Courting the military
IT is time to bemoan the failure of our legal system yet again. Not because of the change at the Supreme Court but because the first extension given to the…
Time to end the military courts
The basis of how we should judge whether a policy is working or not is to ask a simple question: “what was the original objective or purpose of this policy?”…
Paramilitary policing
The Sindh cabinet recently extended the special policing powers granted to the Rangers under Sections 4 and 5 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) 1997 in Karachi division for 90 days.…
Banking on military justice
In 2015, when parliament passed the 21st Amendment that allowed constitutionally protected military courts to try terrorism suspects, many reluctant lawmakers offered their mea culpas. Indeed, how can one forget…
What military ops can’t deliver
The security forces are supposed to have launched another operation to cleanse the country of terrorism after a spurt of suicide bombings and attacks across the country in the month…
Military courts: a mistake
On December 27, 2014, only 11 days after the APS attack in Peshawar, I wrote my weekly entry in this column under the title, ‘Military courts: a defence’. In the…
Military diplomacy
Military diplomacy may sound to be an anachronism in this age where Kantian peace is the norm instead of a Hobbesian struggle for supremacy. The concept nevertheless is as germane…
Of civil and military relations
As the baton has now passed to Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, there is no shortage of free advice consisting of dos’ and don’ts for the new army chief. While some…
Viewpoint: Anti-terrorist operations in Punjab
The Punjab government has been reacting angrily to suggestions that security operations by the Rangers, like in Sindh, are needed to eliminate violent extremist organisations from the province. The government…
Towards a quasi military-civilian regime
he prime minister is embroiled in a crisis every other day as real power slips away from him and shifts to a powerful and consistent space-grabber. Are we witnessing a…
