Who will unite Kaptaan’s team? on April 12, 2018‘Kaptaan always uses the analogy that fish always rots from the head. In this case, he is right: he is carrying the morbid matter in the body of his party while the rank and file remain disconnected with their leader. He claims to have a winning combination which is neither visible nor communicable to the […]
Another free and fair election on April 8, 2018After ten manipulated ballots since 1970, Pakistan is gearing up for another vote. Hopefully, the will of the people will prevail, and the homeland will remain intact. Promises are made by the powerful and mighty but not much has changed on the ground. Ultimately the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has to deliver. It is […]
Mian’s last campaign? on March 29, 2018The writing is on the wall. This is perhaps the last political campaign of Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, the three-time Prime Minister of Pakistan. As it is his swansong, he has decided to sing it well. He is determined to fight until the end. Respect the vote (vote ko izzat do) is his top priority […]
From corruption to incompetence on March 26, 2018At the time of partition on 14 August 1947, Pakistan inherited functional colonial institutions run by competent and honest individuals. Corruption was confined to a very few departments. On the khaki side, offices of Controller Military Accounts (CMA), Maintenance and Engineering Services (MES) and Cantonment Boards (CB) were always corrupt. Till today, it is almost […]
The Muslim Leagues of Pakistan on March 16, 2018As a Muslim League child, in October 1958, at the age of five, I stood on the Mall near the Kim’s Gun waiting to receive the long march of Abdul Qayyum Khan, a famous leader of his time. We waited till the ‘Zamima’ — the ‘breaking news’ of that time came out. Khan Sahib had […]
The political battle for NA-125 on March 12, 2018Hamid Khan of PTI and Khawaja Saad Rafiq of PML-N fought the political battle for NA-125. The outcome was disputed and resulted in a spontaneous dharna in DHA Lahore. The matter went to the election tribunal which de-seated Rafiq. Currently, the case is being heard in the Supreme Court. The minister for Railways is talking […]
Destruction by courtiers on March 5, 2018Seath by chocolate and destruction by courtiers (darbaris) have a lot in common, as they are highly palatable and grow on you. One is a dessert to die for, while the other surrounds you to death. With centuries of colonisation and autocratic foreign rulers, the Indian subcontinent has been infested with generations of ‘darbaris’, who […]
Bhutto’s resurrection on February 20, 2018It seems that the defiance of Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif is resurrecting Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the undisputed ‘Quaid-e-Awam’. While the leadership of Bhutto’s People’s Party chants ‘Bhutto Zinda Ha’, PML-N is openly talking about the injustice he had faced. Even after four decades of his judicial murder on April 04, 1979, politics seems to still […]
Why devolution has not taken place? on February 9, 2018Each province shall, by law, establish a local government system and devolve political, administrative, and financial responsibility and authority to the elected representatives of the local governments – (Article 140(A): Adopted by 18th Amendment) Devolution is as important as freedom. Unfortunately, for us only the seat of power moves while the rulers remain. From Delhi […]
Time to uproot the political weeds on February 8, 2018In order to save democracy ‘political weeds’ have to be culled. While agriculture produces crops to sustain life, ‘political culture’ has only produced weeds in the land of the pure. Only plants grow and provide shade and nourishment for all living beings, weeds on the other hand only devastate and destroy the bounties of mankind. […]