Muddy waters and blind fish on January 25, 2018One of the predominant theories about the origin of the state, outweighing the Force and Divine theories is, the‘Social Contract Theory. It fundamentalises the origin of the state and provides legitimacy to its monopoly of using force for the protection of life, property and honour of individuals. The Social Contract theorises that, ‘individuals have consented, […]
The Balochistan episode on January 18, 2018The recent blatant political machinations in an unscrupulous manner not only exposed the vulnerability of the democratic order and the heavy handed tactics of the powers to be, it also proved that Balochistan is not only a strategic but a political backyard where controlled political explosion can be carried out any time. Not learning from […]
Conform or confront on January 11, 2018On the eve of New Year, the US president Donald Trump’s tweet regarding Pakistan took the discourse of war on terror to a new height and plunged the US-Pakistan relations, possibly, to an abyss. Our foreign policy czars, media intellectuals, the ubiquitous self-appointed defence analysts, who know anything and everything under the sun but not […]
Brewing Iranian conundrum on January 4, 2018The beginning of the year 2018 seems tumultuous both for the Middle East and South Asia. The last week of 2017 witnessed the triggering of anomic, anti-regime demonstrations beginning in the city of Mashhad in Iran that spread swiftly to other cities like Tehran, Tabriz, Isfahan and Shiraz including other remote cities and towns within […]
Centennial of the Swat state on December 28, 2017If not merged in 1969, the Swat state under the Walis would now be 100 years old. Prior to 1917, there were at least two attempts to establish a state but the first resulted in a dysfunctional entity and the second established a state but the ruler was dethroned within two years. However, the uniqueness […]
The looming eruption on December 21, 2017The current regional and international political scenario indicates that the region of South Asia is entering an advanced stage of turmoil, violence and political instability due to big powers’ clash of interest and regional countries’ perverse policy choices. It is also indicative of rewinding of the 1980s era but in a more complex, extreme and […]
Parliament should formulate all policies: Achakzai on December 18, 2017SWAT: The constitution is not only a shred of the paper a social contract between the federation and federating units and citizens and the state. Under the constitution, an elected parliament should have monopoly over formulating policies of the federation, said Mahmood Khan Achakzai, the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party chairman, said on Sunday. He was […]
PPP — compromise or critical juncture? on December 10, 2017Last week witnessed two important political events at this critical juncture through which the country and democracy are passing. Both the events have their own importance for drawing basic inferences regarding the role and stance of major political actors. On December 2, 2017, Mian Nawaz Sharif, the ousted prime minister and president of Muslim League, […]
Don’t break the mirror on December 4, 2017Prior to the botched attempt by the police to disperse the protesters of sit-in, apparently mobilised by the TLYR at the juncture of twin cities Islamabad — Rawalpindi, the discourse was dominated by a challenge to the writ of the state and causing disturbance to the lives of the citizens. The post dharna narrative, after […]
‘Individuals’ can’t minus me: Nawaz on December 3, 2017QUETTA: Continuing with his criticism of the Supreme Court-sanctioned Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to probe the Panamagate case, ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday said that no one could “minus” a person who had been “plus[ed]” by the public. He was addressing a mammoth public gathering along with Mahmood Khan Achakzai, which had been […]