Andleeb Abbas

Advertising your way to power appears to be the desperate political strategy being practised by our main parties in the last week or so. The PPP has been celebrating Benazir Bhutto’s birthday by splashing her and the president’s face in every major newspaper for an all-purpose advertisement ranging from Benazir Income Support Programme to some […]

We are holier than thou and you are dirtier than all. This phrase sums up the competitive strategy thrust of nearly all political parties in the country. The style of leadership that accompanies this strategy is brash, aggressive, contemptuous and, many times, downright obscene. The verbal and non-verbal rubbish dumping going on from parliament to […]

The science of colours is amazing. Different colours denote different things in different cultures. White may be a colour of festivity and weddings in the west but it is the colour of sober mourning in this part of the world. Yellow, in the fast food world, immediately brings to mind the ‘M’ of McDonald’s and […]

Why did the economy nose-dive to half its size last year? Floods and rising oil prices, rising energy cost and rising food inflation are all factors that have contributed but the factor which we have been mumbling and apologetically been mentioning vaguely as an also ran variable has now become a quantifiable reality of consistently […]

The feeling of the roof being blown away over your head and the carpet being swept away from under your feet is everywhere in the country. The state of vulnerability to anything and everything has created such a strange feeling of being emotionally stranded that it goes far beyond the normal feeling of insecurity. It […]

The head of one of the most powerful institutions in the world, a hotel scene, a poor and powerless cleaning maid, victim of the callous lust of an old rich man who, swayed by the might of his position, makes a sexual assault with minimal regard for the puny victim’s protests being registered beyond the […]

After the frenzy of almost four weeks of cricket carnival, the aftermath is almost an empty feeling of being purposeless. That itself speaks volumes of the lack of direction and meaning we as a nation are passing through. Cricket has been and will always be a passion in the nation, but the way this world […]

Shortages create a desperate demand stress. Whether it is energy, cash flows or a parliamentary majority, the government’s distressed non-response is creating a resentment and retaliation in the public that is going to build up to a destructive level as the summer heat takes its toll. On all fronts, the red alert has become such […]

The King’s Speech was an epic Hollywood movie last year and won every single award ranging from the BAFTAs to the Golden Globes to the ultimate Oscars. The story of the movie is very simple; the British King during World War II has to make a speech to the public that has to unite the […]

Pakistan is a hotbed of breaking news. With so much to discuss and debate, many issues that are fundamental for the future of the country get run over by noisy headlines. One crucial issue that needs continuous attention is the sanctity of the election process that will greatly affect the fate of politics in Pakistan. […]