Pakistan Muslim League-N (isar)! on May 10, 2018Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has a self-image of himself bordering on being one of the ‘chosen’. Ideologically he places himself on the right of centre. He views himself first and foremost as a Muslim with absolute faith in Allah and the finality of His Messenger (PBUH) subsequent to which he sees himself as a devote […]
Pause and ponder on May 3, 2018Pakistan has remained in an election mode all these past 46 months starting August 2014.And during the last ten months beginning end-July 2017 the election process has turned into a ‘do-or-die’ mode with the launch of GT Road ‘long-march’ by the disqualified supreme leader. This march continues to date breaking at times into election-cum-protest rallies […]
Budgeting for the ‘economy of tomorrow’ on April 26, 2018Considering the current socio-economic and security challenges that confront Pakistan one is constrained to regard as a non-starter an election-driven, over-ambitious budget for the year 2018-19 set to be announced tomorrow (Friday). Most likely, the proposed balance sheet for the next fiscal year would be a repeat of what Pakistani governments — no matter what […]
Making PEMRA relevant on April 19, 2018A search committee has been constituted to find and appoint a ‘suitable and eminent professional’ as chairman of Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA). Going by the measure of keen interest shown by the Supreme Court in the search process it is but logical to assume that the purpose of the SC is to liberate […]
Separating right from wrong on April 12, 2018In the backdrop of what has been happening in this country on the political front since the 2008 general elections, one is not surprised at the excessive focus on corruption and bad governance in the current electoral debate. All the three mainstream political parties — the PMLN, the PTI and the PPP — have enough […]
‘Bajwa Doctrine’ — the real one? on April 5, 2018Dismissing what he called ‘misinterpretations’ regarding the ‘Bajwa Doctrine’, the DG ISPR Major General Asif Ghafoor clarified at a press conference Wednesday last (March 28, 2018) that if there was a ‘Bajwa Doctrine’ per se, it was related to security concerns. But he did not dwell in detail on what actually is meant by ‘Bajwa […]
The great breakup on March 29, 2018Nisar is unhappy at the way he is being treated by his friend Nawaz. He seems especially hurt at losing the coveted position of Nawaz Sharif’s closest confidante. But why would Nawaz cast off Nisar and that too at a time when the ship carrying him and his party seems to have been caught up […]
Analysing the ‘Bajwa doctrine’ on March 22, 2018It has been three days since the ‘Bajwa doctrine’ was made public. But so far none of the mainstream political parties has come up with a response, one way or the other. The ‘doctrine’ reads more like a policy statement of our Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa on almost every aspect of governance — […]
Two wrongs don’t make one right on March 15, 2018Disappointing, but not unsurprising. Disappointing because, it was a huge climb down from Rabbani to Sanjrani. Unsurprising, because nothing other than what had transpired on the appointed date in the Senate could have happened after all the trouble that the powers-that-be had to go through fixing the match. The tactics appeared to be brand new […]
The business of politics on March 8, 2018In Pakistan money has always played a major role in influencing the outcome of elections, no matter for which house. And those who spend millions to win seats in any of the houses would spend most part of their elected tenure in making the investment yield many more millions in return. Even the thought manipulators […]