Dear Reader, South Asia presents a dismal picture for regional integration. It accounts for only 3 percent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) with almost 40% of its inhabitants falling below the international poverty line of $1.25 per day. Daunting challenges from climate change, environmental degradation, increasing inequalities, etc. pose serious threats to growth…
With over 20% of the world’s population and 40% of the poverty-stricken, South Asia remains one of the world’s poorest regions. Political strife, distrust and occasional clashes undermine integration in a region with a history of territorial disputes and military conflicts. Accountable democracy remains elusive, the deficit stemming from a feudal mentality among the ruling…
Duty is what one is expected or required to do by moral or legal obligation. Recognizing a duty means a person theoretically commits himself to its fulfillment without considering one’s own self-interest, even involving some sacrifice of immediate self-interest. Duty is often perceived as something owed to one’s country (patriotism), or to one’s homeland or…
Dear Readers, Among the many factors that allowed the Pakistan Army gain ascendancy shortly after independence was the degeneration of the political process, helped along by incompetent political leadership, this provided space and opportunity for the Army to become an important decision maker. In time this led to the assumption of power by the then…
The PAKISTAN BREAKFAST in Davos during the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Annual Meetings since 2002 is now known as the traditional PAKISTAN BREAKFAST. The President of Pakistan, the Prime Minister or a prominent Pakistani personality is usually the Chief Guest. Graced by PM Mian Nawaz Sharif in 2016, Arif Naqvi of Abraaj, hosted a well-attended…
The World Economic Forum (WEF)’s Annual Meeting in the third week of January every year in the remote alpine village of Davos in Switzerland is a major creative force for engaging top leaders from across the world to undertake joint action relating to events for shaping the global, regional and industry agendas. Six to eight…
Intellectual honesty is seeking truth regardless of whether the truth agrees with one’s own personal feelings and/ or beliefs or not. This means not lying to oneself or to others on what is clearly self-evident. Closely related to what one calls “old-fashioned values” such as propriety, integrity and sincerity, this is force-multiplied for those in…
Dear Readers, The entire nation mourned the crash of a PIA ATR-42 (Flight PK- 661) on a domestic flight from Chitral to Islamabad on Dec 7 last year. All 47 people on board were killed including the crew, among the dead was Aly Akram, the co-pilot of the ill-fated flight. Aly was the son of…
With the Supreme Court (SC) holding almost daily hearings pertaining to the “Panama Leaks” beginning Nov 1, aspirations were high among all Pakistanis that a closure for the festering sore affecting the country’s well-being for nearly 8 months was imminent. Suddenly out of the blue the case was surprisingly adjourned till next year, a good…
With many internal and external challenges confronting the nation, the new COAS was plunged into a testing situation right from the word “go”. Stepping up his drive to isolate Pakistan diplomatically during the recent “Heart of Asia” Conference in Amritsar, Indian PM Modi’s venom for Pakistan was seen at its worst, he and Ashraf Ghani…
