In Pakistan, whether in cricket or politics merit is a disqualifier. Just before the ICC World Cup our regular opener Muhammad Hafeez sustained an injury, he could have stayed on, missing possibly one game only, but he was packed off post-haste so that Nasir Jamshed could be rushed in to take his place. In the…
With a real estate tycoon (take a wild guess?) buying up votes with his tax-free money in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) Assembly for PPP candidates, “horse-trading” for the upcoming Senate elections went into overdrive. While cause for anxiety for the PTI-JI ruling Alliance in KPK, five PML-N legislators in Balochistan failed to show up for a…
Dear Readers,When PM Sharif visited India last May to attend Narendra Modi’s inauguration as Prime Minister many believed this could lead to a lessening of tensions but this was not to be. Pakistan has always taken the first step towards reconciliation hoping for meaningful change; this time around too, Sharif’s visit was another attempt to…
The Peshawar APS terrorist atrocity struck an emotional chord through the broad swath of the country, the unspeakable crime against humanity succeeding in what our leaders across the board have failed to do for decades, unite the nation. The mass revulsion for the terrorists themselves and their acts notwithstanding, their known sympathizers came under severe…
Buttressed by the deep rooted anger of the people of Pakistan and the seething fury of the Pakistan Army, visibly on display after the Peshawar APS by the body language of Gen Raheel Sharif, the PM Mian Nawaz Sharif moved quickly to harness the mass popular will for taking concerted action against terrorism. He symbolized…
The official World Economic Forum (WEF) handout confirmed that over 2000 leaders, including heads of 1000 of the world’s largest and most successful businesses, heads of state or govt, the heads of the world’s foremost international organisations alongside leaders from civil society, labour unions, the world’s major religions, civil society, labour unions, media and the…
Dear Readers, Imran Khan’s PTI came to Karachi on Dec 12 as part of its plan to shut down major cities and eventually the entire country “to pressurise the government into meeting its demands”. Contrary to all apprehensions the protest went off quite peacefully with the Sindh Government showing maturity in allowing lmran freedom to…
To his credit Mian Nawaz Sharif opened up the economy during his first stint as PM, he has exceptional ability as an entrepreneur to do much more for the country. Many, including myself for a number of years, had vested very high hopes in him. Unfortunately instead of opposing Zardari tooth and nail for his…
Set to annunciate a revised National Aviation Policy, NAP-2014 through the Ministry of Aviation, the vision of the govt is to ensure “a safe, secure, dynamic, fair, innovative, and customer-centric approach to transform the aviation industry into a potent catalyst for socio-economic well-being of the nation”. The objectives are, viz (1) comply with ICAO standards…
The lack of economic opportunities for the populace in Afghanistan is a major impediment to peace and stability. Without an adequate industrial base and/or agriculture infra-structure, guns for hire in abundance as a means to finding income is neither conducive neither for foreign direct investment (FDI) nor domestic entrepreneurial initiatives. That a small elite cabal…
