Operation Searchlight
In 1971 I was serving as a Grade2 staff officer (major) in the HQs of the 16th infantry division in Quetta, Balochistan. Due to the deteriorating law and order situation…
The plight of Biharis
On March 20, the Bangladesh parliament unanimously adopted a resolution to observe March 25 as the Gonohotya Dibos (Day of Genocide). Bengalis continue repeating their myth that Pakistan Army conducted…
A presidential system for Pakistan
Like death and taxes, the topic of a presidential system is a certainty in Pakistani discourse. It is hard to disguise one’s contempt for the debate, its backers and those…
December, 1971
Question 1: Did Pakistan and India fight a ‘war’ in 1971? Answer: War is an “intense armed conflict between two states.” Reality 1: Pakistan Army units in East Pakistan were…
1971: the denouement
ALMOST exactly a year after its first elections based on universal adult franchise, Pakistan went to war. The unnecessary and unfortunate conflagration could directly be traced back to the nation’s…
Stateless people
Every year on December 16, Pakistani citizens mourn the tragic separation of East Pakistan. Historically, the Pakistan Movement gained momentum after the 23rd March, 1940 jalsa in Lahore, under the…
From 1971 to 2021
DEC 16, 2020, marks 49 years since the break-up of the original Pakistan. Factors and conditions that crystallised in the 24 years between Independence and the separation of East Pakistan…
A loose cannon supreme leader
Hell hath no fury like Nawaz Sharif ousted from power. Disqualified in a Panama Papers scandal related case and facing corruption references in a NAB accountability court, he has been…
Book Review: Blood Over Different Shades of Green
It would be a tremendous understatement to say that Pakistan has had an eventful history, both in the years leading up to 1947 and the years hence; it is almost…
Literature, politics and resistance: Part – IV
In 1982, Mazharul Islam published his collection of short stories 'Ghoron ke Shehar Mein Akela Aadmi' (The man alone in the city of horses). It contained a short story titled…
