Straight Talk: Justice System on trialon July 12, 2020Parveen was happily married. After completing 10th grade, she was married to a cousin. She had four kids before she was 25. Her husband was an electrician; earning a livable income. It was 1998. They were comfortable by working-class standards. They owned a two-marla house, which was built on a piece of inherited land. The […]
Minus one — democracy on trialon July 5, 2020Following democracy in Pakistan is a roller coaster ride. It is exhilarating with all the screaming accompanying each rise and fall. When the ride ends you get out with rubberylegs. Rides have a short span and you overcome it soon. Imagine if the ride prolongs for years? It destroys your balance, vision, and ability to […]
Raid on university autonomy — Open letter to chief ministeron June 29, 2020Greetings, but on a second thought, greetings for what? What have you achieved in nearly two years into your term as the chief executive? You head the largest province of Pakistan. I would love to be educated about steps you have taken towards “Tabdeeli”. It is politics to maintain the status quo. The PTI came […]
Heat in the Himalayason June 27, 2020Temperatures are rising in one of the coldest parts of the world. Dispute between India and China took an ugly turn last Monday in Gulwan Valley on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh’s border. No bullets were fired. Indian and Chinese troops confronted each other with sticks, rocks and kung fu. It lasted […]
Straight Talk: winds of change in USA (Part-2)on June 20, 2020Late fall 2019 my daughter, Sana, a medical student had a test in Philadelphia and the next day she started a month’s course in a Brooklyn hospital. My son, Faisal and I decided to drive her over as moving airport to airport, lugging a huge bag on short flights is extremely inconvenient. There was another […]
The Curse of racism — Part 1 of 2on June 8, 2020The color of the skin is determined by the pigmentation just underneath it. More pigmentation means darker complexion. Hence the analogy “color is only skin deep”. Yet color determines race. Racism is one of the three leading causes of conflicts and wars in human history. Other two being religion and territorial grab. Tracking the evolution […]
Is China flexing its muscles?on June 1, 2020“Wake a tiger with a long stick” is a quote from Chinese leader Mao Zedong, father of the Chinese Revolution. Caution is woven into Chinese culture. China was transformed in four years (1948-1952) from a decadent society to an orderly nation. There was a lot of pain in the formative years but within fifty years […]
“Tabdeeli” a dream or realityon May 23, 2020The gates were opened by an armed guard and a white Land Cruiser emerged. The young driver was clearly inebriated. His two friends were boisterous. It was past midnight in Defence, Lahore. The vehicle charged down the main boulevard and did not stop at a red light. The cop on duty radioed ahead. The vehicle […]
Filling the management voidon May 17, 2020It was the late eighties. We were flying back to Riyadh from Islamabad after a week in Pakistan. I was accompanied by Abdul Latif Al-Shaikh, chairman of our business group. We were embarking on a joint venture in the agricultural sector with the ADBP through late Jamil Nishtar, its chairman. Shaikh Latif is a successful, […]
Survival or safety?on May 10, 2020Christopher Columbus, an Italian explorer, embarked on a voyage in August 1492. He was sponsored by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain. Largely self-educated, Columbus had in depth knowledge in geography, astronomy and history. He planned to seek a western sea passage to East Indies. He hoped to profit from the lucrative spice trade. Instead on […]