Defending air superiority
When a cake was cut to celebrate the historical victory of the brave armed forces of Pakistan, uniquely, during my PIA flight PK-300 from Karachi to Islamabad, the entire plane…
Perilous hour
THE latest crisis in India-Pakistan relations is the fifth in the past 25 years. Each crisis has been more complex and involved dangerous ramifications, which made it hard even when tensions eased…
Filth and fury
INDIAN social media — or at least the parts of it that are most visible in the current crisis — is a curious mixture of hate and threats of sexual…
Out of school
Governments in developing countries have often prioritised capital-intensive mega projects over schemes that might benefit the vast majority of their populations. Electoral politics and constituency dynamics are among the reasons…
Future of the Indus Waters Treaty
Part - I The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), signed by India and Pakistan on September 19, 1960, has been widely acclaimed as the world’s most successful water-sharing agreement. It is…
Punjab’s local government limbo
Local governments in Pakistan function [or dysfunction] under their respective provincial frameworks as Article 140-A of the constitution of Pakistan requires each province to establish a local government system. It…
Iran’s rulers caught between Trump’s crackdown and a fragile economy
For Iran’s clerical leaders, engaging with the “Great Satan” to hammer out a nuclear deal and ease crippling sanctions may for once be the lesser of two evils. Though it…
Living in Trump’s world
THE world sat spellbound watching as a shouting match erupted in the Oval Office on live TV, with the US president and his guest the Ukrainian president speaking over each other in…
Education under attack
ON the sidelines of politics, it seems that political parties and their governments have much in common despite their constant snarling at one another. And I do not refer to…
Between debt and diplomacy
Pakistan finds itself trapped in a geopolitical and fiscal quandary. Islamabad’s strategic partnership with China – once hailed as a blueprint for economic transformation – has become increasingly problematic. Simultaneously,…
