Muzaffar Warsi, a Pakistani poet, lyricist and a scholar of repute, wrote: “AAB TOU BANDE BHI KHUDA BANDOON KI TAQDEER LIKHAIN; DEY WOH TAQAT MUJHE INN SABB KA LIKHA MEIN KATOON. PAWOON HOTE HUYE, KAB TAK CHALOON BESAKHIYOON PAR; KAB TALAK DOOSRON KA BOYA HUA MEIN KATOON.” (Now even humans are deciding the fate of…
One of the most acclaimed poets of Urdu, Mirza Assadullah Ghalib was apt when he said: CHIPAK RAHA HEI BADAN PAR LAHOO SE PAIRAHAN; AB HAMARI JAIB KO HAJAT-E-RAFOO KYA HAI (the flap of my pocket is torn and sticking to the bloody body; thus what is the need for recrafting it…). Though the legend…
The Taliban 2.0 regime has stayed put in power for more than a year. As they marked their one-year rule on August 15, 2022, it was a muted affair. The mood in the capital, Kabul, was dull and there was hardly anything to cheer for the militia leaders, who are longing for recognition to this…
As Sri Lanka boils and goes over the brink, there are some parallels for Pakistan. The South Asian island-nation state is literally unnerved and apparently has no contingency plans to stay afloat. What has happened in Colombo is not an inertia affair, but a sustained collapse of head and heart while ruling the tiny entity,…
Naseer Turabi, a legendary Urdu poet, could not have prophesied it better. He was in tears on hearing the news of the Fall of Dhaka in December 1971, and he penned his emotions instantly by saying: Vo ham-safar thā magar us se ham-navā. ī na thī, Ke dhuup chhāñv kā aalam rahā judā.ī na thī;…
Pakistan’s defence is impregnable. This is not a hyperbolic statement, rather one that confirms on merit and a diligent track record of history. Yet why is Pakistan so insecure when it comes to fissures from home and abroad? Pestering political crisscross, economic dysfunction, religious radicalism, media bizarreness, policy confusion and last but not least, a…
Anti-Americanism has never ever united Pakistanis. It was a ploy. It has always been a theatrical call by politicians leaning on the right side of the divide, primarily reactionary-or-orthodox elements. Nor has campaigning against Washington brought in dividends. Rather, this love-hate-card was used for petty personalized objectives, and none other than the administrations in the…
Former chairman Department of International Relations, Karachi University, Dr. Mujtaba Hussain Rizvi used to say, “Ummah, Ummah everywhere, not to be seen anywhere.” This was one of his famous dissertations as he used to narrate the degeneration of the Muslim world from the depth of his heart. A learned professor, as he was, he had…
Vladimir Putin and Imran Khan were at their best in body language, and didn’t leave behind an iota of doubt in letting the world realize that they are the new allied allies. The Russian czar and the Pakistani prime minister, irrespective of upheavals in Ukraine, were straight faced and meant business. It was squarely reflected…
US President Franklin D. Roosevelt elected four times and one who led his country in the Great Depression and World War II, had quipped, “freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved.” So is the case with one of world’s last decolonization agenda on Kashmir. Gripped under siege and terror for more than seven decades,…
