My married life of 63 years was replete with love, warmth, trust and grace. How can I forget, even for a moment, the years spent in my wife’s company; twinkling before my eyes like the soothing rays of the full moon. For all those she met, she was a flower of courtesy, free from narrow…
Pakistan’s security objective places a heavy requirement on maintaining a consistent level of defense spending. The newly elected government will have a lot on its plate when dealing with the budgetary and the financial condition of the economy of the country. Presently the economy is on life-support even if all the indicators are turned around…
Despite fears of disruption and cancellation, General Elections in Pakistan has finally taken place as scheduled on 11 May 2013. Yes, there were sporadic violence, reports of vote tampering and attempts to disrupt the polls through use of force but in the given charged environment the domestic and international verdict initially was that these have…
Kashmir issue is on the agenda of the UN. Entire world, including India, acknowledges it as a dispute. However, Kashmir cause has not been able to attract required level of continuous sympathy at the international level. Nevertheless, there have all along been sporadic breezes of freshness through isolated efforts of Kashmiri and Pakistani diaspora. One…
An imperfect electoral exercise copied from western models our democracy has very little relevance to the local environment or the “genius of the people”. The “first past the post system” does not ascertain the real majority, the “run-off” measure does. Negating “proportional representation” bedevils good governance. PML (N) obtained 14.9 million votes in 2013, 32%…
While thankfully Imran Khan’s injury was not life threatening, it has immobilized him for the time being. One should be grateful that it was an accident rather than a security incident. However security guards were involved, therefore one must look at all the aspects of personal protection afresh, particularly when it involves the security and…
Twice Mian Nawaz Sharif was unjustifiably stopped from completing his stipulated term as PM, he has now taken oath of office again. Acquiring a “heavy mandate” in his 1997 comeback, Mian Sahib proceeded to do all the things he should not have, mostly getting rid of anybody who he thought stood in his way to…
Even as the democratically elected government led by the PPP became the first civilian government to complete its tenure, one finds very little to cheer about its performance in office. This was evident on August 29, 2012 when Syed Munawar Hasan the Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer ridiculed President Zardari’s claim of having served the cause of democracy….
Terrorist Activities in Pakistan Suicide BombingsA policeman and two women were killed and 27 others injured as a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden car into Domail Police Station in Bannu city of same District at 5:00am on May 8. Officials said the bomber drove the car through the densely populated area before hitting the Police…
“China and Pakistan have shaped a paradigm of neighbour-to-neighbour relations. Their time-tested friendship, described by some as “higher than the mountains and deeper than the oceans,” is not just a bunch of empty words,” a commentary in the state-run Xinhua news agency said as Premier Li Keqiang began his short visit to Pakistan on Wednesday,…
