Baptisms of fire
The war rages on in Afghanistan. At the end of last week, the daily Afghanistan Times reported the deaths of at least 14 Taliban rebels and their commander in Kunduz.…
Let justice and baptism of fire begin
A lot is being made of the so-called ‘restraint’ shown by the apex judiciary in dealing with the high profile NICL and Haj scam investigation cases. A respected daily lauded…
Typhoid peril
IN Pakistan, typhoid is a severe endemic public health problem; the obvious reasons are lack of access to safe water and an unsanitary environment. It is frequently diagnosed poorly and…
Carter’s centuries
JIMMY Carter’s extraordinary longevity partly accounts for his exceptional status among the US presidential pantheon. He was born when Calvin Coolidge occupied the White House, the Soviet Union was in…
Caretaker system’s future
THE national sentiment seems to be strongly opposed to the continuation of the current constitutional arrangement of appointing caretaker governments at the federal and provincial level when the legislatures are…
Restoration, 2024
IN 1660, Charles II returned to England to reclaim his throne, after years of exile in France. This year 2024 marks the restoration of another monarchy, in Pakistan. Here, history…
Dismissing the Constitution
THIS is an extraordinary phase of Pakistan’s political life. None of the five directly elected legislatures are in place and both the federation and the four provinces are being governed…
Balochistan politics
BALOCHISTAN has again captured the spotlight, courtesy of Nawaz Sharif’s strategic foray into the province to court electables from BAP and other parties in a bid to solidify PML-N’s position…
All over in a day
WHAT a difference a day makes is a song immortalised by Dinah Washington’s version in 1959, even though American songwriter Stanley Adams wrote its lyrics in 1934 and it was first…
Elections or selection?
‘THE more the things change, the more they stay the same.’ That truism can be applied to Pakistan’s power politics. The same old game that we have witnessed many times…
