Mehboob Qadir

On almost every television channel in the country, there are banner advertisements sponsored by the governments of Punjab and Sindh highlighting their public service achievements and future projects worth billions of rupees. The advertisements portray great developments in roads, electricity, potable water provision, irrigation, health, education and agriculture. If one was to buy the yarns […]

Those of you familiar with oceanic geography know that the equator is an imaginary line dividing the north and south hemispheres and has fascinated sailors for centuries. A widely known tradition observed by sailors since the Middle Ages and even in some navies today is the Line Crossing Ceremony. According to myth, the first time […]

The year 1095 AD was a defining one in the Christian world in many ways as it changed the course of history not only in Europe but also in the Middle East. It laid a permanent foundation of hatred and acrimony between Muslims and Christians on the question of suzerainty over Jerusalem, and also between […]

Communities, societies and nations come together and grow, fertilised by the largely unspoken benevolence of men of strong and, at times, exceptional strength of character and noble motivation. Whichever strand of life they opt to pick up, they tend to excel in extending universal benevolence and attracting their followers to their cause in a remarkable […]

Despite the desirable progress of the North Waziristan operation, our national leadership seems to be walking at a distance from the troops. Unlike the Swat operation of 2009, the information ministry is nowhere to be seen. It is the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) that is doing all the media briefings. Not only that, the […]

Our national leadership is showing all the familiar signs of cracking up under mounting pressure. This conduct failure appears to be the persistent bane of their make up whenever it comes to delivering on governance since the beginning of their ill-fated political venture in the early 1980s. As a rule, they show a lot of […]

  The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by Mr Narendra Modi has won a historic victory in the recent Indian general elections. His ascent to the top of Indian political power was being predicted by political pundits for quite some time, just as Congress was sinking deeper by the day into corruption and inaction. Modi […]

Armies are peculiar reflections of their national history, culture and mother society. Within each army there are sub-structures that correspond to the functional and operational needs of the force as it might be deployed for war, security or humanitarian tasks. However, the key is that their mission statement must remain intact. An attempt to adulterate […]

We met in Lahore. It was October, the time of year that, in this eternal city, is like March, always balmy and fragrant. I was a strapping young officer and she a petite medical student. Our chemistry matched perfectly. Soon we were engaged but just then the 1971 civil war broke out and I had […]

There is so much talk of this, that and other by sages and saints full of wisdom and knowledge, sitting in their seminar rooms and seats of learning. However, one has always come out with a heavier heart and a mind more occupied than before. Most have been lucid and logical in their discourses but […]