Saad Hafiz

Can the upcoming national elections in Pakistan fulfil electoral promises and bring about much-needed change? The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) political party, led by former cricket star Imran Khan, believes it can reverse the country’s declining fortunes. Khan unveiled a first 100-day revitalisation plan which includes transformation in governance, spurring economic growth and ensuring national security. […]

Three-time Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif raised a firestorm and enraged power circles in the country with his candid statement in an interview, that it was Pakistan based ‘non-state actors’ who carried out the 1998 terror attacks in Mumbai. As expected, the Indian press revelled in Sharif’s comments as confirmation of Pakistan’s complicity in the […]

The leaders of Pakistan’s Islamist parties have alleged that secular forces have been trying to replace the country’s Islamic identity. They warned that these ‘elements’ wouldn’t succeed in their efforts because of Pakistan’s religious parties. However, these assertions are quite questionable. The ‘Islam is in danger’ bogeyman being peddled by Islamist parties is as old […]

The countdown to the 2018 general elections in Pakistan has started with political parties dusting-up election manifestos, sprucing up slogans and activating electoral strategies. However, the upcoming elections won’t bring about transformative change. In fact, voters will probably go through the same cycle of hope and disillusionment. However, choosing a government through the ballot box […]

Since coming to power in 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by Prime Minister Modi, has extended its electoral gains across India. The BJP now rules 21 of India’s 29 states. The government receives high marks for its handling of the economy, foreign policy, technology, and infrastructure. Under Modi and the BJP, India’s rise […]

Prime Minister Sharif’s contentious removal suggests that the one-sided tussle between ‘powerful’ generals and ‘weak’ politicians continues in Pakistan. Historically, the military’s top brass has been the source of all power, castrating the civilian leadership and making parliament ineffective. Failure to secure the subordination of the military elite to political authority has impeded the advancement […]

Once again, Pakistan, a country used to self-inflicted pain, is in the news for the wrong reasons. After much confusion and delay, the Pakistan Foreign Office (FO) finally confirmed that in June the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) will add Pakistan to its ‘grey list’ of countries for not doing enough to curb terrorist financing […]

The damaging hostility between India and Pakistan over Jammu and Kashmir has now acquired ominous dimensions. Beyond the regular border shelling by both countries, there is a marked increase infrequency of cross-border attacks on Indian forces by militant groups which are allegedly supported by Pakistan. The tension in Kashmir has hardened public opinion in India, […]

The recent state-sponsored Islamic directive, or fatwa, forbidding suicide bombings issued by 1,800 Muslim clerics in Pakistan has received favourable reviews from the establishment. President Mamnoon Hussain effusively described the fatwa ‘as providing a strong base for the stability of a moderate Islamic society.’ But sceptics, like this writer, wonder how a single fatwa on […]