Are we that helpless?
"If you think of yourselves as helpless and ineffectual, it is certain that you will create a despotic government to be your master. The wise despot, therefore, maintains among his…
The bubble that burst
Gen Pervez Musharraf has returned to the country. This time, mercifully, his return has not been heralded by a posse of armed soldiers clambering over a gate to pave the…
Suicidal embrace
Living in Washington DC as a foreigner can be quite interesting, especially for the likes of yours truly who are hopelessly engrossed in anything related to politics and international affairs.…
How to build a state
In a statement released to the press in the wake of the gruesome massacre of Shia Hazaras in Quetta, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif declared, rather ominously, that Pakistan was…
DR Congo rebel transfer won’t bring peace
The transfer to the International Criminal Court of warlord Bosco Ntaganda would be a blow against impunity but will not fundamentally change the situation in eastern DR Congo, analysts say.…
Monopoly on wisdom
The recent book by a former chief of the general staff of the Pakistan Army has only added to what was generally known in informed circles, and once again there…
How he blew it!
Let’s hand it to Asif Ali Zardari – what fate decrees he accepts uncomplainingly. As the consort of the vastly more educated and cerebral Benazir he struggled manfully even if…
Politics and the pipeline
The ground-breaking ceremony for the Pakistan section of the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline last Monday was an event of high symbolic importance. It was designed to seal Pakistan’s commitment to finally…
An interim agenda
By any standards the interim government, whose outlines are now beginning to appear, has a heavy agenda and a light mandate. This is a bad combination. Here is some of…
Who stands where
This time last year, drone attacks, suspended Nato supplies, trade with India and, above all, relations with the US were issues that were causing political temperatures in the country to…
