Pardon the poultry
SURPRISINGLY, while we have cherry-picked parts of globalisation like Black Friday sales and Valentine’s Day celebrations, we have yet to get on to the Thanksgiving bandwagon. Before anyone accuses us…
Why the numbers matter
NO one knows the exact number of madressahs in Pakistan — not the government, not the madressah leadership, and not independent agencies. Each entity offers its estimates, claiming theirs to…
Divide and rule
THE project of weakening political parties in Pakistan seems to be on track, with tricks and interventions ensuring that no one political party wins a majority in parliament. The record…
The crisis of indecision
THE election in Punjab may not have caused many ripples earlier but on Sunday night it was watched rather closely. This was the south of Punjab, the land of the…
Monarchies, dynasties, institutions
It has become de rigueur these days for many commentators to speak alarmingly about the pitfalls of political dynasties. The ‘dynasties’ they particularly disapprove of are the Sharif and the…
Why we should care
PAKISTAN’S official position on the Palestinian struggle has been relatively consistent since 1948. Despite occasional recent murmurs about a softening towards Israel, no actual step was taken. Part of this…
Discontent below
A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to a Twitter space on local governments on a Sunday evening. As participation did not involve looking presentable or getting out of…
Aborting democracy
WE have failed to democratise since 1947 thanks mainly to the security establishment as well as all major political parties. True, we are no North Korea — small buds of…
Can PPP deliver in Karachi?
IT will be for the Election Commission and/or the courts to rule on the legitimacy of the election to the office of the mayor of Karachi this week, but what…
Kashmir: facing multiple assaults
Just about every aspect of life for Muslims in occupied Jammu and Kashmir is under assault by India’s ruling BJP. The year 2022 saw Indian actions aimed at disempowering its…
