Terror in the heartland again
Like so many past terrorist attacks, there was forewarning of the latest suicide bombing that struck Lahore on Monday. Yet the carnage could not be prevented. Despite the alert, the…
Human rights under threat
Day after tomorrow, the people of Pakistan will join the rest of humankind in celebrating Human Rights Day. The government too will indulge in ritualistic rhetoric. An honest approach should…
Is speedy justice possible?
Why did the Chief Justice of India (CJI) recently break down in tears? Because of the huge pendency of cases before the Indian courts. It is not clear what the…
Rethinking justice
The killing of at least 20 students and staff of Bacha Khan University in Charsadda, disturbingly reminiscent of the attack a year ago on the Army Public School in Peshawar,…
Addressing the basics
The capacity of terrorists to strike in any part of the country exposes our abiding vulnerability mainly arising from, among other things, long-standing weaknesses in our internal security system –…
Reviewing NAP
A year after initiating the National Action Plan, its ownership, implementation and efficacy are being extensively debated. This review has acquired an added urgency in the wake of the Charsadda…
Is a repeat of history likely?
For almost a fortnight, in its late-night talk show, a Pakistani TV channel kept interviewing Akhtar Buland Rana - last Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) who was sent home before…
VIEW POINT: Mixing of crime and politics
The first thing that strikes one about Lyari crime boss Uzair Baloch's story is the strong resemblance it bears to some popular Indian film dramas where politicians patronize gangsters using…
‘Democratic’ subversion of rule of law!
Assisted by members of the Sindh Police, and firing into the air at the gate of the mills, armed men took over the Seri Sugar Mills (Hyderabad district) and the…
NAP: the right questions
The government confines its performance evaluation on the National Action Plan to the number of arrests made and raids conducted, not realising that NAP is much more than that. It…
