These nukes were made for using on October 27, 2014“Hell,” writes Richard Flanagan, the winner of this year’s Man Booker Prize for his powerful novel The Narrow Road to the Deep North, “is an eternal repetition of the same failure.” This quote undoubtedly possesses different meanings for different people but it seems particularly instructive for those interested in studying international relations, specifically from the […]
Wretched of the earth on October 13, 2014Living is a terribly difficult occupation. The truth of the matter is that you start dying the moment you are born. If your parents can afford to protect you against fatal diseases, you can hope to survive long enough to achieve adulthood where there await multiple hardships, challenges and traumas that have to be braved […]
For better or for worse on September 29, 2014Another year, another session. The agenda this time round ranged from human rights to social equality and security concerns but, while the speeches were top-notch as always, the sessions did not go so far as to generate consensus over tangible actions. The delegates that had converged on Manhattan for the 69th regular session of the […]
Madness and gravity on September 22, 2014After reaching dangerous highs of brutal violence, the capital’s crisis has tapered off to simmering, face-saving lows. At a loss for anything meaningful to say, the ill-fated gang of two has resorted to crass vulgarisms and clichéd gimmicks; they can now be seen desperately scanning the horizon, as if searching for forlorn love, calling out […]
Are we there yet? on September 15, 2014It has been more than a month now and the protestors are going nowhere. While Khan and Qadri may mourn overflawed presumptions and broken promises as they deliver their venomous rhetoric atop Mount Container, the sheer longevity of the protest has struck a deep chord with even the more sceptical sectors of Pakistani society. After […]
The morning after on September 1, 2014If you cannot make any sense of the ongoing political situation in the country, do not despair because you are not alone. Even though the crisis that engulfed the capital a fortnight ago peaked last weekend, it is far from over. When Khan and Qadri directed the followers of their respective cults to move forward […]
The undying rift on August 25, 2014While the political circus in Islamabad keeps audiences entertained for a little longer, let us divert our gaze towards some truly important developments that have been taking place elsewhere. One of them is the exchange of intermittent firing and mortar shelling between Pakistani and Indian border forces near Sialkot, after the latter allegedly opened fire […]
The imperfect storm on August 11, 2014The stormclouds are brewing once more. The monsoon season is about to start and it brings with it the promise of exciting developments. But will it rain on the 14th? Rains have the distinctive characteristic of stirring hitherto lifeless beings into anticipative action, political or otherwise. And so, first we had the Canadian shouting himself […]
Ramparts of peace on July 27, 2014We are here once again. I can only hope that by the time these lines reach you, a ceasefire to end the latest Israeli excursion into Gaza would have been brokered, thus putting an end to the endless misery and saving many lives in the process. However, if we must learn from history, we would […]
Growing pains on July 18, 2014Take a deep, hard look around yourself. Did you see it? No? Look harder because this is not the country of our forefathers anymore. Contrary to popular opinion, change has, indeed, found its way to us. Perhaps even more so than any other time in its history, Pakistan is undergoing a rapid socio-cultural transformation vis-à-vis […]