Gems in Dawn. A Reading List.

22 Apr 2010

I’ve had an entire Firefox window dedicated to articles I want to share with all of you for days now. I thought at this point it’d be better to just put them down as a list, in no particular order. (Though part of me thinks I saved the best for last, but do go through all of them if you get the time). Why they’re all from Dawn I’m not sure, but they happen to be.

A people’s photographer by Saira Dar.

A review/expose of sorts of the photography of Malcolm Hutcheson, who photographs what we don’t want to see in Pakistan. Dawn lauds him for his insightful journalism and bravery, I’m not sure what to think go gory images, but we must deal with reality.

Moving beyond a clientelism model of democracy by Luv Puri

The title may be a mouthful, and the writer does have a lot to say (I’m sorry I had to make a joke somehow, that didn’t work did it?). Most of it is some very thoughtful insight into what needs to be changed in Pakistan’s democratic system for it to work.

Roots of Taliban conflict fester in Swat – AFP

A little round up of the status in Swat after the fighting. I haven’t been to Swat in recent times, and have not been caught in any crossfire between the military and the extremists. This is one of my only means of knowing what can possibly happen. I am uneducated that way, but even for those who aren’t, this is still something worthwhile I think.

Paradox Republic by Nadeem F. Paracha

Nadeem F Paracha is a newsmaker in his own right. He has the well earned title of critic, and he is a smart man. This is a roundup of Pakistani history that’s well written, not to say it’ll help you ace the Pakistan Studies exam, but it’s still worth reading. And then he goes on to explain why Pakistan must embrace diversity and forget a patriotic or Islamic identity, and the diversity that’s killing the state is what’s keeping it alive.

Breaking the myths of Pakistan’s tribal areas – Reuters

This is one of those things I had to email people as soon as I read it. It is the most knowledge I have received about Bajaur and FATA. The Pakistani army apparently took some foreign journalists into the area to show them what they had accomplished, and what the fight has resulted in. This is an account by one of those journalists, and tells you details of the war that I have not found anywhere else. Must Read.

Update: Apparently the routine that the Pakistani army did with the journalists is called an ISPR routine, and is done after every major operation. So I’ve been told by a friend, a credible source.