Brave new world – season two
The Pakistani love affair with the forklift beats Romeo and Juliet hands down. This machinery is loved by all red-blooded Pakistanis but the police have a particular addiction to it.…
Supply and demand
In economics, demand is "how much of something people want" and supply is "how much of something is available". Price, in a competitive market, is “derived by the interaction of…
The travails of the general
The fool in the eyes of the gods is one who does not know himself. Former president and army chief, Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf, lived in the illusory world of…
A generational conflict
Violence – escalating and uncontrollable – has always posed the greatest threat to political transition in Pakistan. This has become increasingly evident following the election-inspired killings in Peshawar, Quetta and…
Spotlight: Elections aftermath: both promising and ominous!
While PML-N's resounding victory in Punjab is remarkable, its electoral presence in other provinces (ranging from nil to an insignificant part) has a dampening effect on its euphoria. PML-N's success…
Rigging and formation of government
Pakistan Muslim league (N) has emerged as the single largest party with 123 seats requiring 13 seats to form an overall majority in the national assembly. Markets have reacted favourably…
Benazir’s death: Neurosurgical opinion
Available evidence indicates that Benazir Bhutto died of excessive loss of blood from a torn scalp artery and not from brain damage and that her death was preventable. Since the…
Spotlight: Confusion all round: The multi-arena election show!
The elections planned for 11th May this year are like no other in recent memory! For one, there is no common ground concerning the norms all political parties and leaders…
Zardari’s strategy
Pakistan's election activity is picking up pace as the country enters its final days of campaigning. Political pundits have begun forecasting the number of seats each party is likely to…
Election Outlook-XII: Ethnic cleavages
Sending flowers is a measure of how much you care. And, firing a broadside at somebody is a measure of how much you dislike or despise that person. It was,…
