Brokenly intact on February 23, 2018The current national unity government (NUG) in Afghanistan was formed in 2014 after John Kerry, then secretary of state of America, in the wake of disputed election results, had brokered a deal between Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah. Thereby Mr Ghani became president whereas his opponent Abdullah Abdullah took over as Chief Executive Officer. NUG […]
China is winning without fighting on February 11, 2018“America has done all the fighting and while China has done all the business”, writes renowned author Vali Nasr in his book The Dispensable Nation. China holds fast to the spirit of pacifism. She has never been in favour of active armed confrontation in Asia or anywhere in the region. Last year, Doklam stand-off between […]
Pak-America bonhomie under stress on February 1, 2018Relations between Pakistan and America have suffered spells of discomfort and unease ever since the south Asian country joined the capitalist block. Early leadership of the country had preferred Washington over Moscow and Pakistan remained part of SEATO (Southeast Asian Treaty Organisation) and CENTO (Central Treaty Organisation); anti-communist alliances. Islamabad’s historical role in hamstringing the […]
Simmering political polarisation on January 25, 2018There has been a palpable increase in political anxiety in our country. Speculative and conjectural guesswork are adding to the political chaos that came about since the Apex court issued its verdict, ousting Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif from the coveted Prime Minister’s office and disqualified him for life. Mr. Sharif’s harangue against the judiciary and […]
Why are our children in danger? on January 18, 2018The mystic saint Bulleh Shah’s Kasur has been badly bruised once more. Reports about sexual assaults on children in Kasur have been in the media for quite some time. In 2015, a horrific child porn-den was reported. Minor’s were being violated, filmed and blackmailed. According to reports, seven minor girls were kidnapped and murdered in […]
27 December: one decade later on December 22, 2017His leadership charisma; despite small failings, defied his demise. And his political legacy outlived his death. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s political wisdom and sagacity cannot be disputed by most of his detractors. The execution of ZAB had saddened and badly shattered his family but the public sympathy wave resuscitated new hope and determination. Grief was transformed […]
Kulbhushan Jadhav’s espionage expedition on December 19, 2017Espionage is a specific craft involving clandestine activities to gather information having strategic and tactical value with direct bearing on security and safety of a state. Primarily, it is a tool to gather information in order to read the enemy camp, shape a policy and execute it accordingly. There had been espionage episodes during world […]
It is war, stupid! on November 19, 2017On 6 November 2017, unidentified culprits riding on a motorcycle shot dead Rana Nayar Iqbal, a diplomatic staff member at Pakistan’s consulate in Jalalabad city. The Pakistan foreign ministry summoned the Afghan chargé d’affaires in Islamabad and handed over a démarche. Earlier in July 2017, two diplomatic officials from the same mission were kidnapped but […]
Why the NTS scandal matters on November 8, 2017Reports last month of a leaked pre-entrance exam paper for medical schools in Sindh has damaged badly the reputation of the National Testing Service (NTS). The aforementioned had replaced education board exams; a process that was gradually phased out due to procedural flaws and a growing public trust deficit. Though we should not be too […]
Instability in Afghanistan on November 4, 2017Afghanistan suffered another series of deadly attacks last month. Militants targeted mosques, police stations, training centres, army bases and a diplomatic enclave which was located in one of Kabul’s high security zones. The attack carried out near the defence ministry’s offices in the diplomatic zone was claimed by the so-called Islamic State. It killed more […]