Time to free Mandela once more
When leading members of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), including President Jacob Zuma, gathered around the ailing Nelson Mandela at his residence for a photo op back in April,…
Message of amnesty
Fourteen hundred years ago, on the 20th of Ramazan, a remarkable event in human history occurred, which is still remembered today and has ever-lasting effects on humankind. The last Prophet…
Hard state, soft state
OUR violence is counterterrorism; theirs is terrorism. Recently, the army chief addressed parliament after the Jaffar Express train attack in Balochistan. He said Pakistan had to become a “hard state” to fight militancy and…
A peoples’ quest for peace – Part – I
In my previous column series, ‘Discussing South Asian Peace’, we talked about the evolution of people’s initiatives for restoring peace in South Asia. From the Pak-India Peace Forum to Himal…
Let sanity prevail
A SINGLE piece of advice can change a life, says Richard Reed, a writer who embarked on a project to seek the most valuable advice through interviews and encounters with…
The buck stops nowhere
Nearly 3000 years ago, famed jurist and scholar Cicero coined the maxim “Salus populi suprema lex esto” – let the welfare of the people be the supreme law. For centuries,…
Political dialogue is indispensable
Communication and negotiation are indispensable pillars of politics, serving as a bridge between conflicting ideologies and facilitating solutions that ensure governance, stability, and progress. History is replete with examples where…
A case for dialogue
A key lesson in diplomacy and politics is the importance of resolving issues through dialogue. Sitting down together to find common ground for the greater good is an essential approach.…
Reality bites
ONE of my high school teachers, an American middle-aged man, used to poke fun at us for being clueless. He would often reference student protests in the 1960s as great…
A lost future
COLLEGE campuses across the US have erupted into student demonstrations and sit-ins protesting the genocide in Gaza. Students across every religious denomination are involved. Columbia University, my alma mater, has…
