Shaukat Qadir

I have frequently and at some length I must confess, expressed apprehension about our new relationship paradigm with China, which of course has CPEC at its core. I had been hoping that — if nothing else — my relentless persistence might have prompted the stirrings of some sort of concern among those who softly tread […]

  A couple of days before Eid, I was at a Round Table Discussion. This article is prompted by what transpired there. The essential focus was on Trump’s diatribe addressed at Pakistan but, as all the Trump accusations were about Afghanistan, our collective attention shifted. I never seize to be amazed at the numbers of […]

The Trump doctrine has been aired. The first two prompt responses came from China and the Pakistani COAS. China quickly jumped to Pakistan’s defence and lauded our contributions to the war against terrorism. The army chief was blunter. He was quite categorical in rejecting ‘assistance’ and seeking only ‘trust’. Russia was not too far behind […]

  So finally Trump has dropped the other shoe. A young journalist had booked me for my views on Trump’s announcement many days before it actually came. When it came, he asked me to point out what was new. Here is the gist of my thoughts. After a rambling introduction, Trump claims to have reached […]

In all militaries assessing threats is a perpetual ongoing process. Being the military, the process is logical, linear, a step at a time, and laid out. It is carried out individually by all three services and collectively by the JS HQ. Since assessing the threat(s) must lead to response options, the entire process, at all […]

As the nation approaches its 70th Anniversary, to our utter shame, our sitting PM, has been disqualified by the SC from holding public office on grounds of dishonesty. Furthermore, he and the bulk of his family are likely to be subjected to criminal prosecution. Obviously, the PM, his family and cohorts have observations on the […]

I am sure that my last few articles have been as depressing to read, as they were for me to write. But things are really not that bleak. This week I am hoping to share my good cheer with my readers. All generations improve upon their predecessors. Were they not to, the world would become […]

It seems Nawaz Sharif has finally left the political scene. But time will tell. His political history makes interesting reading. His real political career started in 1980 when, as a protégé of the military establishment, he was selected to be Finance Minister Punjab. Although he had joined Pakistan Muslim League in 1976, he was obscure […]

Soon after the investigations of the JIT began to extend to, virtually, the entire Sharif family and became increasingly intensive, rumours began surfacing to the effect that the army was unhappy with the PM and desirous of his ouster. Rumours are very insidious. Since they usually begin with word-of-the mouth insinuations, it is impossible to […]

To pick up from my last week’s lamentation, I again begin with Rousseau; “all peoples must be governed”. For people to be governed, there must be a government. But, government(s) exist for only one purpose i.e. to ensure equal rights of all citizens, individually and collectively. To this end, all political philosophers, whether democratic, socialist, […]