What a tangled web we weave on September 2, 2016Everything in Pakistan is more or less the way it should be. The prime minister (PM) is travelling around and expressing “high hopes.” The chief minister (CM) of the Punjab was in Turkey, while his capital city was under water, par for the course one might say. The CM of Sindh was busy making sure […]
Raindrops keep falling on my head on August 26, 2016Hats, it is all about hats. There was a time when no ‘gentleman’ would be seen in public without a hat. In our part of the world the ‘Sola Hat’ (solar hat?) was everywhere. Policemen wore it, bureaucrats wore it, engineers wore it, anybody that ever ventured out in the sun wore it. I remember […]
Democracy! on August 19, 2016Considering the week that was with a major death anniversary, a national birthday and other such stuff, I have this persistent and irrepressible need to write something utterly profound. But then clarity is better than profundity. I grew up in the Pakistan of the 1950s and 1960s. Indeed that was a different Pakistan. I left […]
Why a new army chief at this time? on August 12, 2016Pakistan is at war. The Pakistan armed forces are fighting against terrorists. Based upon reports from the Inter Services Public Relations, the army operation is going well. However, it is clear from what has happened in Balochistan and elsewhere recently, the war is not over yet. During an ongoing war that seems to be going […]
August doldrums on August 5, 2016Politics in Pakistan is becoming much too predictable. Imran Khan is up in arms once again, and the cleric from Canada might join him again. The prime minister does not seem to have recuperated completely from his medical interventions. Load shedding continues apace both the announced and the unannounced sort, creating the expected discomfort among […]
US presidential elections on July 29, 2016Hillary Clinton is now the official candidate of the Democratic Party for president of the United States (US). This is a historic first. Previously, women were selected as candidates for vice president in both major parties. But Clinton is the first woman to win in a primary election and become a presidential candidate. The stage […]
Something strange is going on on July 22, 2016It is more than six weeks since Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif had his operation, and we the people of Pakistan have not yet seen him or heard him on TV. On Wednesday, July 20, the media reported that the PM was going to address the nation. I waited for that to happen but not […]
Individuals or institutions? on July 15, 2016Mr Edhi is gone and the prime minister (PM) is back. Along with the PM load shedding has comeback with a vengeance. And yes, the monsoons are here, and every time it rains more than a couple of millimetres, most major streets in Lahore turn into open sewers. I am still waiting to see the […]
On Ramazan, Pakistan and elsewhere on July 1, 2016During the month of fasting most Pakistanis become totally consumed by ritual semi-starvation and the surrounding religious and dietary requirements. That, of course, also means that by midday most people in offices and shops are starting to lose their cool in more ways than one. And the way people start driving as the time to […]
On Ramazan, Pakistan and elsewhere on July 1, 2016During the month of fasting most Pakistanis become totally consumed by ritual semi-starvation and the surrounding religious and dietary requirements. That, of course, also means that by midday most people in offices and shops are starting to lose their cool in more ways than one. And the way people start driving as the time to […]