Man of conscience
ON Sunday, June 13, 1971, the New York Times carried a groundbreaking report across three columns at the top of its front page under a rather mundane headline, ‘Vietnam Archive:…
Role of ‘advisers’
FROM time immemorial, rulers have had trusted advisers outside the formal set-up of their council of ministers. F.D. Roosevelt had his Harry Hopkins, who was authorised to meet Stalin, and…
Standing on its own feet
ACCORDING to the Economic Affairs Division (EAD), as of June 30, 2022, the total external public debt of Pakistan stood at $88.8 billion. Out of this, the debt owed to…
The health-climate nexus
THE clamour by scientists to look at climate change through the health lens is growing louder and more urgent. The numbers are there to justify it, they say. More people…
Ambiguous approaches
ONE cannot think that Pakistan’s strategists do not recognise the policy objectives they tend to follow in Afghanistan. But they might keep these objectives largely vague in the public domain,…
Terror nexus in Afghanistan
THE attack on the Pakistan embassy in Kabul last week raises questions about the Taliban administration’s capacity and resolve to fight terrorist groups operating from Afghan soil. The shooting that…
Supporting Iranians
THE protests led by women and young people in Iran and supported by a cross section of society under the slogan of ‘zan, zindagi, azadi’(‘women, life and freedom’) is a…
Khan versus Bajwa
THE ongoing polemical war between the former prime minister and former army chief has laid bare the political machinations that marked the erstwhile hybrid rule. The acrimonious split between the two has…
Condemned to die
THE kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of Pakistan’s closest allies, the two countries sharing a long-standing relationship that encompasses economic cooperation, cultural affinity and Islamic fraternity. An integral aspect…
Swim, or sink
PAKISTAN’S governments have been variously arrogant, condescending, incompetent, steeped in self-interest, mired in corruption. They included constitutional contortionists and presidential despots anointed with the unholy oil of judicial dispensation. Most…
