Of Trump’s trumping and domestic shenanigans on January 14, 2018I had decided not to comment on Trump’s latest tweet; too many were already doing so. Moreover, I had said my bit. No point in repeating it ad infinitum. Yet many others are of the opposite persuasion. Thus they prefer to continue wasting time as they attempt to shame Trump and the US over recent […]
Pay it forward on January 7, 2018The other day, I was just idling and reminiscing. I recalled a childhood memory. On one occasion when my mother had rushed to see her ailing father, our maternal grandfather, a Judge of the Sessions Court, Sheikh Laiq Ali, was talking to my mother. He was telling her that she should not have rushed to […]
Musings on schooling and education on January 4, 2018In 1925, Paul Scopes, a Tennessee school teacher was convicted of violating the state’s laws. Yet all he had done was to teach “any theory that denies the story of Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible, and teach instead that man has descended from a lower order of animals”. Scopes had, of […]
Living in interesting times? on December 31, 2017I am sure I have pointed out earlier as well that, in Chinese, wishing somebody to live in interesting times, is considered to be a curse. I am even more certain that I have also mentioned earlier that Pakistan, so far, seems destined to live under this curse. Having been ‘out of circulation’ for the […]
Ecstasy of living on December 3, 2017I sent my last out-of-turn submission on the Khadim Hussain-led dharna. The piece was carried on November 28, and was written in pain. I had not then read the instrument of surrender that we so gleefully and victoriously signed. I submit this today in shameful agony. We have disgracefully acquiesced to all the demands made […]
The stupidest thing to do or a clever move? on November 28, 2017Our political history is replete with oft repeated stupidity. While there are incidents galore dating back to the late 1940s, let us stick to recent history, which we all are familiar with. Musharraf’s botched attempt to sack Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry as CJ was one. His persecution of Chaudhry merely resulted in glorifying a judicial idiot; […]
Homeward bound on November 26, 2017Having wandered with pen in hand, as it were, across much of the globe in our recent quest to grasp the current geopolitical environment — it’s now time to turn our attention inwards to better understand the prevailing implications for Pakistan and our available options. We are, of course, mindful that our foremost concern must […]
China and the ME on November 19, 2017Alistair Cooke, a former British diplomat is well versed in Middle East affairs. He recently penned a piece with the title, Saudi Arabia’s Desperate Gamble. And it pretty much sums up his view that Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman has done just that. I agree. Cooke concludes that this wager is likely to fail. I, […]
ME volatility, Iran and China on November 12, 2017My last piece concluded with this thought: if containing China is the primary American interest, it is very probable that the US will ensure Afghanistan remains in a state of insecurity; to such an extent that the country becomes a staging post from which instability is exported to all its neighbours, and thus indirectly to […]
Of geo-political kaleidoscopes on November 5, 2017We are passing through a unique period in human history. The aftermath of World War-II saw the emergence of a bi-polar world and with this the introduction of such concepts as the Cold War era; which produced both proxy wars and lessons in the insecurities that this new world order brought with it. Fast-forward a […]