No liberals please
Kabul was such a happening place that it did not look like it was part of this area, lamented a TV show host recently. Indeed, many Pakistanis were smitten by…
Consumer rights
Globally, the concept of citizen-consumer has gained considerable foothold in debates on accountability and governance. But in Pakistan, where neither the culture of civic citizenship nor consumer consciousness is entrenched,…
The Priyanka blunder
After years, somebody in the exhausted, jaded Indian National Congress had a bright idea – fielding Priyanka Gandhi as its Lok Sabha candidate against Narendra Modi in Varanasi in Uttar…
Middle class politics
Since 2007, a growing middle class and its engagement with the political sphere has been the subject of much discussion in Pakistan. The impetus came firstly from the lawyers’ movement…
Afghan elections
Saturday's elections in Afghanistan held two pleasant surprises: one, the people turned out in large numbers to vote for a new president and provincial councils in 34 provinces despite the…
Hunger and death in Tharparkar
The death of children in Tharparkar came into national consciousness when the number exceeded 150. And the count kept going up. Tragic as it is, this is only the tip…
Bilawal’s party
Every April 4 the death anniversary of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, founding chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party, is ritualistically mourned at his ancestral graveyard, Garhi Khuda Bux, near Larkana. This…
What an amazing mix!
April 2 will become a landmark in the US history because, that day, in a 5 to 4 split verdict in the McCutcheon vs. Federal Election Commission case, the US…
In the twinkling of an eye’
Monday, March 17 was an unseasonably cold and clammy day in Islamabad. But the miserable weather did not dampen our spirits at lunch that afternoon because we were thrilled to…
Five uncomfortable truths
The writer has taught international relations and public policy at Boston University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and was the vice chancellor of LUMS. As Pakistan continues…
