Dependency syndrome on November 5, 2019Since 1958, Pakistan and the IMF made 22 agreements including the most recent one signed by the PTI government. Earlier, PPP and PML-N governments had signed agreements for loan and bailout packages during their tenures, accepting harsh conditions; yet their leaders criticize the PTI government for entering into an agreement with the IMF.In 2008, PPP […]
Imran Khan versus Modi’s politics on October 30, 2019A few days after taking oath as Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan in his tweet had offered olive branch to Modi, and invited India for a dialogue on all conflicts for normalizing relations between the two countries. Mr. Khan stood for reconciliation and good-neighborly relations with the countries of the region. Pakistan’s decision to […]
Economy on path to recovery on October 18, 2019During the last one week, there were at least 39 news items that were worthy of big headlines; however, none of these were neither highlighted in print media nor discussed in talk shows. Perhaps, influenced by the opposition parties’ propaganda accusing the PTI government of the economic mess, they conveniently forgot that it was created […]
The impact of swing voters on May 31, 2018A ‘Swing voter’ is a floating voter who has no allegiance to any political party, and whose unpredictable decisions can impact the outcome of an election in one way or the other. In Pakistan, millions of youth voters have been registered especially after the latest census, and will be first-time voters — many of them […]
Pakistan’s competing narratives on May 10, 2018In the Oxford Dictionary, narrative means a spoken or written account of connected events; a plot or a story. However, the word narrative has been given a new meaning recently. Professor Robert Scholes of Brown said: “Right now there are competing narratives of actual events that go on. It’s what we call ‘spin’ and ‘spin […]
The run-up to the elections on April 22, 2018The tenure of the incumbent government will end on May 31, 2018. The premier will ask the president to dissolve the assemblies, and both PM and leader of the opposition will have to agree on the recommendation for caretaker prime minister. As per the media reports, PM Abbasi on Wednesday suggested the leader of the […]
The looming Cold War on April 8, 2018Since the emergence of Russian-Ukrainian conflict, many held the view that a new Cold War had started; whereas the Cold War, in fact, never ended with the demise of the Soviet Union because NATO — an instrument of the Cold War — remained intact. However, the escalation of tension between the Western countries and Russia […]
The Senate elections 2018 on March 16, 2018The Senate of Pakistan has elected the opposition-backed candidates Sadiq Sanjrani and Saleem Mandviwala as its Chairman and Deputy Chairman respectively. Sanjrani bagged 57 votes against 46 by Raja Zafarul Haq of PML-N. Later, in the polling to elect Deputy Chairman of the Senate, Saleem Mandviwala emerged victorious with 54 votes against 44 bagged by […]
Last ditch effort for peace in Afghanistan on March 7, 2018On Wednesday, President Ashraf Ghani opened a one-day conference in Kabul, and during his address, he offered a roadmap for peace to end the four-decade-long war in Afghanistan. New measures for the peace and reconciliation efforts include a ceasefire, recognition of the Taliban as a political party, and making efforts for the trust-building process as […]
Blasphemy laws and the Muslim world on February 27, 2018Since the assassination of Governor of Punjab, Salman Taseer, the issue of blasphemy law has become a focal point of discussion not only in national and international media but also in every nook and corner of our country. In view of the fact that blasphemy law was misused in the past, and was used as […]