Politics of common interest on August 20, 2016The deceptive performance of politicians on the current democratic stage has proved more than ever to be a recital of a lesson we refuse to learn: there are no loyal friends or permanent enemies in politics, only ‘permanent interests’. In the recent Pakistani political script this means: I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine. […]
If Quaid-e-Azam was with us today… on August 13, 2016Today marks a proud occasion for all Pakistanis. It’s been 70 years since we gained independence, and Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s rousing message of good governance, tolerance, and racial harmony to millions of supporters of the two-nation theory was delivered. Seven decades later, as thousands of men, women and children gather on the streets to commemorate […]
A new show on the road on August 6, 2016August marks the birth of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. It signifies political struggle and victory. Unfortunately, today Pakistanis are torn between celebrating the political success of the past and mourning the political failures of the present. The current energy in the political atmosphere is making waves, and a particular someone is ready to make […]
Whats happening in Sindh? on July 30, 2016The city of Karachi, once again, is seen as a pulsating, live entity in the headlines as politicians and Rangers wage their relentless war for supremacy. The recent events are a potboiler, glorifying violence and machismo. Sindh has just seen a seamless replacement of its chief minister. The media — print, electronic and social — […]
Erdogans recipe for disaster on July 23, 2016The exhibit of an impotent coup in Turkey by the fraction of the rebel group allowed the world to identify the extent of the country’s democratic frailty. The verve with which the Turkish public responded to Recep Tayyip Erdoðan’s call to storm the streets of Istanbul in condemnation of the coup is admirable. Democratic patrons […]
Hope against all hope on July 16, 2016Pakistan was grief stricken by the loss of a legend. Media was flooded with thousands of images of Abdul Sattar Edhi, each individual paying his/her tribute to the unparalleled services of a layman towards his country. Edhi saheb was a prominent Pakistani humanitarian and philanthropist, he was the father to the thousands placed in the […]
Deal or no deal? on July 9, 2016Upon his return, the last thing Nawaz Sharif wants to see are thousands of flags — red, green and black, blithely waving in the wind — celebratory political slogans piercing the air, and political activists swarming the streets of Pakistan. Unfortunately for the government, media’s frenzy over political activities has arrested the attention of millions. […]
Post-Eid: clash of the heavyweights on July 2, 2016Many felt Imran Khan was yet again swooping at an opportunity to unsaddle the prime minister in the wake of the Panama revelations. To attempt to do this for a second time is said to be ludicrous and politically eccentric. However, as the profundity of the Panama fiasco began to dawn on politicians and the […]
Media and the spin doctors on June 25, 2016Effective media management is reputed to be a difficult and a challenging task for successive governments, thus to ensure their positive profile they hand this task to well seasoned politicians, journalists or technocrats who master the acumen required for the tough job, entrusted by the prime minister, which allows them easy access. Information portfolios are […]
News channels power or profit? on June 18, 2016In the past decade or so the media landscape of Pakistan has changed dramatically. The staggering progression from being dominated by the one and only state media to over 100 privately owned TV channels leads us to believe that televised media industry is a lucrative one. However, if this lucrative nature of the media market […]