The fault was in our policies
The terrible terrorist attack in Bajaur shows that, despite having sacrificed more than 70,000 lives and suffering financial losses worth over $100 billion, we have been unable to stamp out…
The JI and the jiyalas
The PPP is not quite the party it used to be and today there are more people in the vicinity who wince at the mere mention of it than perhaps…
Karachi: who’s the winner?
The long-awaited local government elections in Sindh were finally conducted. These elections should have happened years ago, and the delay and lack of interest in strengthening local bodies expose how…
Rivals and revivals
The recent local government elections in Karachi are a testament to one undeniable fact: the city has had a change of heart and the Pakistan Peoples Party has emerged victorious.…
AJK: what next?
Against all odds, the three-phase local government elections have been conducted successfully in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. All political and religious parties participated in the elections enthusiastically, running intensive door-to-door…
India through the years
Part - V The mid-1970s presented interesting – or rather depressing – times for India. It was interesting because the country had won a war and Indira Gandhi was comfortably…
Myth of violence
The revival of student unions has been a matter of serious concern since the ban imposed on them in 1984. This apprehension mainly stems from the narrative that student unions…
Challenging imperialism
Pakistan only witnessed genuine anti-imperialist movements in its early period, chiefly led by various socialist groups. In contrast, the Right, which remained a strong supporter of US imperialism in those…
Lessons in party fund-raising
Probably for the first time in the country’s history, public attention has been drawn towards the critical but largely neglected subject of political finance through the recent judgment of the…
Deepening the Zia dictatorship
In my last article, ‘Remembering 1977’ (Aug 29), I highlighted how the year 1977 became a turning point in Pakistan’s history. Within 40 days after his military coup on July…
