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Afghanistan’s poll conundrum – Faizullah Jan
Mankind need government, but in regions where anarchy has prevailed they will, at first, submit only to despotism. We must therefore seek first to secure government, even though despotic, and only when government has become habitual can we hope successfully to make it democratic.
— Bertrand Russell.
PEACE in the world [...]
Power and prejudice – Irfan Husain
JUST when we thought the United States had moved into a postracism phase with the election of Barack Obama, Jimmy Carter reminded us that this odious colour prejudice still lingers like a bad smell.
This should not have surprised us, although we had been swept away by the euphoria caused by [...]
Jinnah’s Supreme Court – A. G. Noorani
“The Privy Council have on several occasions absolutely murdered Hindu law, and slaughtered Mohammedan law; with regard to common law, the English law, of which they are the masters, undoubtedly they command the greatest respect of every practitioner and of every judge in this country.” Mohammad Ali Jinnah had [...]
Aid not the answer – Tasneem Noorani
Ever since one can remember, there was a comfortable master-servant relationship in the urban areas and a chaudhry-tenant relationship in the rural areaS. It was a relationship of give and take and some understanding.
The government’s knee-jerk response is schemes involving free distribution of cash like the BISP, launching of [...]
Our corrupt ways – Babar Sattar
The writer is a lawyer based in Islamabad.
Transparency International has issued its annual report listing Pakistan amongst the most corrupt nations in the world and has highlighted General Musharraf’s National Reconciliation Ordinance as the point when we voluntarily regressed into a state of madness that justifies looters.
While the NRO continues [...]
Who is responsible for our problems? – Dr Masooda Bano
The death of twenty women in a stampede in Karachi last week when a trader started to distribute 10kg sacks of flour and other food items free of charge is an extremely sad incident and a critical reminder of the dire state of affairs and deteriorating [...]
Obama’s dilemma in Afghanistan – Zafar Hilaly
Barack Obama has reached his “Lyndon moment” sooner than many expected. This moment occurs when a US president has to decide whether to commit his country and his own political future to a war that America must win but which she manifestly cannot, or to safeguard his political career, [...]
Occupying hearts and minds – Asad Durrani
The US has won our hearts and minds (H & M) with little effort. At the cost of a drone mission, many of us, even if not exactly enamoured by the US, were bowled over. This was only the collateral benefit since Baitullah Mehsud had to be eliminated. That [...]
Return to the back channel – Asif Ezdi
As a presidential candidate, Obama publicly acknowledged the importance of resolving Kashmir. His interest of course was not in getting the Kashmiris their rights, but in winning Pakistan’s full cooperation in supporting the US war in Afghanistan. He even did some loud thinking about appointing Bill Clinton as [...]
Guerrilla warfare —Shaukat Qadir
To an old soldier who did his humble best for as long as he soldiered, as proudly as he could, it is heart warming to see the army of today learning so swiftly. It takes a very special breed of officers of all ranks and their men to learn to operate [...]
Oasis of learning? —Saleem H Ali
Clear timelines for democratisation need to be established by the monarchy, similar to what has already been done in Kuwait to some degree. Misogynistic laws about women need to be addressed most imminently across the kingdom (not just in enclaves) — there is no room for delay on this [...]
Begging with dignity —Rafia Zakaria
In our sixty-second year, perhaps it’s time we came to terms with the reality that we are and have always been a nation of beggars. Ironically, it is only in embracing this grim reality that we can find the opportunity to change our future
If the recent summit in New York [...]
Need for reforms in Madaris sector – Chaudhry Naeem Sidhu
Despite recent achievements of the Government of Pakistan in eradicating the menace of terrorism from the northern areas of the country, it would be naïve to conclude that [...]