Learning when to talk on September 8, 2014Sir: Our politicians are fond of issuing statements to satisfy their ego. We have seen the result of talking without thinking, how it has dented the reputation of some good politicians lately. However, who cares here. Of late, all the leaders of the political parties in parliament have stood united in support of the government. […]
The fall of the neutral umpire on September 3, 2014The so-called neutral umpire that the chief of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Imran Khan had been looking up to for a decision was neither neutral nor an umpire and now has fallen flat on its face. None other than the veteran politician and the elected president of the PTI, Mr Javed Hashmi, took the wind out […]
Traffic hazards s on August 31, 2014Sir: Driving on Rashid Minhas Road from Millennium Shopping Mall till the NIPA bridge for regular users of this thoroughfare is nothing short of a nightmare, especially after sunset. One major problem is the vehicles being driven on the wrong side of the road at Johar Mor, which witnesses a heavy volume of traffic most […]
The D-Chowk deadlock on August 27, 2014The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) and their respective leaders, Imran Khan and Allama Dr Tahirul Qadri, have been camping out in Islamabad’s D-Chowk and its vicinity for a good two weeks now. Both proclaim bringing about revolutionary changes to Pakistan’s polity without specifying what the post-revolution state would look like. Between the […]
T on August 20, 2014“The man’s undone forever; for if Hector break not his neck in the combat, he’ll break it himself in vain-glory” — Shakespeare. Things are still extremely fluid in Islamabad as we go to press but whether the ultimate outcome of the protests is a soft coup d’état, the elected government weathering the storm or something […]
The Kurram dharna: all politics is regional on August 13, 2014A dharna (sit-in) by the Shia Pashtuns of the Turi and Bangash tribes in Upper Kurram Agency’s capital, Parachinar, is in its second week now. The row, prima facie, is between two Shia factions. One side reportedly has the backing of the sitting member of the National Assembly from Upper Kurram, Sajid Turi, while the […]
Pakistan and the Haqqani network: past is the prologue on July 23, 2014“And by that destiny to perform an act Whereof what’s past is prologue, what to come In yours and my discharge” — Shakespeare’s Tempest, Act 2, Scene I. Pakistan’s military operation dubbed Zarb-e-Azb in North Waziristan (NW) is in its second phase now. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) has issued statements that the army has cleared […]
Zarb-e-Azb: trust but verify on July 16, 2014Pakistan’s military operation in North Waziristan (NW), Operation Zarb-e-Azb, is entering its second month now. Over a million ill-fated Pashtun civilians have been displaced internally to various cities in Pakistan and tens of thousands more have taken refuge in Afghanistan. Families and clans have been disrupted and health, education, economy and safety, already in shambles […]
The merchants of menace on July 9, 2014His clients ranged from Libya to North Korea and properties from Timbuktu to Dubai. At the height of his power his net worth was reportedly $ 400 million. His face, with a Hilteresque moustache, appeared on the February 14, 2005 Time magazine cover captioned ‘The Merchant of Menace’. That man was Dr Abdul Qadir Khan […]
Sports and Pakistan on July 4, 2014Sir: Watching the football world cup matches, I marvel at the nationalism projected by the spectators in every match. We Pakistanis have been deprived of this enjoyment for long. The negligence of the Punjab government in preventing the attack on the Sri Lankan team was criminal. In every country games are organised to keep public […]