Democracy, with tear
It may have been democratic, but it is over now - the tenure of the elected federal and provincial governments. We have made history. But what else is there to…
Branding developmentalism?
The recent Pildat-Gallup poll showed that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf's Acceptability Gap - measured by the difference between voting intention and hostility - is positive in all eight (out of the total…
Everything’s almost free in Spain’s parallel barter economy
There are neither salespeople nor cash counters in the "free shop" in an abandoned block of flats in Madrid. Anyone can walk in, drop off goods they no longer use,…
Everything’s almost free in Spain’s parallel barter economy
It can be argued that extra-judicial interventions first by Ghulam Mohammad as Governor General in 1951 and later by military regimes and disregard of the Constitution - facilitated by either…
Genetically intoxicated in agriculture
Pakistan first started its biogenetics institute at Faisalabad in 1983 as National Institute of Biogenetic Engineering (NIBGE). I was there in the Planning Commission and I was told that to…
The big US budget cuts: Will the bite match the bark?
Delays of four hours or more at airports. Exasperating wait times for people, and goods, crossing America's borders. Reduced paychecks for thousands of civilians employed by the Pentagon. The US…
Obama’s gun dilemma: ‘Too little, too late’
A young child in Alabama finds a gun and kills himself with a shot to the chest. A father accidentally kills his 10-year-old son as he cleans his gun in…
Taking a chance with democracy
A British prime minister once said he “hated elections” and compared them to “medicine which you’ve got to have”. But for us fair elections are no bitter medicine. In fact,…
Islamic criteria?
How can I buy an ideology of Pakistan that someone with Ayaz Amir’s intellectual calibre is considered to be flouting and someone like Pervez Musharraf is seen to protect? The…
Poll violence realities
Pakistanis are concerned about the maintenance of peace during the forthcoming general elections. Suffice it to say, ensuring peaceful elections will be a gigantic challenge for the law enforcement agencies.…
