Becoming all-season partners
During my graduate studies at the Harvard Kennedy School, three Chinese officials were on year-long fellowship at the university’s research institutes. “What is your purpose here” I asked. The Chinese…
China’s mega initiatives
At the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting opening ceremony, Chinese President Xi Jinping put forward the Global Civilization Initiative, which marks China’s third significant global initiative,…
Pakistan at 75
‘The Round Table’ – the Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs – has been enlightening its readers since 1910. It offers analysis and commentary on various aspects of international affairs, exclusively…
Economic dystopia incentivized
Can you guess what country has the world’s worst financial inclusion statistics? It is Pakistan. With 115 million unbanked adults (adults with neither a bank account, nor a mobile money…
Will ‘Keynesianism’ return?
Keynesian economics dominated economic theory and policy after the Second World War until the mid-1970s. Neoliberal economists launched a vicious attack on state intervention in the economy and the social…
Sense and nonsense
Despite the refreshingly clear judgment of the Lahore High Court directing the Election Commission of Pakistan to hold elections for the Punjab Assembly within ninety days of its dissolution, the…
The real uncle problem
Is it about one uncle or a host of troublesome uncles that need to be sorted out here? The question is of vital importance as, exactly as predicted, Maryam Nawaz…
The man behind our sedition law
“Power precedes liberty – …liberty, from the very nature of things, is dependent upon power….” Thus wrote the English lawyer, judge, writer and philosopher, James Fitzjames Stephen in his book…
Constitutional amendments – Part I
This year, Pakistan is marking 50 years of the 1973 constitution that has experienced many mutilations at the hands of both civil and military rulers. Having remained in abeyance a…
Part II: Voice of Sindh
The eighth Ayaz Melo in Hyderabad, held from Dec 23 to Dec 25, presented over 20 sessions and gathered nearly 100 authors, intellectuals and poets from across Pakistan. Jami Chandio…
