The concept of cantonments on May 6, 2017While the concept of cantonments is virtually universal and has existed since the existence of militaries, but since we inherited the British version, I will dwell on, and expand it. Military garrisons are as old as war. Throughout history, routes of ingress and egress were protected. The assigned task, ie as an outpost intended to […]
The unsavoury Dawn Leaks on April 30, 2017In any fully functional democracy, a rebuke to the army by its PM would not be worth more than a cursory read. Our democracy is also functional but, not fully so. And, therefore, a rebuke to the army was an event of note. The entire saga has become increasingly unsavoury. The first report on the […]
Mother of all problems on April 29, 2017On April 13, the United States (US) dropped a bomb called Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB), nicknamed ‘Mother of all Bombs’, in the Afghan province of Nangarhar. The bomb weighing 11-tonnes is said to be the largest and most lethal non-nuclear weapon in the US arsenal. The intended target was the Islamic State of Iraq […]
Who is celebrating what in Panama case? on April 24, 2017On April 20, Supreme Court of Pakistan handed down a landmark judgment on the Panama Papers case in which Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and members of his family were the primary suspects. It was indeed a victory for justice. Only time will tell if this was an epic or a pyrrhic victory. I am a […]
Unwarranted opposition to CPEC II on April 17, 2017It is important for the federal government to reach out to people in Balochistan who may be adversely affected by the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The government should explain to them the need for the project. More importantly, it is essential for the government to put in every effort to alleviate the hardship of […]
Perception management propaganda on April 2, 2017In the old days, that which used to be called propaganda has been rebranded. It now goes by the far more unobtrusive name of perception management. This is, perhaps, more fitting. Propaganda, after all, was never synonymous with subtlety. As its greatest practitioner, Joseph Goebbels said, “If you repeat the same thing frequently and forcefully, […]
Are civil military relations souring again? on February 16, 2017I must begin by admitting that this effort is prompted by an article I read the other day by an individual whom I have held in some respect. He used to be someone who suffered from a disease that is extremely rare today; conscience. I must also repeat myself, I am not a conspiracy theorist […]
We must eradicate injustice on July 18, 2016The state of hopelessness in Pakistan is born from injustice. While the subject we, in Pakistan, are focusing on is corruption, it is essential to identify the fact that corruption can only flourish if injustice exists. Over the years, our judicial system has been eroding. The days when our judiciary boasted of eminent jurists are […]
Hopelessness is not the lack of hope on June 3, 2016Helplessness induces hopelessness, and history attests that loss of hope and not loss of lives is what decides the issue of war —B H Liddell Hart Hope is the one emotion all humans cling to desperately. A dying person hopes to see the next day, parents whose child has been missing for decades live on […]
America, the only moral country in the World on May 18, 2016I was sent the damning editorial carried by The New York Times on May 12 by two friends in the US. As I read it, I could not help feeling irked by words based on half-truths, and amused by the editorial’s implied belief in American morality. When the USA came into being, its founding fathers, […]