Process is substance
LEON Trotsky once declared: “Process is substance; the end is irrelevant.” In politics and statecraft, the outcome of negotiations is largely determined by the process adopted. Process defines the agenda,…
And the nightmare unfolded…
The December 16 attack on the Army Public School (APS) in Peshawar was the worst terrorist act in Pakistan's history that claimed the lives of more than 149 people, including…
Robbers vs Rangers
THE recent exchange of artillery salvos between Islamabad and Karachi over the Rangers’ operation in Sindh exposes the tension between the federal and provincial governments. As the PPP government in…
Fbr Collection: Startling Facts
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), in its Biannual Review (January-June 2014-15), claims that "despite several challenges like poor law and order in the country, energy shortages and compression of…
Framework of engagement
CHINA cannot afford a neighbourhood in chaos because that would greatly affect its geo-economic engagements and priorities in the region. China is also worried that if any of its neighbours…
The upswing
THIS is what it looks like. Muddling through. But it’s easy to miss when you’re in the middle of it. This was the year that everything changed. APS made it…
Minority matters
“I AM the prime minister of all Pakistanis, whether they are Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Parsi, or any other religion. I will stand by victims of violence and ensure perpetrators…
The Nawaz and Modi show
WELL, who saw that coming? But now that we have seen it, there’s a big little question — does it make any sense? The reluctant, preliminary answer: it doesn’t really.…
Between a rock and a hard place
Faced with the dilemma of siding with the House of Saud and keeping the Ayatollahs’ Iran unnerved, Pakistan is finding it hard to balance its act. Although Prime Minister’s Advisor…
The rise of the zombie generation
Traditionally, institutes of higher learning are perceived as places where thinking can develop, opinions formed and students permitted to evolve ideas as they learn more about their specific fields of…
