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Iran Back In Business

Iran back in business

A good 36 years after the Iranian Revolution of 1979, Iran appears to be all set as a global business player with its nuclear frame agreement made with P5+1 countries…

NA-246: Not Just A Poll

NA-246: not just a poll

Why should one by-poll matter in a country where politicians, judges, journalists, generals and the public – for different motivations – are habitually scornful of results of full-scale elections? There…

Some Odd Things

Some odd things

Here’s an odd thing: Saudi Arabia, a state with a defence budget of some $80 billion, is asking Pakistan, which spends around $7bn, for help. The answer to this riddle…

Karachi’s Daily Battles

Karachi’s daily battles

The recent murder of innocent members of the Ismaili community in Karachi was an act directed by the militants not just against a peaceful community settled in the city forever,…

The ‘minority Problem’

The ‘minority problem’

Seventy-five years after the passage of the historic ‘Pakistan’ Resolution of the All India Muslim League, we must ask how two nation-states forged out of a religious minority’s fears of…

Game-changer In Kashmir

Game-changer in Kashmir

Over a five-week period from November 25 to December 20, the Indian authorities conducted the six-yearly ‘elections’ to the ‘legislative assembly’ of Jammu and Kashmir in a timeworn effort to…

The One-year Itch

The one-year itch

HERE’S an odd thing: while we Pakistanis unanimously profess our support for democracy, we despise politicians and admire generals. This ambivalence manifests itself in regular long marches, media diatribes and…

Why Do They Hate Us?

Why do they hate us?

Being a student of media, it never ceases to amaze me how popular perceptions and opinions are formed. How tiny little nuggets of misinformation and hearsay, misconceptions, old-fashioned biases and…

The Chaos-makers

The chaos-makers

The melodramatic events witnessed this week brought out a characteristic of anarchy in an advanced stage: the difficulty in determining as to who among the chaos-makers is more to blame.…