Democracy missing in action
LET’S outdo Prime Minister Modi in what he does best: invent an acronym. But then we need to also move on to the next steps. Today’s unpronounceable offer is: OASWNBRIBNGOOFOT.…
American democracy at its…
Election was fixed. He is an establishment man. Fake votes have been cast. Election management system collapsed. Will not accept the result. Typical of Pakistani elections! Wait a minute- we…
More democracy, not less
The vultures are out again. The hubris that helped make Pervez Elahi chief minister of Punjab, the desperation that helped make Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain the actual prime minister of Pakistan,…
Democracy moves along
On December 14, the US Electoral College cast their votes. As expected, Joe Biden received 306 votes against Donald Trump's 232. While this is not news, Trump's obstinate refusal to…
In defence of democracy
The end of the 20th century marked the end of the pursuit of any novel structures of governance. It witnessed many proposed systems of government fail. States with monarchy, fascism,…
Grassroots democracy
About two years ago, when Prime Minister Imran Khan was elected, in his first speech to the nation, he promised to foster a culture of grassroots democracy all over Pakistan.…
Hasil Bizenjo: fighter for democracy
It was a fairly cold night in January 1988 – even by Moscow standards. The outside temperature was touching minus 20 degrees Celsius. But in a cozy hotel room in…
A besieged democracy?
Pakistani democracy is besieged by the tyranny of myopia, arrogance and the refusal to learn. The warning signals are all too obvious, for those who wish to continue to look:…
Pakistani electoral mosaic
With general elections due somewhere after mid-2018, the expectations of the people and the stakes thereof have evolved dramatically with the political scenario changing almost on a daily basis. The…
An ambush of democracy?
Bertrand Russell famously said in ‘A History of Western Philosophy’ that “in all affairs it’s a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you…
