Dr Farid A Malik

Khawaja Saad Rafiq the minister for Railways has recently referred to‘back door entries’ into the corridors of power. Khawaja Sahib is uniquely qualified to talk on this subject, as he has seen his father’s political struggle and his own clandestine rise to power through the establishment. Since 1958, the Muslim League has been the mistress […]

Playing on bouncy pitches is not easy, this is why the Pakistan Cricket Team is having problems playing on New Zealand’s uneven pitches. The importance of curator who prepares the pitches cannot be underscored. Initially, there was a big fuss about neutral umpires that has now been resolved thereby bringing the focus on to the […]

Imran Khan’s current team has formulated an election strategy that will ensure his elevation as the 20th Prime Minister (PM) of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Electives have been identified, who will contest elections on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) tickets using their own resources to get elected and will then elect Imran Khan as their leader […]

Will our dream of democracy ever be realised? With one free and fair election in 1970 and the only real assembly in 70 years, the democratic track record of Pakistan is pathetic. It is true that this very exercise caused the dismemberment of Quaid’s Pakistan. The khaki leadership of the time was unable to harness […]

In the third and final US presidential debate in Las Vegas on October 20, 2016, Hillary Clinton boasted of her 30 years of public sector experience. Donald Trump was quick to respond that it was “bad experience.” He went on to explain that looking at international turmoil created during Clinton’s leadership of the state department […]

Ideology drives change in the absence of which it is more of the same. Political pirates and rental politicians cannot be a part of this crusade. In 1967, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the young and charismatic foreign minister working under the dictator, raised hopes of the nation by forming his Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). Most politicians […]

Merit is a misunderstood trait in our part of the world mainly because of lack of understanding. Clarity of definitions is always helpful. Merit is defined as the demonstrated ability or achievement that is worthy of praise while discretion is freedom of judgment or choice. Most of us claim to follow merit while using discretion […]

In Pakistan, only ‘Sharifs’ (honourable) individuals go home and the badmaash (dishonourable) stick and flourish. It reminds me of a story from SaadiSherazi’s famous Hikayat (moral stories). There was a habitual thief but despite several warnings he did not stop. Finally, the town’s people decided to shave his head off, blacken his face and sent […]

There can be no siyasat (politics) without nazarya (ideology); those who compromise on this deserve to be killed. These are the views of my late father, who joined the Muslim League in 1940 and remained loyal to the party till his death in 1991. Despite his nazaryati differences with Ghaffar Khan’s Red Shirts, he always […]

Coal has met the energy needs of humans for centuries. The decline of this fuel resource started in the mid 20th century when large reservoirs of oil and gas were discovered. Despite the environmental degradation by coal combustion most large economies of the world are dependent on its use. Countries like the US, China, India, […]