Syed Kamran Hashmi

Earlier this week, Karachi Rangers Director General (DG), Major General Bilal Akbar, announced that the paramilitary force under his command had formulated a plan in conjunction with the Federal Government and the Sindh Provincial Government to create jobs for the youth in the largest city of Pakistan. The program addresses three different areas including a […]

If a list of the most despicable personalities is compiled today, Zia-ul-Haq, the former Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), would probably clench the top position in Pakistan. Trailing way behind him, a tight contest would be held between the current and the prior leadership of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP): Mullah Fazlullah, Baitullah Mehsud, and Hakeemullah […]

First, Donald Trump beat his opponents within the Republican Party (GOP) during the long convoluted process of primaries, through which each party elected its nominee for the 2016 US Presidential elections. Then, he turned around and extended the same harsh treatment previously reserved for his rivals to the GOP establishment, including the speaker of the […]

How to define a patriotic Pakistani. How do you distinguish one from an enemy agent? Across the world, these questions do not demand too much scrutiny since people define their patriotism based on their faith in the constitution. But as the constitution in Pakistan has been swept aside both by its politicians and its military […]

Keeping conspiracy theories aside, what would you think of the United States if it hired Baitullah Mehsud, the former chief of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, to fight the insurgency in Afghanistan. Or negotiated with Ayman al-Zawahiri to root out al-Qaeda? Again, before you give me a knee-jerk response, I urge you not to think of the ‘parallel […]

She stands in the middle of a crowded room, a microphone in her right hand, talking loudly, gesticulating at the uniformed Frontier Constabulary (FC) soldier, goading him to respond. With that image in mind, let me introduce you to the new era of journalism in Pakistan that runs only on one principle: in war, love […]

Dear Sir, Soon you will be crowned as the next most powerful person of Pakistan. While congratulating you on this historic occasion, I am deliberately avoiding the term oath-taking to denote the official transfer of power from the former to the future chief of army staff (COAS). With some reluctance, I want to call it […]

Reported by a renowned journalist, Cyril Almeida, and published in a reputable newspaper, Dawn, the story tells us the insider account of a high level meeting held in Islamabad convened to discuss the international isolation faced by Pakistan today. Realising our lack of influence on our neighbors after we failed to host the 19th annual […]

Imran Khan pulled a reasonably large crowd in Lahore last week against the alleged corruption of the Sharif family. It could be said that this was his last chance. The show had to be big enough to catch media’s attention. Why? Over the last few months, his performance to draw people in joining protests had […]

If you believe that 9/11 was an inside job (which means that the American government connived to kill its own people); that the US raid in Abbottabad of May 2, 2011 in which the leader of the al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden was killed is a US drama; that Malala Yousafzai has contributed nothing except to […]