Why did ANP lose popularity?
In the recently held election, perhaps the most unpopular and unfair election in Pakistan, the centre-left nationalist party the Awami National Party (ANP) is also one of the major casualties.…
The ANP’s existential crisis
The ANP recently suspended the membership of two of its stalwarts– Afrasiab Khattak and Bushra Gohar – for violating party discipline. Although the party did not specify the charges against…
The Bilours and the ANP
On May 29, a human rights activist Sardar Charanjit Singh was shot dead by unknown persons in Peshawar. While condoling with Sikh elders at a local Gurdwara, I asked one…
ANP and the ghosts of Mashal and Bacha Khan
A war can result in many consequences. Perhaps no result can be more dreadful than turning into a mirror image of your own enemy. According to Michael Prescot: “When you…
The tragedy at Rajanpur
The unfolding events at Rajanpur once again expose the gloomiest chapter of the tragedy of Pakistan. It is not only tragic because a bunch of ragtag bandits could repulse the…
Will Ganpati bless Bhagat Singh?
Two events this week have got me leaning on a mix of counterfactual history and mythology for help. It was Bhagat Singh’s birthday on Sept 28, and, as is customary…
Terror, corruption and the ANP
The Awami National Party (ANP) began its campaign with the slogan ‘pur amn Pakistan’. However, in the aftermath of the attack on the Bilours of Peshawar, an unofficial slogan came…
Partly Facetious: ANP, MQM targets of attacks
"The attacks on MQM headquarters as well as on ANP leadership are simply appalling." "Agreed, and MQM has said that elections in this environment cannot be free and fair." "I…
‘Bugging’ Wali Bagh for ANP prospects: Election Outlook-VII
"Is he a Pakhtun?,"* an ailing 89-year-old Khan Abdul Wali Khan asked his son Sangeen Wali in Pashto as he began to inquire about the identity of this writer. Lying…
Beneath dry rivers
WHAT if we could see beneath the earth’s surface, like a doctor reading an MRI? We’d see vast aquifers — entire underground reservoirs. Just beneath Rawalpindi and Islamabad, one expert…
