The Saarc opportunity
The South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (Saarc) has missed holding its summits 11 times in the past which were otherwise required to be held annually according to the Saarc…
Democracy and corruption
For the past two months, the national discourse has remained polarised between those who captured the state’s resources after last year’s election and now strongly advocate the cause of democracy…
Urdu is not going anywhere
That in my humble view is the conclusion of the conference in Karachi on the state of Urdu language, literature, journalism and performing arts held last week. Urdu is not…
Three events towards peace
Three important events happened in Islamabad, Peshawar and Kabul simultaneously on October 16 this year – all related to Pak-Afghan relations. Advisor to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz…
An indomitable man
In my last column I mentioned my close association with Ghulam Ishaq Khan (GIK) for more than 25 years, 17 years of which he was in charge of our nuclear…
Tense border ties
The times — and with them, Pakistan’s borders — are tense. It has long been predicted that the drawdown of international troops and political transition in Afghanistan would lead to…
Futility of coercive diplomacy
Once again dark clouds hover over Pakistan-India relations. Dialogue remains suspended while tensions and firings continue on the Line of Control in Kashmir as well as the working boundary. The…
A paradigm shift?
President Ashraf Ghani’s visit to Pakistan is being hailed as a watershed moment. Realising its promise will be a longer-term process. Hopefully, the expectations generated by the visit will be…
Power sector woes
A Common refrain in Pakistan today is that the role of the middle class and industry has been reduced to earning enough to pay their monthly electricity bills so that…
The only way forward
I don’t know where and how he articulated it exactly, but Milan Kundera has described the singularly human capacity to overcome grief as the art of forgetting and living. It…
