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…
Bacha Khan’s resistance
I have been writing in my column for these pages about different modes of resistance to the British Raj in India. Among these was a unique movement launched by Abdul…
Useful books
I have decided to write about some books, to draw attention to some of the good literature being published and to get people to read again rather than spending all…
Jamia Millia Islamia versus the Raj
Nationalism was on the rise in India in the middle of the 19th century. The despotic policies of the British Raj forced the Indians to come together and embrace their…
Campus security
With the backdrop of the recent attack on Charsadda’s Bacha Khan University, the vice chancellors of universities in KP have demanded increased funds for security and the deployment of a…
No lessons learned
The other day, I was startled to see a front-page story in the Express Tribune that quoted Maulana Yusuf Shah, the coordinator of the TTP negotiation team, suggesting that far…
A tale of literary events
Hardly a month passed since the World Cultural Festival enthralled the denizens of Karachi when the Arts Council offered another fairly successful ‘Aalmi Urdu Conference’ coupled with ‘Jashn-e-Karachi’ from December…
Seniority sacrificed: again
Now that Justice Yahya Afridi has been nominated as the next chief justice of Pakistan, and with the recent appointment of the third most senior judge as chief justice of…
When real intelligence is lost
Hit the bottom. New low. Down and out. The performance of the cricket team has been stunning. Words are not enough. It is unbelievable. It is terrible. The loss against…
What is the left and the right? ( Part – II)
In the 1950s, China and the Soviet Union developed some differences after the death of Stalin who passed away in March 1953. During his lifetime, Stalin remained the undisputed leader…
