18 June, 2012

New York Times story: Coverage of Scandal Dents Credibility of Pakistani TV News

The credibility of the electronic media is at stake,” said Raza Rumi, policy director of the Jinnah Institute, a policy group in Islamabad. “This is starting to look like the scam of the year.

On the future of General Musharraf’s political career:Political analyst Raza Rumi said that Musharraf has an uncertain political future in any case.

13 June 20, 2012

On capacity-building in political parties at Jinnah Institute’s roundtable (The NEWS article):Web-link:

In his opening remarks, Director Policy & Programs Jinnah Institute Raza Rumi stressed on the need for political parties to develop their existing policymaking capacities.

12 June 2012

In another article on the same roundtable (Express Tribune):

Earlier in his opening remarks, Jinnah Institute’s Policy and Programmes Director Raza Rumi, urged the political parties to enhance policymaking capacity with special focus on intra-party discussion on formulating policy that reflects the interests of the public, rather than short-term electoral interests.

6 June 2012

My name was mentioned in the list of participants in Islamabad Dialogue II, a conference organized by Jinnah Institute and Center of Dialogue and Reconciliation. Article here:

From Pakistan, Aziz Ahmad Khan (Honorary Vice President Jinnah Institute), Javed Jabbar (Chief Executive JJ Media), Khalid Mohtadullah (Country Director Pakistan IWMI), Ahsan Iqbal (PML-N MNA), Dr. Ijaz Nabi (Country Director IGC), Sardar Khalid Ibrahim (former MLA Azad Jammu & Kashmir), Sania Nishtar (Founder Heartfile), Dr Naeem-ud-Din Mian (CEO Contech International), Dr. Muhammad Latif (water resources and irrigation expert), Sardar Attique Ahmad Khan (former Prime Minister AJK), and Raza Rumi (Director Policy and Programs Jinnah Institute) attended.

26 May 2012

On deteriorating Pak-US relations in ‘Afghan Endgame – Lack of realism sabotaging Pak-US Relations’:

Raza Rumi, Director Policy and Programmes Jinnah Institute, concluded by saying that improvement in Pak-US relations is crucial for regional stability.

25 May 2012

On Jinnah Institute’s roundtable debate on ‘Re-evaluating Pakistan-US Relations’ (The News):

Raza Rumi, Director Policy and Programs, Jinnah Institute reiterated that the Institute was attempting to promote an informed discourse on foreign policy in the country. He concluded the discussion by saying that improvement in Pak-US relations was crucial for regional stability; and more nuanced debate was needed to counter the emotional narratives on policy issues.

20 May 2012

On Twitter ban in Pakistan: New York Times article:

“Twitter is a place where fierce opposition to Pakistan’s security agencies is expressed,” said Raza Rumi, a widely read columnist and an adviser at the Jinnah Institute, a public policy center based in Islamabad. “There is a clear trend that the Pakistani military and spy agency get a strong critique from Pakistanis themselves, something that does not happen in mainstream media where people are generally shy to express such views.”

9 May 2012

Jakarta Post story: Pakistan’s rogue scientist eyes polls

Raza Rumi, director of independent think-tank Jinnah Institute, said the development was a tactic by the Pakistani establishment to divert US attention from pressing issues such as the opening of NATO supply lines and terrorism.

“Dr. Khan’s active role in politics would mean the right-wing forces are once again consolidating their position in Pakistan,”

On the devolution of Higher Education Commission (HEC):

Web-link: http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=151442

Raza Rumi, Sr. Policy Adviser JI said that devolution presented new opportunities and challenges; however the Pakistani state was not deft at change management.

5 May 2012

On Imran Khan in article ‘The Khan bowls too wide’:

Raza Rumi, commissioning editor of The Friday Times, finds Imran’s theory on the Taliban simplistic: “He says the Taliban is present in Afghanistan in reaction to America. This is misleading and dangerous.”

On the importance of social media in rural development:

Raza Rumi, known blogger, maintained that “the new media is giving voice to the marginalized youth of the country and can help transform the society.”

30 April 2012

On judiciary’s shortcomings in the article ‘International Conference: Legal Experts focus on Judiciary’s Shortcomings’:

Raza Ahmed Rumi said that at least 19,550 cases were pending at the Supreme Court, while another 199,243 cases were backlogged at the country’s higher courts.

17 April 2012

On target killing of Hazara Shias:

Mainstream media black-out of 000s of Shiite Muslims who have been protesting against Shiite killings in Gilgit, Chilas, Karachi and Quetta

15 April 2012

In the article ‘Cyberspace – new battleground for political parties’:

Prominent blogger and columnist Raza Rumi feels that though social media and the web have taken the lead in communication, in a society like Pakistan, it will not be able to ‘make or break’ anything. “The use of the web and social media has increased tremendously but it is unlikely to affect voting patterns in the next elections,” Rumi said.
Two posts in which I was mentioned:

An article ‘Ruined by Reading’ by Mayank Austen Soofi:

Last week, my spy in HarperCollins India told me that Pakistani blogger Raza Rumi is almost done writing a non-fiction book on Delhi.

An article titled ‘Fact or Fiction: “Nothing kills a writer faster than praise for his works”’:

“Between Clay and Dust started off as an attempt to explore the life of a pehlewan (wrestler). The novel is intended to capture the relationship between a pehlewan and a tawaaif (courtesan),” said Musharraf Farooqi introducing the lead characters of his novel. He was speaking to columnist Raza Rumi at the Lahore launch of the book at National College of Arts on Friday.

…To Rumi’s comment about Urdu literature’s impact on his diction, Farooqi said it was meant to ensure that the (South Asian) readers could relate to the story.