Democracy’s missing link
After weeks-long back and forth due to deliberations, the entire polity of Pakistan reached a consensus on the 26th Amendment. It may not be considered a watershed moment in the…
Elections and prospects
As the date for general elections, February 8, 2024, looms, the election campaign scene exhibits some troubling tendencies. First and foremost, the lack of the traditional excitement and activity by…
The judgement and after
IT ranks among those inglorious decisions taken by the top court which have been long remembered for breaching democratic norms. The verdict of the three-member bench led by the chief justice has…
Democracy beyond elections
Elections are an integral part of democracy. But even a free and fair election is not the only factor that makes a country a liberal democracy. In an essay published…
Legoland
Michael Dobbs is an author and British Conservative politician. Made a life peer, he got the title of Lord Dobbs of Wylye. As the then prime minister Margaret Thatcher’s chief…
The 20th and 21st amendments
The 20th Amendment was the last major achievement of the PPP government which constantly found itself on the receiving end of an irate CJP’s anger. Parliament passed the 20th Amendment…
Democracy under attack
The American ruling elite has created the perception that the rise of ‘Communist China’ and authoritarian Russia pose a threat to capitalist democracy in not only the US but also…
Politics and Bretton Woods institutions
‘The “Doing Business” controversy has shaken confidence in the World Bank and the IMF. But it must not obscure the real problems with the Bretton Woods institutions: the disproportionate power of…
Democracy of riddles
Pakistan’s democracy is a curious one – in which the people play very little part, and most often they do not even know what is happening behind the scenes or…
How Nawaz and the opposition win 2023
Last week I wrote about how PM Khan’s five key bets can help him and the PTI win 2023. If he wins those five big bets he has made, there…
