Anwar Syed

Being in office for a time may help or decelerate one’s re-election chances, depending on how gratifying the experience has been for those at the receiving end. Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR), admittedly one of the greatest American presidents, was elected in 1932, when the Great Depression had spread doom and gloom, swept away fortunes, forced […]

A group of persons with a common mission and agreed procedures for a achieving it may be seen as an institution. Agreement on procedures is indispensable for this undertaking. Institutionalisation is a denial of one-man rule. It represents mutuality of deliberation and action on the part of the group’s members. The number and kinds of […]

The media tells us that the people of Pakistan want change. We hear also that they want stability, which would mean the absence of noticeable change. It may be that they want ‘sameness’ to remain after the desired improvement has occurred. Change in the affairs of men is incessant. The world today is not the […]

There is not a whole lot to say if one is looking for good news from the domain of governance. The state of party politics is mixed. Truly intriguing is the fact that each of the better known parties is a participant in governance at the provincial or central level and in some cases at […]

We have all heard that the more things change the more they remain the same. I recall reading somewhere that General Ayub Khan — once president of Pakistan — used to ride a donkey to school when he was a child. Folks rode donkeys in ancient Egypt and Greece 2-3,000 years ago, and they still […]

It is commonplace that politics is dirty. When a man is devious in his conduct, others may say that he is playing politics. Sceptics feel that a politician is not straightforward in his dealings, that he does not always say what he really intends, and that he does not do what he says he will. […]

Mr Altaf Hussain, head of the MQM, says that if the government cannot restore order and peace in Karachi, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani should resign and occupy himself doing something for which he is better qualified. Other critics and dissidents have also been asking him to quit because he does not have the talent […]

On August 14 — our Independence Day — many commentators spelled out the failings the nation had to endure because of the malice and incompetence of those who were entrusted with managing its affairs. The inadequacies were located for the most part in the areas of politics and governance. But life includes many other interests […]

Ordinarily the answer to the above question should be obvious enough. Appearances to the contrary notwithstanding, the answer in the case of Pakistan is wrapped in a mystery. Let us first see what appearances tell us. We have a body of men and women called the government. It is supposed to govern us. It is […]

Relations between Pakistan and the US have all along gone through vicissitudes: from warm to cool and from indifference to extensive attachment. Serious American interest in Pakistan surfaced in 1954 when it was looking for collaborators in its drive to contain the Soviet Union within the areas where it had already gained influence. Pakistan joined […]