Senate and the Gilani card
Once again, the political temperature seems set to rise in Pakistan as the Senate elections loom nearer and nearer. But this time things have become more complex, with allegations of…
Gilani on Asian unity
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s plea for Asian unity, which he made at the annual conference of the Boao Forum for Asia in China on April 2, has gone almost…
Unpacking the amendment
SUCCESSIVE governments and parliaments in Pakistan have appeared obsessed with constitutional amendments related to the judiciary, especially the superior judiciary. Our parliament has so far passed 23 constitutional amendments. Formally…
Early exits
AS the fractious new government fails to get a grip on matters, many already see its early demise, just a month after it was imposed via allegedly rigged polls. Early…
A Pyrrhic victory
IT was the darkest night of the country’s parliamentary history. The spectacle of two opposition lawmakers from Balochistan — one on a wheelchair and the other, a female member, wrapped in a…
Resurrection, 2024
IT is almost 45 years to the day that former prime minister Z.A. Bhutto was hanged on April 4, 1979, for a murder he did not himself commit. Since then,…
Caretaker by any other name
NOW that the people have voted and been outwitted, a new parliament is in place, and a new president and prime minister have reached Constitution Avenue. All of last week,…
Contempt of parliament
IN an unprecedented move, the National Assembly passed the Contempt of Majlis-i-Shoora (Parliament) Bill, 2023, on May 15. The bill will, however, need to be passed by the Senate and receive presidential…
Let’s banish bans
IS there any possibility we can banish this politics of bans from the country? First, it was Nawaz Sharif banned for life from running for office, now the same sort of cloud…
Time for a new beginning
FORMER prime minister Imran Khan may have his own reasons to lash out at the ‘establishment’, but the fact is that the subject of civil-military relations has been around for…
