Ikram Sehgal

As experiences go, the short time I spent in the Karakoram Highway (KKH) flight (Four Army Aviation Squadron) under the command of Major (later Major General) H U K Niazi, in the high mountains in 1970, is one that far surpassed my expectations and lives on in my memory for more reasons than one. Piloting […]

Currently under treatment in a UK hospital, the PTI’s chief counsel, Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, tried his best to prove before the Judicial Commission (JC) that the 2013 elections had been selectively rigged by the ruling PML-N in dozens of seats in Punjab. Having sufficient reason to feel cheated, the PPP’s legal counsel, Senator Aitzaz Ahsan […]

Having raised the hopes of the country by apprehending a large number of target killers and subsequently going after those in the bureaucracy whose corruption and connections to organised crime fuels terrorism, the Rangers in Sindh have become prey to politics, a victim of their own success. One had hoped otherwise but this was to […]

Force multiplying in less than a decade under the most corrupt rulers in Pakistan’s history, corruption has surged to become an integral part of our daily lives. Whatever system is in place, corruption’s proceeds fuel organised crime and such funding is crucial for terrorism. The wording of the law notwithstanding, the superior judiciary must comprehend […]

Bereft of a political majority and buffeted by a series of crises, Asif Zardari has developed a myth of political invincibility because he lasted out his full five-year term as president. Keeping his cool, finessing the policy of political reconciliation, he turned perception into truth. Contriving a smooth political transition after the 2013 elections, he […]

Given the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) strident anti-Pakistan rhetoric during India’s general elections, there was quite some controversy about whether Prime Minister (PM) Mian Nawaz Sharif should accept Modi’s invitation for his swearing-in ceremony last May. A consensus finally developed between those opposed to the visit and those for it, with maturity prevailing in the […]

Brimming with excitement, bordering on the histrionics that one normally associates with political rallies, Mian Nawaz Sharif’s trusted federal finance minister, Ishaq Dar, presented what he insists is a “poor-friendly” federal budget in the National Assembly on June 5. Critics do not share the palpable enthusiasm of our man for all seasons; they say that […]

With India’s foreign minister, Ms Sushma Swaraj, declaring the corridor “unacceptable”, Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif finally decided enough was enough. He did not mince words at the all parties conference (APC) convened in Quetta by Balochistan’s Chief Minister (CM), Dr Abdul Malik, after the Mastung massacre as to the motivation behind the concerted campaign. […]

When pushed into a corner, desperate people resort to desperate measures. In a macabre confirmation of the success of the ongoing Karachi operation, terrorists carried out a heinous attack against the Ismaili community on May 13, 2015, leaving at least 45 dead. Speaking fluent Urdu and wearing police uniforms, the attackers of the ill-fated bus […]

Just when everything seemed to be going good for Pakistan, the MI-17 crash in Naltar brought us literally and figuratively down to earth. What made this great tragedy different was that the ambassadors of Norway and the Philippines as well as the wives of the Malaysian and Indonesian ambassadors lost their lives. Several other ambassadors […]