As the masses of Pakistan struggle to pick the debris of an uncalled for, month long, political crisis that literally paralyzed the people and economy in a number of major urban centres, there is a refreshing breeze from our brotherly county—Turkey. Over the years, Turkey has been able to evolve an enviable model of political…
The Republic of Uzbekistan, land of light, human wisdom and the custodian of ancient civilization has successfully surpassed all the hardships and achieved high standards of economic growth, social development, political participation and above all democratization process in the country. Its journey has now reached the shores of stability and sustainability; the sky is the…
A man starts yelling “fire, fire” in a movie theatre, the stampede towards the exits results in injuries (even deaths) among the cinemagoers. Restraining or punishing the man would technically violate his freedom of speech, allowing such “freedom” would result in injuries and deaths to innocent bystanders, what should be the logical course of justice?…
The Imran Khan and Tahir ul Qadri show, or as my friend Ejaz Haider puts it, the “Lucky Irani Circus”, finally made it to where they wanted to be in the first place and where the Mian Nawaz Sharif regime did not want them at any time, at the “D Square” in front of Parliament….
Historically progressive, Pakistan’s bourgeoisie has compromised with imperialism and feudal/tribal elements, with almost all political parties in Pakistan run like feudal estates. The basic ingredient of any functioning democracy, the present form of elections has reduced Parliament to a mere ritual-like exercise with those elected considering power a free licence to loot, plunder and oppress…
Ashok Nath’s book Izzat is an encyclopedic work on the history of cavalry regiments of India and Pakistan. The title of the book Izzat roughly translated as honor in English is the most appropriate single word description of the Indian army including cavalry. Honorable East India Company (HEIC) welded Indians of different religions and ethnicities…
At this point in time, more than ever before, the “synthesizing of thesis and antithesis” of all things is clearly taking place including the spiritual and intellectual history of humankind following simultaneously the two currents. One current is that of prophethood and religious beliefs and the other is the human philosophical/scientific tradition._ When these two…
Dear Readers, We live in on age in which on increasing number of nations are embracing democracy as a system of government. In some cases the political landscape of many nations has been characterized by processes, at times arduous, of democratization or struggle for democracy. After more than six decades of achieving independence, Pakistan continues…
President Obama in his address to the UN General Assembly on September 23, 2010 made a prediction that: “When we come back here next year, we can have an agreement that will lead to a new member of the United Nations – an independent, sovereign state of Palestine, living in peace with Israel.” This year,…
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan won the country’s first direct presidential elections. He was the 12th president of Turkey. The victory will extend Erdogan’s more than 10 year rule over the country for another five years. According to official figures, he secured approximately 52 percent, opposition candidate Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, a former diplomat and academic,…
