Palindrome or reverse anagram on October 29, 2014Two and a half months into the launch of the azaadi (independence) march, the battle that started between Imran Khan and Nawaz Sharif has turned into a battle between the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). At first sight, this would look like an outright victory for Mr Sharif. A deeper analysis, […]
On fears on October 22, 2014True to our animalistic instinct, the emotion that shapes and defines our world the most is not love, hate, anger, pride or pleasure, but fear. Just when the history of our world has been shaped by all the above emotions of men and women of significance, it is fear that remains the predominant factor in […]
Thought leadership of the century on October 15, 2014Economist, entrepreneur and my good friend Osman Niazi has a hypothesis on the mismatch of four to five-year terms of elected governments’ democracy versus the ten-year term of long-term debt (credit) in countries like Pakistan. According to the hypothesis, politicians do not focus on sustainable long-term economic policies because their tenure is shorter than that […]
End of colonial economic order on October 6, 2014Today marks the day when, in terms of purchase power parity, China’s GDP exceeded that of the US. This means that China has become the most productive economy in the world, ending over two centuries of western dominance. This is a fundamental tectonic shift in global economic power, going on for the last four decades. […]
Power, inevitability and ousters on October 1, 2014The political impasse in Pakistan has reached a point where it has become inevitable that the Sharif regime will have to go. The events of the last few months have eroded its administrative authority and the regime is devoid of any political capital whatsoever. However, the key stakeholders have a genuine concern that if a […]
Why now? on September 24, 2014When my article on India-Pakistan relations, ‘Where indifference can make a difference’ (Daily Times, September 18, 2014) was published on these pages last Thursday, little did I know that within hours the issue would come to the fore. And that it did with the statement by Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP’s) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in […]
Where indifference can make a difference on September 17, 2014Sixty-seven years into independence, one of the issues Pakistan is still fighting is the nature of its relationship with neighbouring India. On the one hand lies the vision of people who, building on the desire of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, want India and Pakistan to have relations like the US and Canada do. On the other […]
The media and polarisation on September 10, 2014I feel a little odd writing this for the op-ed pages of a newspaper but then I believe it has to be written. On these pages is discussed the role of anyone and everyone and so it is befitting that here we discuss the role of the media as well. What role is it playing […]
What made Imran capture the nations imagination? on September 3, 2014Let me start with making it clear right from the outset: I believe removing a government through a march on the capital and paralysing it sets a very dangerous precedent for the future of Pakistan. A few thousand protesters cannot be allowed to hold the state hostage and force the ouster of a government because […]
The cancer that was Musharrafs regime on August 27, 2014With the assault of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) on the capital, doubts have been raised against democracy and the constitutional process once again. In the heat of it, voices are rising in quite a few circles for a military takeover in the county. The rationale they present is the glory […]