The elections have gone well, and the electoral frenzy is declining fast. Turnout was high, young people voted in large numbers and the idea of democracy seems more strongly rooted than ever before. People have pronounced their mandate. Yes, accusations of rigging are there. In Karachi it was obvious; there are reservations about some other [...]
Congratulation! People have reposed trust in you, for the third time. Welcome to the political wonderland— “Pakistan 2013”, it is far different from what it was in the late nineties. Kindly remember your manifesto; those who voted for you have certainly committed it to memory. During this era of media and judicial activism, days of [...]
Campaign for the upcoming general elections is characterised by violence, victimhood and rumours. Decision to go for elections in high militancy environment implied that pre-electoral violence would remain at a more than usual high pitch. The ongoing violence has two formats, electoral type and terrorist style. Former can be identified by low intensity explosions, and [...]
Pak-Afghan relations have an interesting dynamics; just when there is a feeler of improvement, they nosedive into another crisis. Nonetheless, it is encouraging that soon after each crisis, both Islamabad and Kabul resume taking measured steps to bring the ties back on track. Latest rupture came last month when Afghanistan’s presidential spokesperson Aimal Faizi said [...]
It is refreshing that all political parties are enthusiastically taking part in the forthcoming elections. One party even went overboard to approach the UNO for a trivial issue regarding delimitation of constituencies. Moreover, thanks to concerted behind the scene political process and relentless implementation of multiple development projects, of public interest, by the Pakistan Army, [...]
The unfortunate incident of Joseph Colony, Badami Bagh, Lahore, where homes, shops and Churches of the Christian community were set on fire, brought collective shame and embarrassment for the entire Pakistani nation. Each time an incident of violence against a minority community takes place, we think that it couldn’t have been worse. But soon after, [...]
High profile inaugural ceremony of Iran-Pakistan (IP) pipeline marks a watershed in the foreign policy of Pakistan. There was an interesting altercation during the recent weekly briefing at the foreign office:
• Question. “As Pakistan is going to sign IP Gas Pipeline but it seems that Pakistan is in a fix on account of US [...]
Last week a chaotic situation was created when almost entire country plunged into darkness due to sudden breakdown in power supply that took more than 36 hours to restore fully, with some cities without power for more than 14 hours. It is alarming that despite the fall-back systems and procedures, domino effect could not be [...]
There is an overwhelming perception backed by intelligence-based statements of the government functionaries that target killing of members of different sects, especially the Shiite, is part of the game to divide the Pakistani society. To keep Baluchistan on boiling point is also in the interest of those international players who are against Iran-Pakistan pipeline and [...]
Wonderland of nuclear non-proliferation has a treacherous history; it is full of fantasies, rhetoric, dilemmas, deceit and duplicity. Third nuclear test by North Korea, an interesting statement by the Speaker of Iranian Majlis about the status of his country’s nuclear programme, and recent imposition of fresh American sanctions on four Chinese and two Belarusian entities [...]
