Talking to the TTP

Latest for the Express Tribune: Despite the victory of a pro-peace coalition and its overtures to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), militancy…

Rouhani’s win

Here is an Editorial for the Express Tribune   The victory of Iran’s moderate cleric Hassan Rouhani in the presidential election is good news…

Right to Information

Here is an editorial for the Express Tribune Pakistan’s Constitution since 2010 recognises the right to information as a fundamental right. Yet, the legislature…

Foreign policy directives

Here is another on-point editorial from ExTrib For those who thought that there would be monumental shifts in Pakistan’s foreign policy with the advent…

Welcome remarks

A worthwhile editorial published in Express Tribune The seasoned Congress leader and India’s well-known dove Mani Shankar Aiyar has made some bold remarks at…

Zia’s unfinished business

My latest for Express Tribune The ghost of General Ziaul Haq and his drive to turn Pakistan into a theocracy continues to haunt us.…

2012 review: Great expose of the unelected

The year 2012 will be remembered for a fragile democracy that continued to consolidate itself amid regional instability and belligerence of unelected institutions trying…

What if Bulleh Shah were alive today?

Another tragic day. A mob attacks a Christian couple after accusing them of desecration of the Holy Quran and then burn their bodies at…

Pakistan: Prime Minister Gilani’s ouster – what next?

My recent analysis for Express Tribune published yesterday: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani’s inevitable ouster has created another storm in Pakistani politics reminding us…

A season of quotes

Never a dull moment. And, increasing requests for quotes, opinions and reactions. Sometimes I wonder if it makes a difference? I am putting some…

Coups are not easy anymore

By Raza Rumi: A situationer that was written last week.. Published: January 12, 2012 If there is one phrase that would summarise the events…

When are we going to open our eyes?

By Raza Rumi Recent reports quote General Kayani saying that Pakistan-US relations are ‘good’ and were ‘improving’. These remarks follow hectic parleys between various…

Disasters, dengue and local government

By Raza Rumi: In the past few weeks, the intractable crisis of governance has once again exposed the dysfunctional nature of the Pakistani state,…

Some sobering lessons

By Raza Rumi: Adecade after the ghastly attacks on the Twin Towers, the world has not changed. It is business as usual: imperial projects,…

Hoping for Shahbaz Taseer’s early Recovery

By Raza Rumi: I fervently hope that Shahbaz Taseer is back by the time these lines are published. However, the past few days have…

What needs to be done in Karachi

By Raza Rumi The recent escalation of violence and senseless butchery in Karachi serves to remind us once again just how the state is withering away…

Pakistan Floods: Making the same mistakes?

Rarely have countries been so incapable of responding to challenges, as is the case with Pakistan. Last year, the worst flood in our history…

Is America really our Enemy No 1?

By Raza Rumi : Six months ago, an extraordinary news report was published by Dawn, which recounted the contents of a military briefing given…

Our collective psychosis

By Raza Rumi Pakistan’s right wing has flourished on the crutches of a national security doctrine: A world view, which prioritises paranoia and ‘security’…

What are we teaching our children?

The overwhelming response to my earlier piece on the subject of jaundiced Pakistani textbooks has prompted me to continue with this theme. A large…