Hunkering down
A GOOD example of how Pakistan is hunkering down further and further in the face of increasing scarcities is provided by natural gas. Pakistan has been blessed with abundant gas…
Personal, not principled
Plato’s dialogues are widely regarded as incomparable with regard to both philosophic depth and literary merit. The dialogues typically portray Plato’s venerated teacher Socrates engaged in a lively, if at…
Cricket as a metaphor
It is amazing how much the varying fortunes of our cricket team matter. In the past week or so we lost a football World Cup qualifier to Saudi Arabia. Does…
How not to lose the way — again
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif starts his tenure in circumstances more dire but somewhat similar to the ones in which his older brother, Nawaz Sharif, first became prime minister after the…
The powerful four
The PML-N and the PPP have taken the right step by aligning together to form the next government. Though there are allegations of stolen mandate from the PTI, it appears…
RIP Sartaj Aziz
ONE by one, those with a memory, and those who played a critical role navigating this country through the many crises it has passed through, are leaving us. The last…
A land of ladlas
Arguably, the most commonly used disparaging word in the political lexicon of the day is ‘ladla’ -- loosely translated as the apple of one’s eye. In the political context, a…
Trading electables
Political activities will heat up in the wake of the announcement of the national elections by the electoral watchdog. One of the ubiquitous activities in the run-up to every national…
Not one party is revolutionary
Paradoxical though it may sound, politics in Pakistan remain both tantalizingly unpredictable and ridiculously predictable. A prime minister commanding a comfortable majority may be conveniently shown the door, leaving everyone…
How far ahead of Pakistan is India?—I
The G20 Summit in New Delhi on September 9-10 should have been an eye-opener for Pakistan. However, it does not seem so. We are complacent as usual. There is a…
