Dr. Congo elections under threat, with much at stake
With less than five weeks to go before the Democratic Republic of the Congo votes in key presidential and parliamentary elections, observers warn the country is ill-prepared, with some doubting…
Visiting Bangladesh
Shrugging off its traditional reliance for foreign-exchange earnings on jute goods and tea, Bangladesh has economically made giant strides, with home remittances and garment manufacturing giving momentum to a whole…
The Iraq quagmire
Compared with many bombs in Iraq, it was not a big one. I had just arrived in the Al Rashid Hotel in Baghdad on November 28 when there was an…
A doomed region
When I look at Europe having one visa, one currency (euro) and one parliament to reflect on the decisions taken by individual parliaments, I woefully think of South Asia which…
With eyes wide open
The outcome of the joint session of Parliament--held "in camera" for reasons that remain obscure, given that little was disclosed that had not appeared in the media, according to many…
A law that should go
Why are the blasphemy laws still on the book? Parliament is sovereign; there is official and public consensus that we do not wish to facilitate fanaticism and bigotry. And the…
Budget fiscal year 2010
As the budget FY10 complexities unwind with the debates at different forums ranging from parliamentarians to industrialists, while incorporating the views of economic pundits, tax consultants, and opposition experts, inertness…
The case for a directly elected Senate
During the hearing last year of petitions challenging the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, the Supreme Court observed that the system of election to seats in parliament and the provincial…
Sri Lanka polls and Pakistan
SRI Lanka is preparing to hold parliamentary elections on April 8 to elect 225 members to the country’s 14th parliament. The United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) led by current President…
Of born leaders and followers
It’s hard not to see eye to eye with the federal information minister when he says that his boss Bilawal Bhutto is a born leader. The point of disagreement may,…
