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Nawaz’s Overtures To India

Nawaz’s overtures to India

Nawaz Sharif's overture to India even before taking oath to say the least was premature and hasty. One does not understand as to what was the urgency of stating that…

Saving Pak-US Relations

Saving Pak-US relations

I’ve never pulled any punches with regard to the US government’s policies towards Pakistan. Its best could be described as ill-considered; its worst have bordered on insane. The US government…

The Identity Question

The identity question

At a time when secular-thinking liberal Pakistanis are under attack from the Taliban, reading Azadi’s Daughter by Seema Mustafa (no relative) proved to be a thought-provoking exercise for me. Sub-titled…

Party Vs Government

Party vs government

In India the established principles of the parliamentary system governing the relationship between the ruling party and its government in power have been subjected to great stress. A recent clash…

From Astana To Amritsar

From Astana to Amritsar

On April 26, Kazakhstan hosted the third Ministerial Conference of neighbours and ‘near-neighbours’ of Afghanistan (somewhat awkwardly designated as the ‘Heart of Asia’ countries) within the framework of the so-called…

The Myth Of May 11

The myth of May 11

Some commentators, who are perfectly rational and do not believe in such esoteric things as numerology or the relevance of dates, have – nevertheless – observed that May 11 has…

The Bigger Picture

The bigger picture

Pervez Musharraf’s revelation that US predatory raids within the territorial limits of Pakistan had the conditional consent of Islamabad is hardly revealing save that it comes straight from the horse’s…

Unequal In Life And Death

Unequal in life and death

All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others”, pigs proclaim in Orwell’s Animal Farm to explain their supremacy and right to rule. Apparently disparity in life…

Blood, Pride And Hope

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…

Why Break The Relationship?

Why break the relationship?

The US agenda with Pakistan pre-9/11 was, in order of priority viz (1) nuclear non-proliferation (2) terrorism and (3) drugs, with the Taliban government in Afghanistan figuring prominently in the…