Power shortage: The mega destabilizer
For the last two weeks, besides the sidelined ToRs on the Panama Leaks, kidnapping of the son of the Sindh High Court's Chief Justice, and the shocking assassination of Amjad…
Contesting culture
In 2004, while the Muttahida-Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) was governing KP, a puritanical vigilante group called Tehreek-i-Nijaat-i-Fahashi launched a crackdown against musicians in Peshawar. Under deepening conservatism patronised by the religio-political alliance,…
Leave & let die?
Going by the particularly apocalyptic prognostications on both sides of the debate, either result in tomorrow’s British referendum will presage a monumental disaster. Vote to leave the European Union (EU) and…
Unmet expectations
Donald Trump’s rise in America, a wave of pro-Brexit and xenophobic sentiment in the UK, mass demonstrations in France and Brazil, a political crisis in South Africa, communal polarisation in…
‘Brump’ or ‘Trexit’? Markets may conflate year’s biggest risks
Even though market myopia is often used to explain why investors appear to be ignoring November's US presidential election while trading furiously around this month's vote on Britain leaving the…
Democratic choice?
On June 23, the British public will vote on whether or not to remain in the European Union. Brexit, as it has been termed, is widely considered to be the…
Retirement homes
Pakistani leaders demonstrate their patriotism by buying their retirement homes, in other countries. It began in 1958, when president Iskander Mirza, ousted by Ayub Khan, spent his last years in a…
Terror in Brussels
The tragic terror attacks at Brussels Zaventem Airport and Maelbeek metro Station come at the heels of the refugee crisis currently underway in mainland Europe. As passengers clambered out of…
A flock of grey swans
The global financial markets are experiencing a bloodbath. Over the past few months, a range of financial assets including equities, commodities and currencies of emerging markets have fallen sharply. According…
Migration crisis tears at EU’s cohesion and tarnishes its image
Deep divisions over how to cope with a flood of migrants from the Middle East, Africa and Asia pose a threat to the European Union's values and global standing and…
