Perils of privatisation
The government of Pakistan has embarked on a fresh programme to privatise the remaining state-owned enterprises and properties. Our country has already gone too far along the road of privatisation,…
Category: South Asia
Bad old days
The Trump administration made both its National Security Strategy and the National Defence Strategy public in December and January respectively. The new documents clearly reflect the priorities, intentions, aims and…
Safety denied
We are shocked, angry and emotional at the brutal rape and murder of 7–year-old Zainab in Kasur. But it took one year and 12 mutilated bodies of young girls and…
Troubled ties
The deteriorating relations between two longstanding allies – Pakistan and the US – reflect a growing conflict of interests. Mutual relations and alliances are built on common interests and goals.…
Benazir’s struggle
Benazir Bhutto sacrificed her life for a cause. She wanted to see Pakistan as a modern, progressive and pluralistic democratic country. She knew that her clear and bold stance against…
This broken system
A Supreme Court bench headed by Honourable Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar has directed the Sindh government to provide clean drinking water to the people of Sindh. The honourable…
PPP: the struggle within
There are many questions that the PPP leadership needs to answer in order to regain the confidence and support of the people and the glory that it has lost over…
No end in sight
The final outcome of the Islamabad sit-in doesn’t come as a surprise. The reason for this outcome is simple. What else can you expect from a visionless, confused and directionless…
A disturbing trend
The Pakistani state has mixed religious beliefs and politics to such an extent that it has become impossible to separate the two. The use of religion by the state to…
No surprises
The by-election in Peshawar’s NA-4 constituency failed to produce any big surprises. As expected, the PTI won this seat by a large margin. If the by-election in Lahore was all…
Poverty and economic policies
Part – I In 1992, the UN declared October 17 as the International Day to Eradicate Poverty. Since then, on this day governments around the world pledge to reduce poverty…
Politics and reforms
A number of factors have undermined the integrity of Pakistan’s electoral process over time. Widespread electoral fraud has eroded democratic development, political stability and rule of law. Successive undemocratic regimes…