them citizenship or legal status. “Amnesty for Millions, Tyranny for All,”  declared  The Tea Party Tribune , summing up the indignation among conservatives over  Mr. Obama’s executive action ...

President Barack Obama pleaded quietly for calm in Ferguson , Missouri on Monday night, speaking from the White House as rioters overtook streets in the St. Louis suburb and cable TV broadcasts showed them setting fires and attacking police cars. After members of a grand jury determined that police officer Darren Wilson will not face criminal charges related to the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown on August 9, peaceful protests spiraled out of control. Obama spoke to the nation a half-hour later. The president said anger is an 'understandable reaction' from people who believe 'the law is being applied in a discriminatory fashion,' a reference to Wilson being white and Brown being black. 'What we need to do is try to understand them,' Obama said. +9 STUDY IN CONTRAST: 'No drama Obama' pleaded for calm while riots erupted in Ferguson +9 CALM: The taciturn president told the nation that violence won't solve probl...