‘R’ is for revision
EVER since I wrote about the vision statements of our leading institutions of higher education (‘‘V’ is for vision’, Dawn, Sept 21, 2025), I have been thinking of what ought…
Misplaced priorities
EXTERNAL overreach and internal underreach have long characterised the approach of governments in the country. Pakistan’s history bears testimony to a phenomenon that has seen ruling elites focus more attention…
Revisiting the hard approach
AFTER Zohran Mamdani’s victory as mayor of New York, academic Vali Nasr remarked on social media that the moment symbolised “the end of the era of the Global War on Terror”. Yet,…
Disarm to heal
ONE of the biggest self-inflicted tragedies of Pakistan has been its generous and mindless distribution of weapon licences. This misguided benevolence has exacerbated crime and militancy besides promoting the mushroom…
Power and crisis
THE farcical situation appears to have gone too far — even for the comfort of the actors. The latest by-elections in Punjab and KP have further exposed the hollowness of…
Afghanistan dilemma
ACCORDING to Pakistan’s defence minister, “Peaceful relations with our neighbour are only possible if all support for the TTP is completely ended”. It is difficult, he said, to trust the…
Pakistan in South Asia’s democracy
WHEN people talk about South Asia, they reach for the usual clichés: nuclear flashpoint, poverty, migration, communal tensions. What they rarely acknowledge is something far more hopeful — this region…
COP30, Pakistan and net-zero emissions
Pakistan is an incredible country with immense potential to commence sustainable socio-economic development. However, it must ensure that while it progresses, it does not cross planetary boundaries. In fact, Pakistan…
Dual engine of China’s rise
Over the past three years, Pakistan has lived through one of its most intense periods of political and institutional turbulence since 2007. From the parliamentary removal of Imran Khan in…
The price of disorder
Pakistan’s roads reflect the broader dysfunction of its governance system: disorganised, improvised and reactive. Every few months, a new chief traffic officer (CTO) assumes office in Lahore or Karachi, promising…
