Governor Amir Muhammad Khan Kalabagh’s logic behind not closing down the red light area “Hiramandi” is very revealing, “If you ban them they will be all over the place.” This in fact eventually did happen! When Bhutto nationalized their assets in 1972, many financiers and industrialists invested their liquidity in real estate domestically and and/or…
Serving Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav was sentenced to death by a Field General Court Martial (FGCM) under the Pakistan Army Act (PAA) for running a clandestine terror network aimed at destabilizing the country, Jadhav’s arrest was a major counterintelligence victory against Indian subversion. According to Jadhav, he was tasked by India’s spy agency, the…
Dear Reader, It is an irony that even after almost 7 decades since its birth Pakistan is still in the quest for a stable democratic system. While the process of democratization has been very slow, its nature has remained fragile and vulnerable to nondemocratic interventions, this despite our founding fathers ardently supporting and emphasizing upon…
Among the decisions by the Supreme Court (SC) in the NAB case last Friday was the verdict de-notifying three NAB Regional Heads. Strictly according to the rules of law they had reason to give their draconian decision but the Honourable Judges could have equated the grey areas in the circumstances of their appointments by taking…
Twenty four years of shared history between the eastern and western wings of Pakistan preceded the violent emergence of Bangladesh on a groundswell of hate and bitterness on 16 Dec 1971. Yet a little more than 2 years later when Zulfikar Ali Bhutto visited Dhaka in 1974 at the invitation of Shaikh Mujib-ur Rahman, he…
Writing in the New York Times (NYT), Amanda Taub and Max Fisher talked about shadowy networks within govt bureaucracies, referred to as “Deep States”, undermining and coercing elected govts very much like the spate of leaks be-devilling the Trump Administration. They compared the present situation in the US to countries like Egypt, Turkey and Pakistan,…
Despite the complex and demanding negotiations during the tumultuous days of March 1971, a positive outcome was possible and seemed near but it came to grief because of the game plan of extremists of both the sides. The plans for military action to restore the writ of the central authority in East Pakistan was unanimous,…
Dear Readers, Poor governance, incompetence, lack of transparency, distribution and transmission losses (euphemism for theft), have contributed to the energy crisis in Pakistan. While Pakistan’s economic activity has been affected it has also caused considerable public unrest as prolonged load-shedding of electricity (and gas) have become the norm. Pakistan’s problems have com pounded because of…
A bomb blast in May 2002 targetting the French naval technicians in a bus outside the Sheraton and Pearl Continental Hotels in Karachi where New Zealand’s cricket team was staying caused the Kiwis to terminate their tour. Five years later Benazir Bhutto’s tragic assassination led to Australia cancelling their tour of March 2008, the Champions…
Chairing a high-level security meeting in Lahore on Wednesday attended by all the Corps Commanders in the Punjab, the COAS Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa announced the launching of “Raadul-Fasaad” (elimination of violence). Focussed in the Punjab this offensive by the Pakistan Army constitutes the decisive phase of countering militants of the terrorist-kind. Aimed at “indiscriminately”…
