On balancing Iran-Saudi relations: A hamletian quandary
If foreign policy of a country is to be gauged by relations with immediate neighbors, Pakistan seems to have not done well so far. Lately, Pakistan faces the challenge how…
Imran’s Hamletian dilemma
There surely was a touch of magic in what transpired on the floor of the Senate on Thursday afternoon. There they were, 64 of them standing to be counted as…
The bottomless pit
Pakistan’s debt burden, which is almost breaking its back, is the outcome of poor economic management and bad politics. Reversing the trend is as difficult, if not impossible, as pushing…
The nameless, formless people of Fata
I asked a refugee whom I met recently about his experiences. I asked him what he thinks is the worst thing a human being is capable of. He replied: “The…
Heading for a bottomless pit?
PML-N's victory in Azad Kashmir was indeed overwhelming. But let us not forget that, historically, the party in power in Islamabad wins the elections in Azad Kashmir. Besides, for the…
An aimless central bank
In 1997, while proposing to the then government changes in the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Act to strengthen SBP autonomy and define and legislate the scope and mechanism of…
The Hamlet in Nawaz Sharif
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif lives in an etherised world where time is of little consequence. Like Hamlet he is given to indecision. The prince of Denmark prevaricated because of self-doubt…
An aimless fight
Even after 62 years of independence, democratic India is in the midst of at least five internal mini-wars. The main ones in Nagaland and Kashmir have been there since the…
Till debt do us part
In Hamlet, Shakespeare’s character Polonius offers timeless advice to his son, Laertes, "Neither a borrower nor a lender be”, warning of the perils of debt and dependency. For Pakistan, this…
Chief justice’s challenges
“Great judges succeed most when they are praised not so much for the legal soundness of their work, but for the sit-up-and-take-notice boldness of their interventions”. — Allan Hutchinson, author “ASIF,…
