Perils of the Judiciary’s populist rhetoric on April 12, 2018Given the political history of our judiciary, exceptional level of trust is needed to dismiss an impression, which PMLN and many among analysts believe, that at least some in judiciary are hand in glove with the deep state. For a moment let’s assume there’s nothing clandestine which might be aiming at shooting down the very […]
What’s wrong with ‘Pakistan Day’? on March 29, 2018Much in line with an almost 40 year old tradition, this year to March 23, or Pakistan Day, was kicked off with a 31-gun salute in the federal capital and 21-gun salutes in the provincial capitals. This is accompanied by military drills, acrobatic air shows by fighter planes, patriotic songs and even an Android video […]
Welcome to the ‘past’ on March 22, 2018Nawaz Sharif’s ‘respect the vote’ campaign reminds me of a campaign led by ZA Bhutto, following his release almost a month after the coup led by General Zia in July 1977.He took the north-south train route for mass mobilization in favour of his narrative that the country belongs to the people, hence democracy is the […]
In Zardari’s defence on March 15, 2018Over the last one week, many media analysts were mourning and chest beating over Pakistan People Party’s (PPP) decision to reject Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) offer of bringing a consensus candidate for the post of Chairman Senate and that the party instead stood with the side of the ‘independent’ senators, most of whom were of […]
Tokenism won’t help women on March 8, 2018When Benazir Bhutto got elected as the first woman premier of a Muslim country in the winter of 1988, it was a spectacular feat in the real sense of the word. With understandable awe, the whole world admired this achievement. A woman had been elected Prime Minister (PM) of a country which had just passed […]
Behind the Judicial smokescreen on March 1, 2018Political history in Pakistan oscillates between the years of democratic rule and military dictatorship. Incidentally, in every decade of Pakistan’s existence in the last seventy one years, this back and forth of regimes has happened between the 7th and 9th year of the decade. For instance, the first inning of a democratic regime ended in […]
No, Asma would not agree to a state funeral on February 15, 2018When news of renowned human rights defender Asma Jahangir’s passing broke out on Sunday, it seemed as if the most marginalised sections of Pakistani society had been orphaned. She was an active defender of democracy and human rights till the night before her death. So much has been written about Jahangir in the last few […]
Pakistan’s adrenaline fuelled judiciary on February 8, 2018Medical science tells us that the hormone known as adrenaline is released inside an animal’s body in response to fear, anxiety or excitement. What is more interesting is that the hormone is secreted as a result of the body’s psychosomatic functions — the presence of a real cause for fear or excitement hardly matters. Just […]
Why religious intolerance isn’t surprising on February 1, 2018As if the situation of religious freedom in Pakistan was any good in the previous years, in early January, the US re-designated Pakistan on the watch list of countries where the states have either tolerated or unleashed outright violations of religious freedom. It has been reported that for the last fifteen years, the so-called independent […]
Our rot is beyond Zainab’s murder on January 18, 2018The past week has been characterized by the Pakistani people’s collective rage over the rape and murder of six year old Zainab in Kasur. When the incident was initially reported, the police proceeded with typical lethargy and attempts to downplay the incident. Zainab’s disappearance failed to get the attention it needed from the police and […]