Nawaz Sharif Will Return To Imran Khan’s Pakistan
The electorate blames the PML-N for the inflation that’s making their lives difficult, and Imran Khan owns the anti-establishment narrative despite being locked up.…
With Fractured Civil Society & Complicit Politicians, There’s Little Hope For Pakistan’s Christians
The ghastly attack on the Christian community in Jaranwala is yet another testament to the systemic violence and discrimination faced by religious minorities in…
Imran Khan Vs Military Establishment: The Final Showdown Begins?
The ugly scenes of excessive shelling, PTI workers pelting stones at the police force and the eventual incapacity of the government to arrest former prime minister Imran…
Pakistan’s Ruling Classes Squabble As Masses Endure Hyperinflation
The ongoing polycrisis exhibits the longstanding contradictions within the Pakistani governance system, wherein there is no consensus on who will run the country. Are…
Tackling Pakistan’s Polycrisis Requires Clarity And Consensus. Both Are Missing.
The reluctance of former Prime Minister and chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan to participate in an All-Parties Conference called by Prime Minister Shehbaz…
The almost forgotten radical message of Iqbal
I am reposting this old blog on Iqbal Day: God, You created the night, I made the lamp You created the earth, I made…
Sayyid Ahmad Khan’s Search for a Modern Muslim
I grew up in Pakistan where we are taught about Sayyid Ahmad Khan throughout our school years as the grandfather of Muslim Nationalism in…
What It Means To Be A Pakistani. Exploring South Asian Diaspora With Raza Rumi
The following interview is conducted by Daneesh Majid with Raza Rumi Ahmad on the subjects of identity, society and culture. A man who has…
On Sir Syed Ahmad Khan
C.M. Naim’s, A Professor Emiretus had shared this some months ago: “What an extraordinary man he was. Iftikhar Alam Sahib has been publishing books…
Afghanistan: no cooperation, no stability
This is a shorter version of a brief which was prepared for Pakistani Senate’s standing committee on Defence. Also published here. Full report here…
Destruction of Lahore’s Walled City is rampant as restoration efforts remain sketchy
One of my three reports published earlier this year in Herald’s annual issue on heritage Lahore fabled Walled City is now a grand metaphor…
The killings of Shias is a rude wake-up call for the saner elements in our state and society
My piece published today in TNS “The joke is that those who raise the slogan of Islam in the loudest voices have nothing to…
The enigma that is Pakistan (book review)
Anatol Lieven’s new book is not just a contemporary account of Pakistan, it also attempts to present an alternative narrative of what is often…
The debate on new provinces in Pakistan
Since 1977, military or quasi-military governments have ruled Pakistan. The basic tenet of such a governance structure has been centralization and denial of multiple…
Greater role for women in decision-making
Last week, I was invited to speak at a seminar on ‘Exploring the Gender Friendliness in Democratic Institutions’ orgnaised by The South Asia Partnership…
Sense and sovereignty in Kafkastan
I just returned from Karachi, where the city was outraged at the unscheduled, endless power cuts. Everywhere, the energy crisis dominated the discussions. In…
Towards a decentralised Pakistan
Without civil service reform, devolution of policy setting will be unachievable and the current reform may just not achieve its intended purposes On July…
Pakistan media: Through the looking glass
It is ironic that the electronic media which played a major role in the movement against a military dictatorship is now being cited as…
OBL saga and Pakistan’s crisis of governance
My piece for The News, Pakistan As details of Operation Geronimo unfold, more and more questions are being raised regarding Pakistan’s role in the…
A constructed enemy?
Multiple subjectivities plague any ‘objective’ measurement of anti-American sentiments in Pakistan Since the end of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, Pakistani society has been…