I recently wrote a tongue-in-cheek post about Raymond Davis and drones that was meant to show how the twisted logic of conspiracy theorists can just as easily be used to prove anything – even that Raymond Davis was protecting innocent Pakistanis from drone strikes. But there was one article that I linked to that I [...]
Shireen Mazari’s latest column, published in Express Tribune, reads like she’s not even trying anymore. A mix of unintended irony, conspiracy theories, and outdated ideology leftover from the Zia years, it is a perfect example of where we were in the past, and why it’s time to move on. Shireen starts off by pointing out [...]
The following is from an article by Pervez Hoodbhoy that was published in New Politics last summer. It is worth reading again during the present day. The Conspiracy Industry In a country that can boast of few achievements in improving the lot of its own people, legitimate criticisms tend to be conflated with illegitimate ones. [...]
Increasing evidence points to spy-vs-spy games The latest conspiracy theory that has been spread thanks to a statement by a Lahore police official published in Express Tribune, is the wildest yet. According to the unnamed official, “The Lahore killings were a blessing in disguise for our security agencies who suspected that Davis was masterminding terrorist [...]
The following article by Pervez Hoodbhoy was written for Issue 27 of ViewPoint. A drone – of the kind discussed here – is a programmed killing machine. By definition it is self-propelled, semi-autonomous, and capable of negotiating difficult local environments. Remote handlers guide it towards an assigned target. A drone does not need to know [...]
A prominent, vocal Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader Marvi Memon has said that Dr. Aafia is an alleged Al Qaeda and CIA agent; till she is proven innocent in Pakistani courts, she can not be called as the daughter of Pakistan or a national hero. Marvi, talking to SAMAA, has said that the reality about [...]
This old story about diplomatic visas for the US is like a stomach ache that just won’t go away. It follows a pretty typical pattern, though – Ahmed Quraishi invents some conspiracy theory, it gets repeated by The Nation, then The News, then it just starts floating around the internet message boards. Let’s see if [...]