Identity debates
Historically, different cultural groups of what is now Pakistan followed diverse origins, but the creation of Pakistan brought heterogeneous cultural identities under the identity of a single state. Being a…
We need more diplomacy, not less
Much has been made not entirely unfairly of the fact that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been spending a lot of time abroad. At times, it seems, at the cost…
The India factor
America has been outsourcing software development to India for years, but now it seems to want to outsource diplomacy as well. Fed up with Hamid Karzai’s intransigence, the US is…
Flawed recruitment
Last month, the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) announced the results for the written CSS exam 2013. Out of 11,406 candidates only 238 were declared successful in the exam meant…
Independent judiciary
The retirement of the former chief justice brings to close another milestone in the history of the judiciary. The judiciary has accomplished many feats in recent years, including the consolidation…
Our neglected have-nots
The killing of an Indian fisherman Naranbhai Sosa reportedly by the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency on Oct 11 last has again highlighted the enormous suffering caused to the subcontinent’s have-nots…
Market-friendly?
Governments in developing countries are increasingly being accused of policies and practices that favour cronies and party loyalists in allocation of scarce resources. They do this blatantly in the name…
The drug culture
A report carried by this newspaper on December 15, 2013 puts the number of heroin users in Pakistan at one million, accounting for nearly one percent of the country’s total…
Voice, exit, and government jobs
Can we really expect any change in the way the Pakistani state operates without a massive change in the way the state manages the people working for it? This human…
The art of standing still
The condition of inertia can have many downfalls. It slows down circulation, leads to a variety of health problems – and quite obviously holds back progress. Things become even more…
