Category Archives: Politics

Failure all around

A version of this article was published in Dawn on June 8, 2011. It was written after the PNS Mehran attacks and before the murder of Syed Saleem Shahzad. We Pakistanis – even those of us who have become cynical … Continue reading

Posted in Pakistan, Policy, Politics | 4 Comments

Missing the policy window

Conspiracy theories about what actually happened on the outskirts of Abbottabad on the 1st of May aside, one of the upshots of those events has been a more open re-examination (at least in some of the English language dailies) of … Continue reading

Posted in Pakistan, Policy, Politics | 2 Comments

If wishes were horses…

In his column in Dawn, Akbar Zaidi argues against the need for further IMF loans for Pakistan: At the moment, Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves, which include previously lent IMF money, are sufficient, and while some international payments need to be … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Pakistan, Policy, Politics | Leave a comment

Radical Islam and business in cahoots, apparently

I have always found Nadeem Farooq Paracha’s (known in Pakistan and elsewhere as NFP) writing interesting; both in his earlier incarnation as music critic and his current one as social and political commentator (on his Smoker’s Corner blog for Dawn … Continue reading

Posted in Pakistan, Politics, Religion, Society | 6 Comments

The summer of our discontent

A version of this article was  published in Dawn on May 4, 2010. Things are about to get very rocky for the Peoples Party-led governing coalition. That is remarkable considering the last two years have not exactly been smooth sailing. … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Pakistan, Politics | Leave a comment

The economy should now be the biggest priority

A version of this article was published in Dawn on April 22, 2010. Earlier this week President Asif Ali Zardari affixed his signature to the Constitution (Eighteenth) Amendment Bill earlier this week. Now that the political class of 2008 has … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Pakistan, Politics | 1 Comment

18th amendment inches closer to the finish line

The Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Reforms (PCCR) finally adopted the Constitution (Eighteenth) Amendment Bill, 2010 on March 31. After months of  meetings, missed deadlines and some last minute histrionics the bill was adopted unanimously.  Parliament is expected to take up … Continue reading

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Operation to what end?

The Pakistan Army’s operation against the Taliban in Malakand division continues, as briefed daily to the press by the Inter-Service Public Relations (ISPR). It appears also that the war theater is expanding into South Waziristan Agency, while the Army tries … Continue reading

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A dangerous precedent

A three-member panel of the Supreme Court of Pakistan ordered the government on May 13, to cut petroleum and oil prices within a week. Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry asked, “who else will give benefit to the people if not … Continue reading

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It’s been a bad year

It has been a year since the then President, General (R.) Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency. By most people’s estimates it has been a bad year: Mr. Musharraf’s proclamation triggered a judicial crisis; former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto … Continue reading

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