Israel on Rampage – II on December 21, 2024The wealthy Arab states were anxious before the first election of Donald Trump in the year 2017 about the reduced US role in the Middle East looking desperately for new strategic partners, and they are now concerned about the expansionism of Israel with the support of the US and the Western countries. With the exit […]
Israel on Rampage on December 19, 2024With the plunge of Syria, Libya, Yemen, Lebanon in chaos, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Shia rule in Iraq facing imminent threat of de-stabilization while Gaza is being reduced to rubble by the relentless Israel, the Arab states are individually engaged in a desperate exercise for survival. I feel a strong repulsion […]
Fall of Damascus on December 15, 2024Should it be called the fall of Damascus, or the toppling of a decades-long ruthless autocracy, or the opening of wanton balkanization of a vanquished Muslim country by the real victors clawing away parts of it in a neo-imperial game. Iran’s road to Levant would end at the borders of Iraq; Israel has already traversed […]
No Redemption from Political Deadlock on December 6, 2024The suppression of the PTI protests on November 26 in Islamabad has further deepened political antagonism in the country. Notwithstanding the differing claims about the causalities by the PTI and the government, the ruthlessness displayed by the security forces demonstrate the depth of the brutality. The violence was not followed by soothing actions to calm […]
The Unmaking of Pakistan – II on November 29, 2024The misplaced priority for a strong Centre has always put the federal structure of the country at greater risk. For a quarter of a century, the federal structure was hamstrung by conflicts between the eastern and western wings over the division of financial resources and political and administrative positions. After losing the Eastern wing of […]
The Unmaking of Pakistan on November 28, 2024The making of Pakistan is wrapped in myths purposefully weaved into the history of the struggle of the Muslims to carve out a new country in the Sub-continent. These myths have hindered us from determining the kind of state we want to have. Did we want an Islamic country with a system of governance as […]
New Challenges for CPEC on November 19, 2024Donald Trump has staged a spectacular come back. He is going to assume the US Presidency in January 2025. His widely-predicted policies on China, trans-Atlantic alliance, wars, globalization, trade wars, and protectionism would have profound impact on the current economic and strategic international order. Pakistan would be concerned on two counts: the renewed Sino-US rivalry […]
The Brutality of State Organs on September 24, 2024In civilized societies, every institution performs within its constitutional bounds. The constitutionally and legally determined jurisdictions of state organs within federal or state structures are sacrosanct and do not brook any contravention or intervention. These societies have developed unwritten norms, which are unfailingly followed by state employees and the public in letter and spirit. The […]
The Unsettling Situation on September 17, 2024We have apparently a democracy in the country with elected institutions that include the executive, opposition, National Assembly, Senate, four Legislative Assemblies and representative administrations in the provinces. All fit well in the loose definition of an elected political dispensation but fail to withstand strict evaluation of democracy. Our democracy is still passing through the […]
Caught in a Cobweb of Challenges on July 22, 2024We are entangled in a cobweb of multiple challenges that are hampering us to break out of our current serious situation and move forward. The lack of leadership; the want of political will; the political divide; the dichotomy of power; the hybrid governance; the social and economic injustice; the injudicious use of financial resources; the […]