Whither the PTI?
AT PENPOINT
The PTI rally in Peshawar was its first major activity after the D-Chowk rally which ended on 26 October 2026, though it did...
The myth of judicial failure
In Pakistan, delays in the justice system are often seen as a failure of the judiciary. When cases remain pending for years, it is...
The dangerous normalization of emergency power
When Donald Trump announced that beginning February 1, eight of the USA’s closest allies would face a blanket 10% tariff on all goods entering...
Sportsman Spirit
The word sportsmanship was once spoken with reverence, not as a slogan but as a lived tradition, especially on the playing fields of South...
AI, a new weapon of mass destruction?Â
Nuclear arms are undoubtedly weapons of mass destruction. Yet, with complete honesty, I believe another force now qualifies for the same title. It is...
Pakistan’s Bull Market and the economy it doesn’t represent
Another rally broke out on the Pakistan Stock Exchange last Friday. The KSE-100 index rose more than 1,800 points, rebound sharply to reach an...
Pakistan: Where Politics and Economics Collide?Â
American economist Thomas Sowell wrote that “the first lesson of economics is scarcity. There is never enough of anything to satisfy all those who want...
When a Rifle Becomes Rhetoric
On 7 February 2026, the official X handle of the Assam Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) posted a video so grotesque in its symbolism that...
Epstein Files and the Moral Crisis in the USA
When the US Department of Justice released additional troves of documents connected to Jeffrey Epstein, the reaction was immediate and visceral. The shock was...
The Imperial Presidency
WASHINGTON WATCH
News broke this week that President Donald Trump was conditioning approval of an infrastructure spending bill on renaming New York City’s Penn Station...
Beyond domestic discontent
For weeks, Iran has been convulsed by some of the most intense anti-government protests in its modern history. What began in late December 2025...
Markets without referees
In 2012, a book came out that reframed international thinking on development, Why Nations Fail, by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson, challenged decades of...
Security, sovereignty and the information battlefield
In Pakistan’s former tribal districts, particularly Tirah Valley, security operations are increasingly misrepresented through emotionally charged and strategically curated narratives. These portrayals, amplified by...
Wealth and power must walk with the people
Power has long announced itself through spectacle. From crowns and palaces to motorcades and guarded compounds, authority has sought visibility. Yet history’s deeper memory...
From festival to fasting
The state, in its ideal moral conception, resembles a mother—protective yet firm, generous yet disciplined. It provides security, creates opportunities, sets boundaries, and, when...