On collusion course
Government and the PDM must meet half way For once the purveyors of doom and gloom may prove to be not far wrong. The political opposition, after successfully launching large rallies against…
A dangerous game
Government and opposition at each other’s throats As the PDM (Pakistan Democratic Movement) is about to kickstart its anti-government rallies in little more than a week, battle lines are being drawn between…
Shrinking space for dissent
While the people suffer Prime Minister Imran Khan, in a recent television interview with a local channel, summed up his world view about the historically troubled civ-mil relations of the past. He…
A homeopathic APC
Khan seems set on his crease with all the necessary support As a precursor to the opposition parties’ APC (All Parties Conference) being held today, the country’s lawyers held their own APC…
Jungle law in Punjab
And insensitivities of the rulers The misogynistic and heartless remarks made by the freshly appointed CCPO (Lahore Capital City police Officer) Umer Sheikh about a gangrape on his watch, on the outskirts…
The opposition’s faux unity
And Khans nonchalance After procrastinating for weeks, the much-delayed opposition moot-the multi-party conference- is now scheduled to be held on September 20. The fissures in the opposition ranks were quite in the…
Smoke and mirrors
‘Heads I win, tails you lose’ Prime minister Khan, while granting long-winded interviews to pliant anchor-persons, usually on his favourite channels waxes eloquently about the real or perceived achievement of his two-year-old…
Smoke and mirrors
‘Heads I win, tails you lose’ Prime minister Khan, while granting long-winded interviews to pliant anchor-persons, usually on his favourite channels waxes eloquently about the real or perceived achievement of his two-year-old…
A flawed mantra
The President’s lacklustre address Two years of the PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) being in power was celebrated by self-laudatory claims by the prime minister and his dream team. But President Arif Alvi’s address…
Maryam’s putsch
A flash in the pan? Was the show of strength by the PML-N in front of NAB’s Lahore headquarters on Tuesday merely a flash in the pan or a real change of…
‘Youm e Isthesal’
The day after The day after widespread national condemnation of India on the first anniversary of annexation of Kashmir, foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi got a bit carried away. In a talk…
The superior courts and freedom
A welcome respite As efforts to stifle whatever little is left of independent voices in the country continue unabated, it is the superior judiciary that has emerged as a strong advocate of…
Great people to fly with
Transparency gone wrong The other day I was watching CNN. In its brand reports segment, it briefly introduced Emirates. The Dubai based airline is now the fourth largest airline in the world.…
The politics of APC
No clear direction Finally, leader of the opposition in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif has declared himself fully recovered from Covid-19. Since his return from London in March the former Punjab chief…
Khan under siege
Turning a new leaf? Finally, the prime minister deemed it fit to attend the ongoing National Assembly budget session. His ‘surprise’ appearance in the lower house was ostensibly to answer to the…
The enfant terrible
A pyrrhic victory for judge Isa? The very day BNP-M (Balochistan National Party-Mengal) announced quitting the PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) ruling alliance, the prime minister in Karachi declared that the 18th amendment to…
Long hot summer…
The worst is yet to come The long hot summer of discontent is here. No matter what political views one holds, or whichever way one looks at it, there seems to be…