Yasser Latif Hamdani
Daily Times
Contact Yasser
Discover and connect with journalists and influencers around the world, save time on email research, monitor the news, and more.
| Recent: |
|
| Past: |
|
Past articles by Yasser:
Tiny dictators
As a US-returned young Pakistani who got caught up in law I had this unshakeable faith in democracy and civilian constitutional rule. It was because of this feeling that one supported the lawyers’ movement and eventual ouster of the dictator but what do we have to show for it. A hybrid system less transparent that […] → Read More
Role of Islam in 1956 and 1973 Constitutions
Present Queen Elizabeth was the last monarch of Pakistan. Her reign as the Queen of Pakistan started on 2 June 1953 and ended on 23 March 195 → Read More
Interpreting Islamic provisions of the constitution
Chief Justice Athar Minallah’s8 page judgment on Aurat March is a significant decision when it comes to the interpretation of Islamic provisions of the Pakistani Constitution, not just when it comes to women but in general with respect to the expansive interpretation of Islamic injunctions to allow for maximum human rights. This is keeping in … → Read More
The word “freely” in Objectives Resolution
The Objectives Resolution passed on 12 March 1949 was seen as a compromise between the secularists, modernist Muslims and the Islamists → Read More
Social media regulation
Tania Aidrus - a former Google executive- was brought to Pakistan and launched with great fanfare as a new leader to take Pakistan into the → Read More
Pakistan is a theocracy
In the process Pakistan has become a theocracy on all counts. Apologists for theocracy in Pakistan say that Pakistan is not a theocracy → Read More
Don’t trust Maulana Fazlur Rahman
As Maulana Fazlur Rahman’s so called Azadi March fast approaches, it is important for both PMLN and PPP to recall the historical antecedents of the Maulana and his party. His father Maulana Mufti Mahmood was a leading light of the Jamiat-e-Ulema-Hind and one of the most firebrand opponents of the Muslim League and the Pakistan … → Read More
The so called hostage theory
It is an article of faith with Indians – entirely ignorant of historical facts- that Pakistanis propounded the so-called hostage theory i.e. minorities on both sides would be hostages to the good behavior of their co-religionists where they were in a majority. It is an incredible historical fraud to claim that Pakistanis propounded any such … → Read More
Justice Cornelius and Islamic Law as foundation for liberal democracy
Lawyers, historians and political scientists often have to deal with ideas that do not fit the Occam’s razor test and whose nuance is often overlooked by a person unwilling to properly consider their merits. This article deals with an idea I am not entirely at home with but one that is so fascinating that it … → Read More
Islamic Republic and Hindutva
At the cost of repeating myself, it is important to state certain basic facts at the outset. Jinnah was the only politician to be called the Best Ambassador of Hindu Muslim Unity and once stated frankly that he was an Indian first second and last. This was how it was for most of his career … → Read More
Are Riyasat-e-Medina and Asian Tiger mutually exclusive?
Prime Minister Imran Khan recently made a statement that Pakistan was not meant to be an Asian Tiger but only to recreate the state of Medina. Ironically the only other person who has claimed Medina as the raison d’etre for Pakistan is the incorrigible Jinnah-basher and anti-Pakistan polemicist VenkatDhulipala and he too was at least … → Read More
Best Ambassador of Hindu Muslim Unity (Part I)
The recent Indian actions in Kashmir have once again ignited the debate on partition. Front and center in the debate as usual is the role of Mr. Jinnah. It is therefore apt to revisit his legacy once again and see just how prescient the dynamo Bombay lawyer was in his analysis of India’s perennial problem: … → Read More
Our kakistocracy and India’s real game
Pakistan’s tragedy is that at this critical juncture does not have a master politician or diplomat like Mr. Jinnah or Sir Zafrullah Khan who has the coup d’ceil to take full view of the terrain that is laid before us. Our response to recent Indian actions in Kashmir is a knee jerk, not clearly thought … → Read More
Dual nationality and elections
Article 63(1)(c) of the Constitution of Pakistan disqualifies a person from being elected as or holding an office as a member of the National Assembly or Senate if he or she acquires the citizenship of a foreign state. One of the biggest supporters of this clause was none other than our current Prime Minister. However … → Read More
Pakistan’s image
People have some really warped ideas about what it means to be patriot. In my opinion you are not a patriot if you defend the indefensible and accept status quo. The self styled patriots in Pakistan believe that by burying your head in the sand like an Ostrich you can evade the real and present … → Read More
Pakistan’s real ideological fault line
In the on-going political maneuvering and power plays between various state institutions and political parties, Pakistan as a nation state has taken its eyes off the real ideological fault line in Pakistan which lies between Orthodox reactionaries and the Muslim Modernists. Nadeem Farooq Paracha’s excellent study “Muslim Modernism; the case for a Naya Pakistan” succinctly … → Read More
Dissent and the Islamic Republic
Last week I received a notice from Twitter Legal that the Government of Pakistan had reported my account as being in violation of Pakistani law. Apparently quoting Mr Jinnah, the founding father of this country, and speaking for the rights of minorities in Pakistan has been deemed in violation of Pakistani law. Twitter has been … → Read More
Pakistan and religious freedom
The Foreign Office has rejected the report by US Commission on International Religious Freedom for being biased. It went on to say that Pakistan was a multicultural pluralistic country where people of various faiths lived together in peace and harmony. Frankly I could care less about the USCIRF’s report but I am very disappointed in … → Read More
Pakistan’s rationale is economic and political not religious
The problem with Pakistan and its perpetual identity crisis stems from the confusion over its narrative and founding myth namely that it was created in the name of Islam. In several of my previous articles I have written in some detail as to why the claim that Pakistan was founded in the name of Islam … → Read More
Politics and religion
In priest-ridden societies like those that exist in the subcontinent it becomes next to impossible to engage in politics without appeal to religion. Mahatma Gandhi was the foremost practitioner of religious appeal in politics, introducing the idea of India’s ancient culture, Hindu idioms and appealing to Ram Rajya as the ideal rule of man. His … → Read More