Babar Ayaz

Many years ago, I saw a movie in which Peter Sellers played the lead. I do not remember the name but it was not one of the Pink Panther series. It was about how hospitals and doctors fleece patients in the US. It had a unique indemnifying statement that instead of saying all characters were […]

Prime Minister of Pakistan Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani has so far proved to be a good sandbag, taking the legal bullets and not letting them recoil to hit President Zardari — the real target. He has to be disqualified at least before his next term. The real eyesore of the establishment and urban middle and […]

The last 25 years have recorded the fastest growth in science and technology in human history. It is generally acknowledged that in the post-Second World War period, science and technology has developed more than in the 5,000 years preceding it. However, in this fast changing world, many of the progressive writers, it seems, are still […]

Perhaps it would not be an exaggeration to say that a private television channels’ revolution has taken over the country. Pakistan is changing rapidly led by the electronic waves and will never be what it was at the turn of the 21st century. Like all revolutions, this revolution also has the good, the bad and […]

What is the national security policy of Pakistan? To the best of my humble knowledge, if there is any such document or documents that have evolved with the changing geostrategic situation of Pakistan, the nation this policy is supposed to secure is unaware of it. At least so far I have not been able to […]

The spectre of covert and overt military intervention has haunted almost all Pakistani governments since the mid-50s. Is this fear real, or is it not? That is the question. If the chequered history of this state, which is still trying to find the right equilibrium between various institutions, is any reference then the politicians’ fears […]

For the last 40 years while the Bangladeshis celebrate their liberation on December 16, some ultra-nationalist Pakistanis mournfully blame the separation of East Pakistan on a conspiracy. They are still convinced that the ‘traitors’ of the Awami League hatched a conspiracy to break Pakistan in collusion with the ‘scheming Indians’. Though it has taken four […]

Siamese-twins — Pakistan and India — may not have their fortunes in common, but they have many common woes. This is the impression one gathers after visiting Delhi and Gurgaon for a week. Let us quickly look at the fortunate side of India, as the list is small. First, the Indian economy has grown over […]

Ambassador Husain Haqqani is a bad, bad boy! So, when he resigned following the disclosure of a non-paper allegedly dictated by him and sent by his nemesis Mansoor Ijaz to Admiral Mullen, his detractors were happy. Haqqani has indeed more enemies at home than he has friends in the US. He is bad among the […]

The second major plank (the first was discussed in the article published yesterday) of Imran Khan’s politics is that the action against the militant Islamic groups by the military should be stopped immediately and peace talks should be initiated. Many analysts who have followed the jihadi organisations and the rise of religious extremism in Pakistan […]