Seize Kashmir
he recent developments in Kashmir and India offer Pakistan a fresh opportunity to redesign policy. We put Kashmir on the backburner for a decade, with very little return. The Indian…
Kargil lows
Gen (r) Shahid Aziz’s effort to ‘disclose’ an open secret has brought the Kargil conflict back into focus. Finding out who knew what and to what extent is certainly important.…
New bailout package
The government, at the fag end of its tenure, has reportedly invited International Monetary Fund (IMF) for negotiating a three-year bailout programme. It is a rather surprising move, especially its…
Weak democratic process
It is a season of defections and of new alliances as the political parties gear up for the coming elections. Horse-trading is the name of the game and political loyalties…
Our Greek tragedy
In 399 BC, Socrates stood before a jury of 500 Athenians his peers accused of “refusing to recognise the gods recognised by the state” and “corrupting the youth.” The penalty…
No change on the horizon
After keeping the country on tenterhooks for almost a month, one of the most farcical melodramas of Pakistani politics ended a week ago in Islamabad having been taken to the…
New bailout package
The government, at the fag end of its tenure, has reportedly invited International Monetary Fund (IMF) for negotiating a three-year bailout programme. It is a rather surprising move, especially its…
Our sleeping avengers
The news today may bring you to the edge of your seat, but apathy to the violence that endures may soon take over, given the general societal attitude. At an…
Revolution: Islamabad style
Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital for half a century, was conceived as a peaceful retreat, away from the heat and dust of this country and the humdrum of its people. For a…
The attempt to rescue Timbuktu
The capture by Islamist rebels on Monday of Diabaly, a hitherto government-controlled town some 400km from the Malian capital of Bamako, comes across as a setback for the French military…
