Land rights and democracy
Some months ago, Dr Muzaffar A. Issani, writing to this paper, had taken a critical view of how land rights are understood. While his take on feudalism might have been…
The polio tipping point
Early this month, tragedy struck Pakistan’s polio eradication campaign once again with the killing of another two polio workers and a policeman on patrol with the vaccination teams. The latest…
The ghouls of South Asia
When South Asian leaders met at their first summit in Dhaka in 1985 there were just two democracies among the seven-member states that formed Saarc at the time — Sri…
Time to revisit nuclear deal
Nearly eight years ago, the then US president, George W. Bush, and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced their intention to draw up a civil nuclear cooperation agreement. President Bush…
The unsung hero of Kargil
“Gentlemen! Thank you very much for gracing our Independence Day”. That is how President Bill Clinton greeted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his team at Blair House, the US Presidential…
Enemies within
The single most important factor that determines the fate of a nation and its state of socio-economic development is education. It is the scientists and engineers that are changing the…
Policy before transport
The Punjab government says that the metro bus project has been completed at a cost of nearly Rs30 billion. By the time all the invoices are in, the final figure…
Love in the time of hate
Years ago when I still made regular visits to Pakistan, a young journalist came up to me in a shopping mall and asked for my thoughts on `St. Valentine`s Day`.…
Latin America offers EU shelter: ‘Welcome to summer’
Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and Spanish Primer Minister Mariano Rajoy are among the leaders coming together Saturday and Sunday in Santiago for a summit of…
Uncorrupted society?
Will Pakistan ever be an uncorrupted society? The cynics will point to the fact that the world is still unable to develop a system that rewards honesty and discourages corruption.…
