Individualism & collectivism
In the last 100 years, the world has seen a unique struggle between the two ideologies of capitalism and communism. Only a generation ago hardly anyone could think that this…
The right to home
Through the pogroms and cataclysms of history, when populations were chased from their homes and hearths by war or famine or persecution, it was always their right to arrive at…
Life and literature
FOR five days in the month that ends today a fairly large number of Pakistanis had the opportunity of looking at themselves through the glasses of quite a few worthy…
Failure of the war
It is ‘APC’ season again. Karachi residents associate the acronym with armoured personnel carriers that contain and occasionally protect besieged policemen. The political APCs on the other hand contain besieged…
When a state is dysfunctional
Who knows what a failed state is? Such definitions are for the academics and experts. But what one can easily ascertain is a state that is dysfunctional. For what would…
No wrong turn now
It is time the pernicious idea of giving a few years` contract to some caretakers to clean up Pakistan`s rotten-egg politics and put the affairs of the state in order…
The truth about Balochistan
The power-hungry sardars and nawabs widely visible on Balochistan’s political scene are a by-product of the establishment’s long-term policies. These sardars derive their legitimacy from the civil-military establishment, and they…
The ghouls of South Asia
When South Asian leaders met at their first summit in Dhaka in 1985 there were just two democracies among the seven-member states that formed Saarc at the time — Sri…
Our ‘Renaissance class’
You, probably, have never heard the name Qamar Yourish. When he lived amidst poverty-stricken people on the streets of old Lahore, the rich culture of which inspires you to write,…
Fata misrule
The tirade unleashed against the appointment of a tribesman as governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa indicates only one thing, and that is the mindset of those who work against the interests…
