The straws in the wind
What is clear and what remains vague There is an agreement among all election surveys that the PTI has made a headway in its public rating. Where the surveys differ is the…
Glacier melting in Gilgit –Baltistan
Disaster-affected people need immediate succour The 7,253 known glaciers of Pakistan, earth’s biggest ice pack outside the Polar Regions, while a valuable source of water for domestic and cultivation purposes, are turning…
The talk of the town
And the dangers of turning deaf When different people with altogether different interests and backgrounds start raising an issue with a sense of urgency, one can brush it aside only at the…
Imran’s concerns
Fate of the election Quite suddenly, it appears, Imran Khan is ‘not hearing positive news’ about the election. Could it just be a coincidence that such news corresponded with thinner and smaller…
Harking back to Charter of Democracy
The way to hell is paved with good intentions For a number of years after the revival of democracy in 1988 the two party system prevailed in Pakistan. The 1990s however saw…
PIA problems
Matter of shame As if PIA wasn’t controversial enough already, now there is the matter of the DG CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) allegedly taking a group of friends for a special tour…
Weakening Parliamentary democracy
By inducting extremists into electoral fray By encouraging sectarian extremists and groups with terrorist affiliations to contest the elections the ECP has done a disservice to parliamentary system. That this has happened…
In the spotlight again
Renewed optimism for Afghan peace talks For the American leadership, the unprecedented scenes of harmony and goodwill that accompanied the June Eidul Fitr ceasefire and fraternal interaction between Taliban fighters, government soldiers…
Onwards to July 25
Sowing the seeds of political instability By the time people go to cast their votes on July 27, the electoral exercise would have become widely suspect in the eyes of the neutral…
Back on the IMF trail
Fiscal discipline aborted after last bailout programme Like the PPP regime preceding it, the PML-N government completed its five year term recently despite stutters and hiccups, euphemistically speaking, the events being regarded…
View from the other side
Intimidatory tactics e dozens of cases registered against PML-N for its attempted welcome of Maryam and Nawaz Sharif on Friday – as if the preemptive crackdown, and the blockade during the day,…
SBP alarm bells
Another rate hike With its third interest rate increase since January – by 100 points on Saturday to 7.5pc – the central bank is clearly ringing inflation alarm bells, even if it…
Continuing to live under threat of terrorism
From elections 2013 to elections 2018 Leaving at least 128 dead, the horrific Mastung suicide attack was the deadliest in Baluchistan’s history. This was the third attack in the country within a week…
Imran Khan’s derogatory remarks
Not the first time, probably not the last Not known for showing restraint when it comes to commenting on other political parties, state institutions and pretty much anyone who criticises him, Imran Khan…
Nawaz Sharif’s day
PML-N turns a new leaf On Friday the PML-N challenged some of the common assumptions about its politics. There was a popular belief, based on past experience, that in the absence of…
Candidates under the gun
Electoral security measures need beefing up The country has borne the brunt of the war on terror for two decades, and none has endured it more heroically than Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and the…
Nawaz Sharif’s arrival
And what he calls “the state above state” Nawaz Sharif’s arrival has united the hawks and doves in the PML-N. The hawks mustered party activists while Shahbaz is to lead them to…