Checkmate in political chess on April 13, 2022Surprised. Shocked. Stunned. 4th of April 2022 just left everybody nonplussed. The National Assembly was reeling. The opposition was fuming. The government was celebrating. The media was wondering. The people of Pakistan were enquiring. Nobody and nothing had prepared the political pundits for this move. This move’s unpredictability, its alacrity and its associated actions swept […]
Those Who Stand for Nothing Will Fall for Anything on March 17, 2022No confidence. No competence. No government. This is the repetitious furore in the opposition camps whose shifting, shifty and stumbling narrative is self-defeating. Demanding resignation. Threatening a march. Screaming disaster. These are the echoes in the political chambers of the country. All part of democratic traditions. All part of opposition ambitions. All in the name […]
Reforming education, reforming Pakistan on April 6, 2018Education has never been high on the list of priorities in this country. As fiery political battles rage on national media on why it is still last on the list, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has not wasted any opportunity to transform the education standards that are now acknowledged by many independent studies. Silently, but with swiftly, […]
Legalising shades of grey on March 12, 2017The sight of Ayyan Ali in her black high boots sitting in a luxury plane ready to fly off and the sight of Gullu Butt striding out of jail in his white patent shoes depict the many shades of grey that exist between this black and white free birds/jail birds combo. Were they escaping from […]
Lubricating terror through corruption on March 4, 2017Three of the ten most corrupt countries are also three of the least peaceful. The Global Terrorism Index 2015 did a study of the 15 year period between 2000-2014. In this period 25 percent terrorist attacks were held in Iraq, 14 percent in Pakistan and 12 percent in Afghanistan and it is not a coincident […]
A tale of two institutions on February 25, 2017A criminal who has been caught in one of the most publicized corruption deal is brought inside the court by the National Accountability Bureau with VIP protocol. The judge asks the NAB Chairman why has a criminal been given VIP protocol? No response. The judge again asks the NAB Chairman that does he not feel […]
When you are selective in action on February 18, 2017Forewarned is forearmed. Not so. Armed are those who know they can pass through the leaking system of countering terror. And leakages are many. When the virus has affected the whole system, doing a localised operation will only result in temporary relief. When selectiveoperations, selective justice and the selective action takes place, it logically results […]
Taxing the rides on February 11, 2017The ride-sharing business is being taken for a ride. The yellow/black cab business had become almost as obsolete as black and white movies. From the fast lane came the likes of Uber to outpace and outsmart the century-old industry of rent a car and hail a taxi. No calls to a number required that respond […]
The mega mania on February 4, 2017The bigger, the more technical and the more delayed; the better. This is the formula for creating projects, which are designed to become financial guzzlers and technical maze, where finding when, how much and where the money went becomes almost impossible. Energy projects are ideal for this recipe. Infrastructural projects become layers of deceptive costing […]
Democracy at stake on January 28, 2017For the VIP movement and the big event, the city was almost paralysed for half the week. Traffic jams and road diversions became the norm. Offices were half shut, and people were advised to stay at home and work. There is an element of fear and resentment in the citizens. Official websites are reprimanded and […]