A Pakistan without Benazir Bhutto
The general belief is that no one is indispensable in this mortal world. But in my humble opinion, there are definitely exceptions to this general rule. Had Jinnah (our Quaid-e-Azam)…
Remembering ABS Jafri Part – II
ABS Jafri’s first book that I read was ‘Here lies India’, containing his columns about the India-Pakistan War of 1965. During and after the war he wrote columns seven days…
Politicians and their clothes
POLITICIANS and their clothes can never be separated from politics. It is the side plot which moves along with the main story — scene to scene, act to act —…
Throwing the VPN baby out…
THOSE who govern us may have expertise in multiple areas, but their ability and propensity to score own goals seem without parallel. None of us will have to look too…
Leadership, crisis, opportunity
PAKISTAN today is at an inflection point. It faces unparalleled challenges in an environment of political polarisation, economic fragility and institutional decay. The polycrisis it confronts involves multiple overlapping crises…
Federal funding for universities
UNIVERSITIES in Pakistan are again in the news — once again for the wrong reasons. The issue this time is that the federal government has decided to stop giving annual…
Fighting terrorism
TERRORISM is as old as war, which means as ancient as the first traces of organised human community. In the middle of the last century, Sindh suffered the ravages of…
The precarious lives of politicians
FORMER prime minister Imran Khan was shot in the leg during an assassination attempt last week while participating in the long march. He survived. But Pakistani politicians seldom survive assassination attempts, which…
Local governments
SPEAKING to the First Constituent Assembly in 1947, Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah outlined several duties for the government of Pakistan: maintain law and order, root out corruption, act against black…
Decades of despair
“PROMPT and drastic measures are necessary to save Pakistan from virtual bankruptcy; but our rulers seem to be content with obtaining foreign gifts to feed the people and relying on…
