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Restructuring challenge – I

The cardinal principle behind turning around an economy is to increase state revenue and reduce state costs. Pakistan is in desperate need to have this in place to be able…

A genuine Pakistani great

As its youngest and first-ever Pakistani Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) to head the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) from 1957 to 1965, Air Marshal Asghar Khan is eulogized not only for his professional…

Literature, Politics, And Resistance: Part – II

Literature, politics, and resistance: Part – II

In the first part of this column yesterday, we discussed some personal accounts by political activists and leaders. My definition of resistance literature is broad and includes biographical literature too,…

Bracing For A Siege

Bracing for a siege

Why should an elected government of a democratic country be bothered about a few thousand (or even a few hundred thousand) protesters marching to the capital? How can one march…

Parallel follies

THE very first verses I memorised, as little more than a toddler, began: “Aj aakhan Waris Shah nu, kithon qabran wichon bol/ Te aj kitaab-i-ishq da koi agla warqa phol…”…

Remembering Bhutto The Writer

Remembering Bhutto the writer

In the first part of this article that appeared yesterday on the 40th death anniversary of Z A Bhutto, we discussed his earlier books such as The Myth of Independence…

Animal stories: Part – I

This is the last two-part column of my series of essays on animals in literature. But before I proceed, one correction: in my previous column’s highlighted text (in print alone).…

Animals in Urdu: Part I

One of my readers, and a fellow columnist for Dawn, Shahzad Sharjeel, has written to me suggesting that I also write about the role of horses and other animals in…

Consensus, Credibility And The Caretaker

Consensus, credibility and the caretaker

In a country where the government and the opposition are often at loggerheads even over trite matters, the consensus between the PPP and the PML-N over the caretaker prime minister…