Sidhu’s role welcomed while Jindal’s was scorned on December 12, 2018Indian politician and former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu is to Imran Khan what Indian steel tycoon Sajjan Jindal was to former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Both have been playing the role of mediators between the two estranged cousins — Pakistan and India. Jindal helped Nawaz Sharif in softening the hawkish Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, […]
Of PTI’s 100 days and U-turns on December 5, 2018While the perception was that the PTI would come out with some of the achievements of its government, this was a misperception. Because it seems that the PTI just wanted the 100 days to know what to do as it had no clue about the issues faced by the country. After the first major show […]
18th Amendment — a gain for democracy on November 12, 2018Punjab used to be the champion of hoarding all powers in the centre, but a positive role played by PML-N leaders in agreeing, first to the changes in the criteria for distribution of fiscal resources in the NFC and subsequently agreeing to the expansion of provincial autonomy in the Eighteenth Amendment has to be noted. […]
The backdrop in which the 18th Amendment was passed — I on November 1, 2018Once again the strong centre lobbies are active to roll back the gains of the Eighteenth Amendment. The Eighteenth Amendment was the mother of all amendments because through this one amendment, over a 100 clauses of the constitution were changed. It was a major attempt to solve the provincial autonomy conundrum which has marred the […]
Assassination of Khashoggi — Murder of freedom of expression on October 27, 2018Khashoggi criticised the Saudi war on Yemen, writing “The longer this cruel war lasts in Yemen, the more permanent the damage will be. The people of Yemen will be busy fighting poverty, cholera and water scarcity and rebuilding their country. The crown prince [Mohammed bin Salman] must bring an end to the violence.” In his […]
Economic realities are hitting the PTI government’s shin on October 21, 2018Imran Khan struggled for 22 years to get the most coveted seat of the Prime Minister without realising that it was not going to be a bed of roses. In the case of Pakistan, there are more thorns on those roses than petals. His only mantra was against the corruption of the rulers and that […]
Out of box solutions were expected from Asad Umar on October 6, 2018In the cities, a water metering system should be installed so that people pay according to their usage. The rich have lavish sprawling lawns and the poor have no access to drinking water So far, the party which came on the slogan of giving a ‘Naya Pakistan’ has not been able to give anything new […]
Spotlight on the neglected Diamer-Bhasha Dam on September 18, 2018In most of the developing countries, an alarm is raised only when imminent danger is just around the corner. Advanced planning. Even if some projects are identified to meet the challenges on the ground, they are not given priority unless the danger starts looming over our heads. Pakistan is no different. The most recent case […]
Puritanism doesn’t work in realpolitik on August 16, 2018I was wrong to forecast that it would be difficult for Imran Khan to knock-together a coalition government in my earlier writings. He has managed to build a multi-party coalition to form the government at the centre and in Punjab. But, to build the majority, he has to humble himself and compromise on a lot […]
Little elbow room for PTI to deliver on August 5, 2018Most political analysts before the election were of the view that political engineers of the 2018 elections wanted a hung Parliament. It is always easier to control a coalition government than the majority party government as that of Nawaz Sharif. Now that they’ve had their desired result, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) which was the establishment’s favourite, […]