Apt handling of national security – II
Our armed forces and intelligence agencies have become more hardened today than they were ever before in the conduct of Low Intensity Conflict (LIC). However, over the past decade, the…
Uncertain times
Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan had once remarked that Pakhtun women were more intelligent than their husbands. He had of course meant no offence to the men but only expected them…
Apt handling of national security – I
In today's global village, the threats are multidimensional and the challenges are many and complex. Safeguarding the national interest is a gigantic job. A bulwark comprising policy parameters and strategic…
Farcical debate
With a congressional hearing in the United States on the drone issue set for April 23, some groups in that country are making efforts to create a consensus for bringing…
The coming of Musharraf
By refusing to go into exile and insist on returning from exile, ZA Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto suffered the same fate. And by following in the latter’s footsteps it looks…
A common goal
On a recent visit to Pakistan, a controversy surrounding the renaming of a roundabout in Lahore after Bhagat Singh caught my attention, not least because the freedom fighter was the…
Texas town devastated by massive explosion
It was like Iraq, a nuclear bomb, a tornado. Those were the words used by US officials to describe the devastation created by a blast at a fertiliser plant in…
Blood, pride and hope
Modern analyses of the comparative strength of states utilise metrics such as population, GDP, military spending and other `objective` criteria. The `human` factor the sentiments and emotions of the concerned…
Modi as Pakistan’s candidate
A Neighbour in Delhi, who happens to be a Narendra Modi devotee, asked me which leader Pakistanis would want as India’s next prime minister. I’m no clairvoyant, I told the…
Interim economic management
By every reckoning it was going to be a tricky job — managing the politics of the moment, keeping unwanted intrusions at bay, and handling an economic situation moving towards…
