No silver lining in sight
Even after 62 years, Faiz’s lament about the bleak dawn of freedom, smudged with spots of darkness, (yeh dagh, dagh ujala, yeh shabgazida saher) rings true and independence day celebrated…
Sri Lanka polls and Pakistan
SRI Lanka is preparing to hold parliamentary elections on April 8 to elect 225 members to the country’s 14th parliament. The United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) led by current President…
Don’t vilify parliament
That the constitutional reform package should have come under attack in some quarters did not cause any surprise because the concept of democratic consensus is alien to Pakistan’s political barons.…
Smile of the banyan
Does one have to be as old as Anna Hazare to remember India’s freedom struggle? We were sitting in the shade of a magnificent banyan, a marvel that dominated the…
The democrats’ duty
While the decision by quite a few parties to take a common stand against those who are obviously out to scuttle the boat of democracy is something to be welcomed,…
No iPad in heaven
Saadat Hasan Manto’s birth anniversary (in May this year) offered his fans an opportunity to re-discover the great writer. While some sane heads in the government wisely decided to honour…
Economic uplift as self-discovery
The’ Washington Consensus’ economic model imposed by the US and IMF on developing countries since 1980 has caused more damage than good. Emphasizing market freedom, the model assigns a minimalist…
A charter for citizens
IT would be cynical to ask of what worth to the ordinary citizen are the fundamental rights to freedom of speech and expression, to assemble peaceably and the like. He…
A question of motive
One wonders when the agony of Balochistan — and the rest of Pakistan — will end. This country of ours seems to have attracted the evil eye. The recent resolution…
Viewpoint
In a night-time attack on the Freedom Flotilla last Monday, Israeli soldiers, in the habit of massacring innocent Palestinians at will, killed 20 activists and injured several others. This happened…
