Dear Readers,Since its inception in 1947 Pakistan has been surrounded by numerous issues that have stemmed efforts towards progress. The new State was established as a nation-state with democracy as its polity with the people to be the sole arbiters of power exercised through an elected sovereign parliament. All other institution were to be subservient…
The deliberate hash of local govt to reflect the diverse demographics of the ruling Coalition, PPP in the rural areas and MQM in the urban, Sindh Peoples Local Government Ordinance (SPLGO) was essentially a hybrid measure. The vertical integration of local govts with the Provincial level was never resolved. Condemned outright as a sell-out of…
The good governance for which “Tahir Square” reverberated last month is what the great silent majority of Pakistanis earnestly desire, a genuine grassroots democracy in place of the elaborate farce in place. Dr. Qadri surfed the public imagination by advocating this with his “Dharna” in Islamabad last month. Despite the moral merit of their plaints,…
Shrugging off its traditional reliance for foreign exchange earnings on jute goods, tea etc, economically BD has made giant strides, home remittances and garment manufacturing giving momentum to a whole basket of non-traditional exports. A cursory visit is enough to dispel the general perception prevailing in Pakistan that Bangladesh (BD) is doing economically far better…
The mobs venting their anger on Ms Benazir Bhutto’s assassination let loose an orgy of riot and mayhem, many took to the business of violence not only for looting and pillaging to enrich themselves but to take out their frustrations on those perceived living a life better than theirs. Anarchy threatened to engulf the entire…
Considered the usual month for political madness in Pakistan, March came early this year, the turmoil complicated by election year factors. The obstacles of the Federal and Punjab Governments notwithstanding, the Tehreek-i-Minhajul Quran (TMQ) “Long March” came nowhere near the “million” mark claimed by Dr Qadri, People in small numbers kept joining those assembled in…
Dear Readers, Of the many unresolved issues that hove soured Pakistan-India relations, the core issue is that of Indian Occupied Kashmir over which three wars have been fought so for; Jammu and Kashmir has been a continuous flash point between the two countries. The lost of these conflicts was waged in the mountainous Kashmir region…
Air Marshal (Retd) Asghar Khan waited sixteen years for judgment on the petition he filed in 1996 in the Supreme Court (SC) regarding the illegal funding of politicians in the 1990 elections. Authored by Chief Justice lftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, the detailed verdict concluded the elections were rigged against the PPP and that (then) President Ghulam…
Dear Readers, Developments in this region have transformed the world into a place where peace, and the pursuit of peace, have become core issues. Pakistan, a major player has a significant role that shapes and influences events in the region and beyond. Thus, the changing security scenario at the regional and global level and the…
What a difference a week and the intervention of mother nature can make! Even after the second and third debates, both of which he dominated, the third quite convincingly, Obama was still unable to stem the “Romney-surge” that developed menacingly against him in early Oct after he had seemed to sleepwalk through the First US…
