Le grande exposé: South Asia and WikiLeaks
An extraordinary exposé through WikiLeaks has shaken the closed doors diplomacy and the global security establishment, which flourishes on a culture of secrecy. The…
China: Braving the Storm
China has so far braved many storms. However, this time it will be a test of its political leadership and economic managers to set…
Tere mayaar pe poora na utarne wale
Tere mayaar pe poora na utarne wale Mansab e ishq se mazool nahin ho sakte – Perveen Shakir…
Baba Nanak to Baba Farid
This is how the Sufis and mystics of South Asia viewed jihad, peace and the role of religion. Surely our extremists need to read…
Chal Way Bullehya Chal Othay Chaliyay – Let’s go where everyone is blind
Chal Way Bullehya Chal Othay Chaliyay Jithay Saaray Annay Na Koi Saadee Zaat PichHanay Tay Na Koi Saanu Mannay *** O Bulleh Shah let’s…
Remembering Faiz and his Culture Policy of early 1970s
Today is the 26th death anniversary of Faiz Ahmed Faiz whose life and works are national assets. Faiz was a torchbearer of the glorious…
Trade with India is a rational policy choice
China and Taiwan are sworn enemies. In 2009, the total volume of their trade was 110 billion dollars. India’s trade is expanding with…
Islands of Hope – Life and Works of Akhter Hameed Khan
Raza Rumi reviews a book on the life and works of Akhter Hameed Khan, a legendary development guru “It is not enough to say…
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…
Strategic grandeur
As if Pakistan’s domestic woes were not troubling, the unravelling of the US strategy and its implications are eluding even the best of strategists.…
Asma Jahangir – A formidable fighter
Fearless and a formidable fighter, Asma Jahangir personifies the struggles Pakistanis have initiated against shameful cultural practices, discriminatory legislation and executive excess. A frail…
Iqbal – The Universal Reformer
It takes thousands of year for a genious of the highest class to be born. Iqbal believed in habitual vision of greatness. He had…
Who’s afraid of Sherry Rehman?
Published in The Express Tribune: It has been rather disturbing to witness the way Sherry Rehman has been the latest target of the purists…
On counterterrorism and human rights
From an interview that I conducted: There is, of course, a nationalist discourse, as shrill as it is bogus, centered on US-bashing and lionizing…
History must not lie
By Shahid Javed Burki EVER since gaining independence Pakistan has done a remarkable job of either ignoring its history or simply not telling the…
Rumi’s Poetry: ‘All Religions, All This Singing, One Song’
Coleman Barks is a great translator. His recent essay here is a great read especially in terms of debates on Islamophobia Rumi: The Big…
An agenda that does not deliver
South Asia is a region marked for its turbulent history and its endemic poverty and misgovernance. Much has been written about how certain states…
Media and mobs – Arundhati Roy versus the terrorists
Arundhati Roy is the conscience of India. Her treatment by a greedy media playing the tunes of fundamentalists is deplorable and condemnable. Roy’s statement…
Asma Jahangir’s election: A step towards a progressive Pakistan
Asma Jahangir’s victory in the Supreme Court Bar Association elections is a momentous event in the country’s political and legal landscape. Even the worst…
Myths, fables and lies: The murder of history in Pakistan
KK Aziz’s seminal study, – The Murder of History – is essential to understand what went wrong in Pakistan. The most worrying sign of…