The Republic versus an emirate
As the Afghanistan fiasco deepens, many important voices have sought to understand and analyse the day-to-day situation in Afghanistan, and how Pakistan should handle the challenges posed by what looks…
A week in Kashmir
The strongest impression in my mind after a week in Srinagar last month is that Kashmir’s political process has reached an impasse at all levels. The unionist parties, the ruling…
Kashmir is ominously angry
The security bunkers that used to dot Srinagar’s streets for two decades have gone. The oppressive presence of armed security personnel has become less overwhelming. But the shadow of security…
Smoke and mirrors
One lie that changed our world was that the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (December 1979) resurrected the old czarist ambition to extend Russian domination to the warm waters of the…
The little prince
FINALLY, there is a twist in the tale and we have some new political stuff to discuss. And for this, one has to thank Asif Ali Zardari (AAZ), whose candidness…
Questionable delay
Islamabad, the capital of gossip, is now firmly divided into two camps: those who know the elections will not be held and those who are not sure because they can’t…
Violence with impunity
IN the summer of 1999, a politician’s son shot dead a young woman at a party in New Delhi, India, for refusing to serve him a drink. A model, the…
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…
How free?
IN February 2017, the University of California, Berkeley, invited conservative commentator Milo Yiannopoulos to speak on campus. More than 100 masked agitators, supposedly belonging to an ‘anti-fascist’ group, showed up…
Businesses, rights defenders decry internet slowdown
Government is throttling the internet and social media while it tests new controls to crush dissent, activists and business leaders say, putting the country’s economic recovery at risk. Internet networks…
