Remembering the dark night of the 5th July on July 5, 2020The 5th July is firmly etched in our memory. That black night, the praetorian forces overturned the applecart of democracy; held the Constitution of 1973 in abeyance; arrested the political leadership en mass; clamped Martial Law in the country; usurped senior political positions; restrained the superior courts; gagged the press; garrisoned the cities and towns; […]
Is Donald Trump intentionally trumping on China – 1? on July 1, 2020Would the United States of America have a balanced, mutually supportive and sustainable approach to the People’s Republic of China with Donald Trump at the steering or muddle through the narrow and trade-based policy as has been the case up till now is the moot question troubling the minds of many analysts. Today, China has […]
Really — we have an elected civil rule on June 27, 2020We have apparently a democratic set up in the country with elected institutions that include the executive, opposition, National Assembly, Senate, four Legislatively Assemblies and representative administrations in the provinces. All this fits well in the loose definition of an elected political dispensation but fails to withstand the strict evaluation of democratic governance. The chaotic […]
Are Federations difficult to govern (Part-II) on June 12, 2020The Constitution being the basic law of a country defines the functions and delimits the parameters of the mandate or the jurisdiction of all the state institutions including the parliament; the executive; the opposition; the superior courts; the civil bureaucracy; the security establishment; the intelligence and law enforcing agencies. With the parliamentary oversight, administrative checks, […]
Is a Thucydidean clash between the USA and China inevitable? on June 9, 2020From the early 1990s, China embarked on the path to political, economic and strategic ascendancy and regional hegemony, though its doctrine remained embedded in peace and good neighborliness. During the past two decades, China has acquired enough economic power and military muscle to stand out as an emerging superpower to the awe and fear of […]
Are Federations difficult to govern? (Part I) on June 5, 2020This question has been extensively debated by political scientists elaborating and analyzing different aspects of the federal governance comparing and contrasting it with that of unitary states as practiced in the world. The entire debate can broadly be summed up in a few sentences. A federal country comprises many states with legally delimited geographical boundaries, […]
Does democracy help establish good governance on June 3, 2020The democracy has treaded a long evolutionary path spanning over centuries to acquire the present form of representative governance. Though far from perfection, it is yet considered far reflective of the consent of the people and inherent social contract between the rulers and the ruled. In western societies where democracy has taken strong roots and […]
The construction of Diamer Bhasha Dam: A new controversy at hand on May 19, 2020The PTI federal government has almost acquired notoriety in kick starting controversies. It has already weathered many a controversy since it assumed power in August 2018. The dispute raised by the hasty notification for the extension of the tenure of the Chief of Army had hardly settled that a tense political commotion between the federal […]
The 18th Amendment and Punjab’s quandary on May 12, 2020The Pakistan Resolution passed by the All India Muslim League under the guidance of the Qaid e Azam on the 23rd of March 1940 laid down the foundation of federal, liberal, democratic and progressive Muslim states comprising geographically, politically and culturally diverse territories where the Muslims were in the majority. The resolution was prompted by […]
The controversy over the 18th Amendment (part two) on May 8, 2020The main objective of the 18th Amendment was to secure the Constitution from subversion by adventurist Generals strengthening the treason clause restraining the superior courts to validate any extra constitutional step; trim the governmental and administrative size of the federal authority reducing it to a small and responsive cabinet; empower the federating units to manage […]