Arif Azad

The charter of democracy agreed on by Pakistan's two leading opposition politicians has given a fillip to the long dormant democratic process in Pakistan. If the campaign sustains and gathers momentum, Musharraf, who has thus far held to power by subverting constitutional norms and reaching an unsavoury alliance with fundamentalist religious parties, may find the going tough. The promised elections of 2007 now appear full of unexpected possibilities.

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Heathrow Strike and Asian Workforce

Vol. 40, Issue No. 41, 08 Oct, 2005

Arif Azad

The Gate Gourmet, a catering company that supplies in-flight meals to British Airways, dismissed 670 workers most of whom were Indian women, via megaphone at Heathrow airport on August 10. The subsequent wildcat action and spontaneous show of solidarity, which brought the airport to a standstill is rarely witnessed in today's Britain due to the anti-union legislation introduced by the Margaret Thatcher government. There is a strong tradition of Asian workers fighting for their rights in the local areas surrounding Heathrow and some major industrial strikes have been led by Asian women.

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Darfur : Chronicle of a Massacre Foretold

Vol. 39, Issue No. 39, 25 Sep, 2004

Arif Azad

The agony of Darfur has its roots not merely in the exclusionary politics played by Sudan's Arab elite who have long believed in the myth of racial superiority, but in the wider geo-politics of north Africa. The need of the hour is for an internationally mandated settlement whereby Sudan's government recognises the legitimate rights of the people of Darfur.

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Resisting Censorship in Pakistan

Vol. 32, Issue No. 35, 30 Aug, 1997

Arif Azad

economy in profound ways.
Since 1988, when the first of the three ESAFs was agreed to, Pakistan's growth rate has fallen compared to what it was in the 1980s; inflation continues to be in double digits, and all the key indicators have deteriorated over the last nine years. While other factors have also been responsible for the slowing down of the economy, the timing of the trend reversal suggests that there is a high possibility that the adherence to the structural adjustment programme could be one of the main reasons.

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MQM and Growth of Ethnic Movements in Pakistan

Vol. 31, Issue No. 18, 04 May, 1996

Arif Azad

Movements in Pakistan Arif Azad IT is now an undeniable fact that mohajir1 separatism is gathering, force in Pakistan. This is evidenced, on the one hand, by the rising tide of political violence in Karachi, and, on the other, by the Pakistani interior minister, Nasirullah Babar, broaching the issue of extradition of the exiled MQM leader, Altaf Hussain, with the British state minister at the foreign office, Jeremy Hanley, during his recent visit to Pakistan. Predictably these developments have led to a serious analysis of an ethnic movement built around the identity of refugeehood. This article aims to discuss the rise of ethnicity politics, its background and its contextualisation within Pakistani politics.