Tolerating dissent on April 29, 2015The shock and horror at the death of Sabeen Mahmud is not fading even days into the horrible incident. What is terrifying about the incident is the fact that she got killed right after hosting a talk on the issue of Balochistan. It is the timing of this assassination that makes it so terrifying. Many, […]
Digital amir-ul-momineen? on April 22, 2015Last week saw two steps by the federal government that hint at the unleashing of a rein of authoritarianism in times ahead. The steps highlight the will of powerful quarters in the country to curb dissent, access to information and freedom of expression. One is the Cybercrime Bill and the other is the Nazam-e-Salat introduced […]
Pakistans role in Gulf security on April 15, 2015Pakistan’s parliament has unanimously passed a resolution to stay neutral in the Yemen conflict while assuring complete support to Saudi Arabia against any violation of the Kingdom’s territorial integrity. The resolution is one of the better foreign policy decisions Pakistan has made. The decision, however, has attracted a backlash from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) players, […]
Reviving regional cooperation on April 8, 2015I have been writing about the Middle East for a long time now and it is one region that never fails to intrigue me as a student of history. The reshaping of the Middle East as a result of a multitude of factors, including the toppling of Saddam Hussein, emerging Israel-west coldness, the Iran nuclear […]
Yemen on April 1, 2015After remaining in the headlines due to a long and protracted civil war, Yemen finally emerged into an outright regional conflict last week, with the Saudi Arabia led coalition launching an assault against Houti rebels. While the stated Saudi goal is to protect the regime of President Mansur, the move has broader strategic objectives for […]
For the love of Pakistans cricket on March 25, 2015Pakistan has been considered among the most potent cricketing nations in the world. In the 1970s and 1980s, it was ranked amongst the best sides along with the West Indies. The 1990s were the prime of Pakistani cricket where it was seen competing for the top crown against the Australians mainly on the strength of […]
Who should pay for carbon emissions? on February 25, 2015Climate change is impacting the world around us, leading to extreme weather conditions. There are many theories doing the rounds on what causes climate change. A lot of focus has been on carbon emissions and their leading to global warming, causing climate change. There, however, are other theories as well,the most common being solar output […]
Comedy in tragedy s on February 14, 2015Unlike what the mainstream media believes, portrays, or covers, I have always found a PML-N government to be a comic affair. Ever since their first stints of power in my teen years, every time they have been in power, in their desire to look ultra-smart they end up providing comic relief to the observers. This […]
Terrorism in Pakistan on February 4, 2015In the last week or so, in both print and electronic media, many of those who have unfortunately become opinion makers in corporate media have been harping on about statistics to prove how terrorism has gotten worse after the ouster of General Musharraf from power. This strengthens my belief that mathematics and statistics should be […]
Burning the midnight oil on January 28, 2015The country remained crippled and paralysed only too recently owing to a fuel crisis. That has been followed by an electricity crisis that, at the time of writing, has entered its fourth day. According to some, the electricity crisis too has its roots in the shortage of furnace oil. And just when the search for […]