Pakistani Blogs

WHILE the Government is confronted with host of emergent problems relating to restive Balochistan, suicide bombing, political tug-of-war, it has not put Pakistan’s fault lines in the backburners - economic development, abject poverty, water concerns, urbanization, environmental hazards.  In fact, demographists and economists have established a causal relationship between over-population and ...

I have written extensively about the nature of our elite based politics, and social system. However analysis needs to be understood in terms of the changing social structure. The changing social construction is juxtaposed to the stationary one. I shall discuss both forms of this structure in this essay, and link it to the apolitical youth and their allegiance to the military.

There are some occasions when we must rise above the political and personal differences. There are some issues which need immediate attention from the leaders and the masses. The alleged links between the law minister of Punjab Rana Sanaullah with the banned religious outfit Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) is one of those burning issue.

Like it or not, many Pakistanis and their numbers are rising rapidly believe that the drone attacks by the Americans in the FATA region are justified and they support these attacks. We all know that our military and the government are also on board in that regard and they know the blow which these drone struck to the terrorists, but due to the political compulsions, they dare not to speak the ...

There is a consensus among political experts that the world’s future wars will be fought over water, not oil. Experts say it would be the era in which rivers, lakes and aquifers become national security assets to be fought over, or controlled through surrogate armies and client states. Surprisingly, where the whole world is fortunately lagging a bit behind for entering into this ill-fated era ...

The Indian Prime Minister, Mr. Manmohan Singh, on his visit to Saudi Arabia made the surprise offer of dialogue to Pakistan on all issues ranging from Kashmir, Indus Water Treaty to Terrorism. This Indian pronouncement within days after scuttling the Secretary-level talks in Delhi is really baffling. Both India and Pakistan entered the Delhi talks under immense US pressure. Indian insistence ...

Taliban and Al-Qaeda and their religious sympathizers in the Muslim world use the concept of “Giving Takfir”, that is proclaiming another person as non-Moslem, if they do not follow their brand of Theocratic Islam, thus beyond the protection of God and punishable by death. This proclamation is similar to being excommunicated from one’s church, which thankfully does not carry the death sentence.

It is fascinating to watch the Indian propaganda machine come into full play as it is a field in which India excels unlike in the realm of dialogue and peace where India has always been found wanting as the neighbourhood will testify - from the small neighbours to China. Once again, instead of seeking to move towards substantive peace through resumption of dialogue with Pakistan, we are ...

“The audience watched in awe the circus where harlequins faint and cry, and jokers await their cues as thieves in the dark. Mesmerized the cobra danced in the ashes, eyes glistening blankly, tongue darting like a ventriloquist’s puppet with no thought of its own. They clapped and danced merrily, pierrots of the centre stage. Secretly they grinned from ear to ear like the clown with that ...

Operation New Dawn!  How disarming it would be were this a sign that a bit of dry wit had penetrated the mental fastness that is the American defense establishment.  Alas, the truth is that the Pentagon’s public relations machine is still grinding away.  This administration’s dedication to continuing the tradition of dishonest public communication bequeathed it by the Bush bunch is of cardinal ...