Unmasking the ‘Mafias’
Lately the so-called ‘Mafias’ are being increasingly blamed for almost all the ills that the national economy is currently suffering from. They are being particularly accused of hoarding, black marketing…
Abuse as political weapon
Our society has never been quite free of the penchant to abuse but, of late, one has witnessed a phenomenal increase in this indulgence, particularly in the domain of politics.…
A political paradigm shift
It is needless to emphasise that the Rangers operation in Karachi – notwithstanding the tactics employed by the MQM and PPP to thwart it – has been instrumental in restoring…
Political geography
Political geography examines how the nature of politics in specific geographies is influenced by local socio-economic factors. Applying this lens to Pakistan’s immense and varied geography yields interesting insights into…
The mean machine
The fact that a video or some other controversial material would be released and agitated prior to whenever a hearing is scheduled in cases concerning Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Safdar…
Imploding accountability
A strange breeze is blowing across the landscape, signalling the advent of a phase which may have no precedence in the pages of history. More and more constituents of the…
The media in 2019
An American citizen, Steven Butler, was denied entry at Lahore Airport on October 17, 2019 – despite having a valid visa issued from the Pakistan Embassy in Washington. Was he…
Parliamentary vs presidential
IN over 70 years of Pakistan’s existence, our nation has been embroiled politically due to the ill-advised rabble-rousing tempest of Westminsterian democracy. Ill-chosen by the ruling establishment of the time…
Reckoning with torture
For those who still care, May 3, 2016 was one of the most chilling days in the history of our country. Following the release of the pictures of the shockingly…
What to do about vote rigging
Hours after voting ended on 11 May, the chief election commissioner appeared before the media to announce that the Election Commission had successfully completed its “difficult task” of holding free…
