A game-changer or what? on July 27, 2017As the nation waits for a landmark judgment by the apex court, much of which seems written on the wall, what is being seriously watched is how far it may go to stop and reverse the southward slide of country’s moral fibre, decay of state institutions, political, financial or bureaucratic. The Panama ordeal and its […]
Panama of the idiot box on July 23, 2017ISLAMABAD: When the Supreme Court begins hearing the contempt case against a major newspaper group on July 25, the interesting issue would not be what the newspaper group says in the SC but how deep the court digs into its Pandora’s Box. Why this box is a can of worms can and should be revealed […]
Watching the future of history on July 21, 2017AS I write these words, when the final hours or days of the Panama trial are making history in the Supreme Court, it is difficult to write on such a subject. But today nothing else seems to matter. Two big theatres, the court and the media, are visible with the same case fought by the […]
Resignation is a much better option for Nawaz on July 16, 2017ISLAMABAD: Choudhry Nisar Ali Khan’s reported remarks that only a miracle could now save Nawaz, made reportedly at the last cabinet meeting, have confirmed a serious split in the party, and even in the family ranks. The issue is whether Nawaz Sharif should resign and save the party or keep fighting until packed off legally […]
Save the system or the family? Call a friend on July 13, 2017The three judges of the 5-member Khosa bench who wanted detailed investigations before disqualifying the prime minister have proved deadlier to the Sharif family than the two who declared him dishonest straight away. The three judges named their own investigators, duly backed and fully assisted by the military and the ISI and asked the team […]
Convoluted politics needs a firm message on July 6, 2017I wanted to write about the politics of Imran Khan this week but fast paced developments in the Panama case, pushed me to focus on the convoluted state of legal and political affairs that have grabbed national psyche. How unfortunate that if there is any law in the country, it starts shaking against heavyweights but […]
As Rehman Malik heads for JIT, what is Zardari doing on June 17, 2017ISLAMABAD: It appears that Asif Ali Zardari has finally decided to go for the kill against the Sharif family. In his considered view the appearance and testimony of Senator Rehman Malik, due to be presented in the JIT on June 23, will be the final nail in the Panama coffin. But in his latest meeting […]
Real versus fake democracy on June 15, 2017As Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif appeared before the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) probing his family’s alleged corruption on Thursday, news broke in Washington that President Donald Trump was being investigated for ‘obstruction of justice’ by the Federal Bureau of Investigation-named counsel Bob Mueller. The investigation was termed by the Washington Post as a ‘turning point’ […]
Enter a new patron saint: some deception, some truth on June 12, 2017Underneath the political heat and partisan grandstanding on the streets of this Capital city, cool and cozy drawing rooms are humming with numerous stories and theories, narrated by players, big and small. Some of these stories are astonishing, some plausible, mostly narratives of deception and disinformation, yet these give an inkling of what may be […]
Down the JIT rabbit hole on June 8, 2017When the media circus begins almost daily outside either the Supreme Court or the Judicial Academy in Islamabad, where PM Nawaz Sharif and his family is going through a process of serious questioning, it is time for free and hilarious entertainment. But behind the circus is a well coordinated, well-thought strategy. It is to keep […]