Cultural invasions
LAST week, Karachi and Lahore were invaded by cohorts of culture. In Karachi, the Endowment Fund Trust, managed by A. Hamid Akhund and Hameed Haroon, reincarnated Alexander the Great by…
Seeds of accord
On March 15th, 44 BCE, Roman emperor Julius Caesar was assassinated, and thence came the term Ides Of March, which has historically come to connote and be associated with bad…
Kingmakers for fathers
Mr Asif Ali Zardari has expressed the very legitimate desire of seeing his son as the prime minister of Pakistan. With a lineage including such names as Z A Bhutto…
Legislative limitations: Part – II
Another concern regarding SCPPB 2023 is that the Bill provides a retroactive approach enabling an appeal against any persons aggrieved by a suo-motu matter, even prior to the enactment of…
Resilience, helplessness or loss of trust?—II
In other words, the country is on the verge of a sovereign default. This recognition is an admission for cure; it’s no sign of weakness. The IMF programme is just…
Politicians by inheritance
A politician is generally defined as a person who is ‘professionally’ involved in politics, especially as a holder of an elected office. However, almost all dictionaries also give the following…
A velvet glove
THESE days, the memories of 2006-07 seem rather vivid. Those days of upheaval were, to quote Dickens, “the best of times” and “the worst of times”. Marked by great violence…
Dawn leak controversy: Almost, but not quite, settled
The two main opposition parties, the PPP and PTI, have 'rejected' the government military settlement over the Dawn leak controversy, arguing if the leak constituted a breach of national security,…
No justice, no peace
A FRIEND reminded me on Sunday morning that our friendship has been going strong for 40 years. Not a mean feat for two single women who haven’t lived in the…
Approaching a dead end
FRENCH writer Georges Bernanos once said: “The worst, the most corrupting of lies are problems poorly stated.” His observation applies well to the ongoing war of words between the government…
