Cricket and politics
Cricket commands creed-like devotion in Pakistan and cricketers frequent the list of national heroes, though they can be turned into villains in no time in case they don’t measure up…
Time to reassess drones
The US drone strike programme has entered a period of re-evaluation and reconfiguration. Nowhere is this more evident and important than in Pakistan. Key indicators of reassessment and public inquiry…
Party vs government
In India the established principles of the parliamentary system governing the relationship between the ruling party and its government in power have been subjected to great stress. A recent clash…
A game without rules
We will soon have entered the post-election phase. Endless speculation about the permutations that work best for a stable coalition – assuming the tsunami does not occur – will be…
From Astana to Amritsar
On April 26, Kazakhstan hosted the third Ministerial Conference of neighbours and ‘near-neighbours’ of Afghanistan (somewhat awkwardly designated as the ‘Heart of Asia’ countries) within the framework of the so-called…
Polls, war and religion
A number of factors set the upcoming national polls apart from previous such exercises. To begin with, for the first time elections are being held with a neutral caretaker setup…
Apt handling of national security – II
Our armed forces and intelligence agencies have become more hardened today than they were ever before in the conduct of Low Intensity Conflict (LIC). However, over the past decade, the…
Election Outlook-VIII: Balochistan: blessed but blighted
"They've been committing a broad-daylight robbery on our resource," an agitating Nawab Akbar Bugti told this writer at his Dera Bugti residence with a growing sense of frustration and despondency…
Combating financing of terrorism – I
"Pakistan has taken steps towards improving its AML/CFT regime, including by issuing an SRO to increase the maximum monetary sanction for non-compliance with S/RES/1267. However, despite Pakistan's high-level political commitment…
On the edge
2008 was an evenly-spread out affair – other provinces as important as Punjab. This time it is different: the amphitheatre Punjab, the other provinces sideshows to what is happening here...or…
