Another orbit around the sun and 2017 comes to an end. It was quite an eventful year, but then which year is not? However, rise of the alt-right gave it a tinge of danger. Brexit raised eye-brows. Panama Papers wrenched some guts. Finally, Trump’s win served as an unpleasant surprise. As we stand on the […]
CPEC and echoes from the past
Allow me to start with an extract as we take a walk back in time: “In June 1635, the Spanish barbers (that is, blood letters) of Mexico City protested to the victory about the presence of Chinese barbers there. The viceroy referred the matter to the city council, which in its turn recommended to the […]
Hollow honour
History is a great teacher. Buried between the pulverulent layers of the past there are lessons for all the nations in the world. Then there are certain themes that are true, almost universally, for all the countries of the world. One of them, glaringly visible and easily understandable is the link between the progress of […]
PSX — will it re-bound?
Stock markets are a reflection of people’s expectations, which make them inherently fickle 2016 was the annus mirabilis for Pakistan’s stock market, giving a staggering 46 percent return. This was fortunate for the government as they had installed it as a shield against almost every argument they expected against their economic performance. Unfortunately, this […]
Middle East: energy and diplomacy
A cauldron of shifting alliances, seething revolts and constant unrest — these are some of the unique characteristics of Middle-Eastern politics, especially after World War-I. Syrian conflict, the Sunni-Shia Schism, the proxy wars. Move a little towards east where the long standing crisis between Israel and Palestine never seems to settle. To the south, one […]
Perks of Globalisation
The evolutionary process of globalization has changed the world. William Bernstein, in his book “A Splendid Exchange”, discusses this evolution and the denouements that continue to shape the world hitherto. From the Smoot-Hawley tariffs to the 1945 “Proposals” that “opened the floodgates of globalization”, many factors, many actors and many perspectives have changed. The […]
Donning the Ramazan cloak
Scorching sun, beads of perspiration cascading down our faces… a dried up throat with eyes cushioned by black spots depicting signs of sleeplessness, and a slight inanition takes hold while people go their work with a hint of relief that they will be coming back home before their routine time. The month of Ramazan is […]
We, humans
“Now that we have learned to fly in the air like birds, swim under water like fish, we lack one thing — to learn to live on earth as human beings” Literature is beautiful. It not only attracts the readers with its meaningful prose but also, at times, lays bare the evil inside us. It […]
The new superpower?
“[Anyone], in any vocation, manual or mechanical…may by honest industry and ordinary prudence, acquire an independent provision for himself and family; so high are the wages of labor, averaging at least double the rate in England, and quadruple that in France; so comparatively scanty the population; so great the demand for all kinds of works; […]
Hope versus terrorism
We, as a nation have withstood many troubles, trials and tribulations in just a short span of 70 years. These trails multiplied right after the world-changing events of 9/11 ensued in the United States of America. While being continents apart, its effects have not been shy to appear themselves here in the South-East Asia since […]