Beyond elections
Looking beyond the coming elections, Pakistan’s future looks bleak. There is little question that elections 2013 will prove more divisive and chaotic than anything we have seen before. Mere transfer…
The folly of hot pursuit
From the American perspective, nothing is going right in Afghanistan. The general public demonstrated its indifference towards the Afghan-sponsored parliamentary elections: only 3.6 million voters turned out to vote against…
Limits on PCNS’s role
The heterogeneous political elements present in the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS) are just one set of the problems in efforts for a workable and effective foreign policy for…
Child marriage and Islam
Recently, the Legal Affairs Committee of the Majles (the Iranian parliament) has told the press that they regard the law that prohibits girls below the age of 10 from being…
Muzzling the whistle-blowers
It is typical of the moral degeneracy of our political class that after the exposure of our tax-dodging parliamentarians by a public-spirited journalist, a concerted effort is now being made…
Comparative analysis of exemptions in bill on VAT
The government of Pakistan has full intentions to implement the Value Added Tax (VAT) system with effect from July 1, 2010 as part of its commitment with the IMF. Currently,…
Counting poverty
It is long overdue for a parliamentary committee to consider the authenticity of the Poverty Estimates for Pakistan produced by the 2007-08 survey. It is about time that the parliamentary…
Reason for hope in the fight against militancy
The good news is that finally all the elements of the state seem to be coming together to fight the terror menace in our midst. The executive and the military…
Who controls the budget?
The Parliament set something of a record by passing the federal budget within 12 days of its presentation. It was placed before it later than usual when the Parliament exists…
Reforming’ the constitution
The self-styled and inappropriately named “Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Reforms” has been trying to keep itself in the news lately. It was formed in June last year and given the…
