A global anti-corruption wave on December 8, 2017While ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif repeatedly complains that he is being targeted singularly on charges of corruption, it may give him some solace that corruption is now the top agenda item the world over, especially money laundering and tax evasion. Some examples are: -A story not really covered by the Pakistani media is about […]
A triple whammy hard to absorb on December 7, 2017A triple whammy is defined in some dictionaries as three simultaneous deleterious blows with compounded effect. On Tuesday the Sharif family politics faced something even worse. On the legal front the Punjab High Court released the Model Town report, which seriously implicates the Shehbaz Sharif government. Nawaz Sharif’s case in the NAB court took a […]
A surrender or justified pragmatism? on December 1, 2017Events in Islamabad this week can be described in many ways. Some have called it a total surrender of the elected government, others have said it was a show of pragmatism, or simply realpolitik. The pathetic performance of the politicians was apparent at several levels exposed by the dharna of the ultra-right religious forces at […]
The Army speaks out, better get the message on November 24, 2017The Pakistan Army’s spokesman was almost forced by the developing situation to speak out on key security and political matters on national TV channels. What the ISPR director general said on Wednesday night must serve to open some foggy eyes. Maj General Asif Ghafoor of the ISPR did not mince words. He stated what was […]
The Establishment: good, bad and ugly on November 17, 2017An unexpected but much needed public debate has begun on the nature of the Establishment and its role — good, bad or ugly. It is time some straight facts drive this debate. Those who pretend they do not know are hypocrites who lack the courage to call a spade a spade. And when they speak […]
A gridlock of monumental proportions on November 10, 2017A unique situation has developed in the country and apparently no one is either confident or keen to end this national stalemate. The salient features of this situation can be summed up as follows: -The Parliament has become almost dysfunctional. As the biggest beneficiaries of this system, the elected leaders are unable, or uninterested, to […]
PM Abbasi’s difficult tightrope walk on November 4, 2017Stopgap Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, who flew to London on Friday, for the second time in a week, is finding it hard to continue his balancing act on the tightrope. This rope is being pulled by the tough and demanding duties and obligations of his office at the one end and his disgraced political […]
Accountability, and conspiracy, season on October 27, 2017So much has happened in the last few days that it may be difficult to pack it all together in one piece. But some things stand out and need specific mention. Two trends are clear — talk and action on accountability and conspiracies. To be fair, some sort of across the board accountability has begun, […]
Time to bail out economy using Reko Diq on October 20, 2017Many media reports and some politicians have recently expressed fears that after the huge fine of $700 million imposed on Pakistan in the IPPs case by international arbitrators, a much bigger and devastating fine is coming our way in the Reko Diq case. Since I started the initial media reporting on the subject some years […]
Options before the country are ‘very limited’ on October 16, 2017With back to back press conferences by the army spokesman and almost offensive and very aggressive matching responses by the ministers, a situation of confrontation has already been created. Though the GHQ is trying to put some cold water on the smoke gushing out like vapours coming out of a pressure cooker, no one can, […]