Any hope for Hamid & Zeenat?
The India-Pakistan accord on the resumption of talks between them has led to considerable relief among the peace activists in both countries. But once again they are not being allowed…
Coordination failure
Pakistan would be an excellent case study for anyone studying topics such as ‘perpetual confrontation and polarisation of all kinds’, ‘blame game’, ‘passing the buck’ and ‘don’t accept responsibility’. Recent…
Will Krishna sing for Ambedkar?
Raised on a staple of Cecil B. DeMille and Homi Wadia films taken from religious epics, many Indians of my generation became readily knowledgeable of Hindu and Christian legends early…
Good governance
The historical judgement on governments is harsh. It says that governments have many butchers and few shepherds. However there is increasing interest in good governance. What is good governance? It…
A new window of opportunity?
The Paris summit on climate change has let in a ray of hope for change in the regional political climate too. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s meetings with his Indian counterpart…
Thinking about quality
What is common between Daewoo running three types of buses on some routes and Beacon House opening three types of schools? Why do some vendors of lawn sell their product…
Children and military courts
WHEN Pakistan’s parliament hastily empowered military courts to try civilians suspected of committing terrorism-related offences, in defiance of international standards, it was criticised for failing to adequately consider the many…
Beauty & the beast
Given the grave sort of issues that are on our collective minds these days, when I read the headline on the BBC, I assumed that it referred to the migrants…
Lessons to apply
The Heart of Asia conference has produced some promising results. Perhaps of most immediate value is the Afghan and Pakistani leadership’s agreement to revive constructive engagement on Afghanistan’s peace process.…
Rangers’ footprint
The latest controversy in relation to the ongoing Karachi operation was the publication last week of advertisements about ‘missing persons’ allegedly taken into custody by ‘unknown Rangers’. It remains unclear…
