In Memoriam: Salmaan Taseer on January 4, 2020The Supreme Court judgment on Asia Bibi’s case formally vindicated Governor Salman Taseer’s stance on the issue. He did not need the vindication. He would not have cared for it. However, it is proper that it did come, and Asia’s ordeal came to an end. Taseer’s ultimate sacrifice made it nearly impossible for the case […]
Rule of law a promise yet to be realised on August 14, 2017The rule of law project was derailed in Pakistan from the beginning with the Constituent Assembly’s failure to come up with a Constitution within a reasonable time. The three attempts at a Constitution in 1956, 1962 and 1973 were short lived and the Constitution, as it exists now, has imprints of encroachments by military dictatorships […]
Judicial activism not a dirty word on June 29, 2017Judicial activism has become a controversial word in Pakistan owing largely to the post lawyers’ movement era of Justice (retd) Iftikhar Chaudhary. However, in its true meaning and spirit, it has a long history of acting as a counter-majoritarian instrument, ensuring rule of law and equality. Earlier this month, Chief Justice of the Lahore High […]
So long, S S Pirzada on June 3, 2017Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada is no more, and we are not quite sure how to respond to this news. Reading the few obituaries — essentially condensed versions of his resume — one could miss the most salient point about his life’s work ie a life spent in the service of autocracy and despotism. The universal advice […]
Dangerous questions on May 19, 2012Arguably, Franz Kafka’s best short story is ‘A little Fable’. The story in its entirety is: “‘Alas,’ said the mouse, ‘the whole world is growing smaller every day. At the beginning it was so big that I was afraid, I kept running and running, and I was glad when I saw walls far away to […]
Physician, heal thyself on May 12, 2011“Cheti bohreen ve tabiba nain te main mar gai aan” (hurry physician or else I will die) wrote Bulleh Shah in the 18th century. Bulleh Shah would have probably died waiting, had he been alive a few days ago. The young doctors of Punjab have recently ended a month-long strike. The primary demand of the […]
Fallible idols on May 5, 2011The country has recently returned from an almost five week long vacation. The wounds of the semi-final loss have mitigated to an extent, but by no means healed. The pervasive consolation is that it is just a game, not war. In any event you cannot win them all. The match has also resulted in some […]
Fighting in the shade on March 29, 2011In an inaccurate account of the Battle of Thermopylae in a Hollywood movie, the emissary of the Persian King Xerxes says to the Spartan King: “When we attack, our arrows will blot out the sun!” “Good; then we will fight in the shade,” replies the Spartan. Recently, a video of a young political activist in […]
Remembering a martyr on March 22, 2011“To die hating them, that was freedom,” writes Orwell in 1984. On March 23, 1931 Bhagat Singh was hanged to death in Lahore. Bhagat was convicted and executed for exploding a bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly. The bomb did not kill or injure anyone, as it was not intended to. Bhagat gave himself up […]
Muted intelligence on March 15, 2011The extended tenure of the director general (DG) Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) was supposed to terminate on the March 18, 2011. Another extension to his tenure has now been confirmed by the Defence Minister Ahmad Mukhtar. Ostensibly, the extension is imperative to ensure continuity in leadership in the war on terror. The rationale seems unconvincing. The […]