A week in Kashmir
The strongest impression in my mind after a week in Srinagar last month is that Kashmir’s political process has reached an impasse at all levels. The unionist parties, the ruling…
Watch out, Mian Sahib
Mian Nawaz Sharif, who could not finish his stipulated term as prime minister twice before, has taken oath of office as PM again. Acquiring a ‘heavy mandate’ in his 1997…
Not so fast
Even before Nawaz Sharif’s formal swearing in as prime minister, the Manmohan Singh government has launched a major diplomatic initiative to kick-start a high-level diplomatic dialogue with the incoming government…
Keeping Hillary’s dream alive in shadows of Everest
Elizabeth Hawley first came to Nepal in 1959 as a journalist, when the country was beginning to open up to the world. She came back the following year "to see…
Institutions and economic performance: Election Outlook-XIX
There is a long list of economists-from Adam Smith to W Arthur Lewis and from Douglas C North to Niall Ferguson-who have strongly highlighted the importance of institution building for…
Our rooms and their streets
Use your brain before May 11 – this meme, one of many that are doing the rounds on the Pakistani blogosphere in the run-up to the general elections, comes as…
The post-US order
The US loomed large during Pakistan’s election campaign season as leaders pounded their fists, promising an end to American meddling in Pakistan, a return to sovereignty and a refusal of…
New policy on drones
President Obama’s speech at the American National Defense University last Thursday attracted a great deal of attention and analysis. It is particularly important for us in Pakistan to understand exactly…
Tehran’s change of guard
Post-revolutionary Iran’s 11th presidential election, scheduled for June 14, will be watched around the world for a variety of reasons. Among these is the fact that Iran is one of…
Unhappy marriage in Sindh
A NUMBER of senior Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leaders have died of violent causes in a city which in the last two decades has seen frequent bouts of bloodshed. Whether…
