Civilian supremacy
TO continue to call Pakistan a functioning democracy is farcical given the politicians’ lack of control on matters they have the constitutional mandate to decide on. Though nothing new, it…
Healing, not dealing, for civilian supremacy
In his very first speech after taking over the mantle in 1971 of what remained of Jinnah’s Pakistan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto used healing words; “I have come over to pick…
Government: size, growth, function
There is a lot of speculation and very little solid information about the size, growth, functions and skill mix of the employees serving the government in Pakistan. This article attempts…
A global government
Imagine this scene from the Stone Age: people are living in caves and are completely dependent on Nature for their survival; they are vulnerable to all sorts of dangers. They…
Military dictatorship vs civilian rule
In a recent interview, former military dictator General Pervez Musharraf claimed that the country made progress only under military rule and civilian governments mostly "let the nation down." These of…
One-party rule or civilian martial law?
The slugfest between the PTI government and the opposition, particularly the two largest opposition parties, the PML-N and PPP, is intensifying. The Sharif brothers are cooling their heels in jail…
Children pay the price of Syrian government offensive in rebel Idlib
Khaled Bakour's screams could be heard at the hospital where the 5-year-old boy was receiving medical treatment in the rebel-controlled province of Idlib in north-western Syria. Weeks ago, the boy…
Government by experiment
Before reading Zahid Islam’s book, ‘Experiments of local government in Pakistan: past, present and future’ on local governments, I never knew how local bodies can be used as instruments of…
Two years of the AJK government
The AJK government, led by Raja Farooq Haider, recently completed two years in office. When he took over, Haider made several promises to end corruption, ensure development in the region,…
Semi-civilian rule
In the middle of the self-imposed tension of holding the PSL final in Lahore, and the attendant consequences of deployment of resources to manage the risks that we ourselves had…
