The soul of music
The passing of Sir Zakir Hussain, arguably the finest tabla nawaz of his generation, sparked waves of obituaries and tributes across the world. Yet in Pakistan, his death barely registered…
Small and great
WITH the exception of a handful of countries, this world is ruled by small people. There is no great man in sight. In America, Richard Nixon was the last great…
Diluted opposition
IT is worth understanding why despite large-scale and detrimental changes to judicial independence, widespread electoral manipulation last February, and severe curtailment of civil liberties in various forms, resistance to these acts has…
Straws in the Syrian whirlwind
THE pendulum of zealotry almost always ushers in intellectual subterfuge in its wake. The lightning, if not spontaneous, takeover of Damascus by mediaeval militias is being predictably applauded by Western journalists as…
Politics and economics
This is the first of a two-part series focusing on the symbiotic relationship between politics and economics, with existing literature focusing more on domestic policies premised on globalization representative of…
A legacy of struggle
Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto’s death anniversary (which falls today) will be marked this year amidst another moment of political uncertainty in Pakistan. A few days before her assassination, Shaheed BB…
South Korea’s sub-optimal experience with Neoliberalism: lessons for Pakistan
Pakistan has been actively under neoliberal policies since late 1980s when it first started to come under major International Monetary Fund (IMF) programmes, while its engagement with IMF during earlier…
Latest scandal raises fresh questions about Prince Andrew
Revelations that a suspected Chinese spy became a confidant of Britain’s Prince Andrew have renewed scrutiny of King Charles III’s disgraced brother as he heaps new embarrassment on the royal…
Time to rebuild
A few days ago, could anyone have imagined that Bashar al-Assad, the strongest ruler of Middle Eastern country Syria, would be forced to flee from the country and the five-decade…
Upward mobility
THE main title is misleading: Dear Mr Jinnah. It implies a familiarity between the book’s author Salman Faruqui and the Quaid. In fact, Faruqui was only eight years old in…
