When should Imran Khan compromise? on November 1, 2014Why is compromise on major issues so hard for Imran Khan when no one doubts that it is necessary and that resistance to political compromise lies in the democratic process itself? I can understand that a permanent campaign encourages political attitudes but that also makes it more difficult to compromise. Political compromise is difficult for […]
Why do politicians reverse their positions? on October 26, 2014August 2014, the month when both Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri decided to proceed with their protest and processions. It was hard to find a law professor in the country who did not take them seriously. The arguments about unfair justice and electoral rigging are, if not frivolous, close to the hearts of millions in […]
Mental revolution on October 19, 2014Recent interviews and public speeches by Imran Khan give a vivid picture of the experience in which people may lose both their energy and sense of the value of their mission. The loss of meaning was especially poignant in Multan where Imran appeared frustrated, tired and unhappy within his supporters who were feverishly dedicated to […]
Does Imran Khan have an exit strategy? on October 12, 2014Domestic politics and international relations are often somehow entangled but it seems our politicians have not yet sorted out the puzzling tangle. It is fruitless to debate whether domestic politics really determine international relations, or the reverse. The answer to that question is clearly “both, sometimes”. The more interesting questions are: “when” and “how” domestic […]
Power, politics and victimisation on October 5, 2014I recently read with shame and embarrassment that Arjumand Azhar, the man who exposed Rehman Malik of the PPP and PML-N lawmaker Dr Ramesh Kumar for VIP culture on social media, has been fired from his job. His former employers have denied the suspicion that their decision was influenced by any political pressure. My article […]
qaz on September 28, 2014Imran Khan complains that politics in Pakistan have been dominated by descendants of former presidents or prime ministers. Bilawal Bhutto is of the Bhutto legacy, Hamza Sharif is the nephew of Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif and son of Chief Minister (CM) Shahbaz Sharif, and Monis Elahi is the son of former deputy PM Pervez […]
Savage sense of entitlement on September 21, 2014The main opposition’s, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Senator Rehman Malik stirred fresh controversy in this current, perilous, political situation in the country when he and another member of the National Assembly, Dr Ramesh Kumar Wakwani, kept a domestic flight waiting and arrived hours late for boarding. After facing a reported delay of two and […]
Young boys for rent on September 14, 2014“The people of Lut rejected (his) warning. We sent against them a violent tornado with showers of stones, (which destroyed them), except Lut’s household: And (Lut) did warn them of Our punishment, but they disputed about the warning” — Surat al-Qamar: 33-36. The mount of Sodom, a barren wasteland, rises sharply above the Dead Sea. […]
Conspiracy, back stabbing and clandestine politics on September 7, 2014Treachery has not gone out of style since the Ides of March in 44 BC. That was when a group of Roman senators stabbed Julius Caesar to death in Pompey’s theatre and justified their deed by claiming that they had committed tyrannicide and not homicide. Nowadays, you need to go no further afield than Constitution […]
Caution to the wind on August 31, 2014“Do you see a man who speaks in haste? There is more hope for a fool than for him.” The same can be said for Imran Khan and Dr Tahirul Qadri. While it is true that many leaders and historical figures are upheld as examples, these two are by no means positive and have come […]