State and elites
"The State shall ensure the elimination of all forms of exploitation and the gradual fulfilment of the fundamental principle, from each according to his ability to each according to his…
Scenarios
Capital suggestion Scenario number 1: The PML-N will complete its mandated tenure. A total of 14.8 million voters voted for the PML-N and the party now has 149 general, 35…
The cricketer, the cleric and the government
Pakistan is a victim of underhand politics and distorted religious beliefs. These are the twin evils that have persistently cast a ghastly shadow on its political landscape since the death…
The past’s dark shadows
Much has been written about the country’s longest serving ruler, General Ziaul Haq, whose death anniversary passed almost unnoticed a couple of weeks ago. But the comment that has appeared…
The heart of the matter
Last Wednesday, the newly created Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms held its first session and elected Ishaq Dar as its chairman. The committee has three months to finish its job.…
Difficult to rig
The common perception in Pakistan is that every general election, with the possible exception of that held in 1970, has been rigged. However, there is little analysis on the mode…
Malala, Boko Haram and Gaza
I went to pick up my three-year-old from her summer school for the first time. She is yet to begin kindergarten but her mother decided to put her in a…
Future is the past
It is not easy to predict the future. In earlier times foretelling the future was the job of oracles or sibyls. The famous oracle at Delphi, in ancient Greece, was…
The country we forgot to meet
Even six and a half decades after it was created, we really know too little about the country we live in. How many of us, for instance, realised that thousands…
A diplomatic journey
Nicholas Barrington was an extraordinary diplomat who served in what were extraordinary times in the countries where he was posted. His engaging memoir, ‘Envoy’, takes the reader on a breezy…
