Pakistan’s crumbling institutions
Published in The News (Sunday) Pakistan’s instability is a clichè, almost a self-fulfilling prophecy. All the theoretical ingredients for stability are there: an elected…
Loveable Murree
I was recently asked to write where I would spend my summer. For a few minutes I kept my anguish at Pakistan’s situation…
Will the civilians seize the moment?
It is too early to determine whether Nawaz Sharif is seeking a structural transformation of Pakistan’s governance culture or is merely hankering for acceptability…
Exile for me and others
Pakistan needs to remember those who wanted to but could not stay back Little did I know that a sojourn to recover from a…
New security paradigm
Pakistanis have been informed that there will be a new security paradigm that would drive the policy and strategy of the federal and provincial…
Tackling the local governance crisis
Pakistan’s governance crisis has manifested itself in various ways, including the inability of the state to provide services and create a responsible relationship with…
A risky transition?
For The News on Sunday Only a democratic dispensation that enjoys people’s mandate will be able to handle the disastrous energy crisis, the spillover…
Pakistan: Ominous clouds of violence overshadow Elections 2013
Holding a peaceful election in 2013 would, perhaps, be one of the important milestones in countering the power and influence of the extremists Within…
Different strands of violence
My piece on the elections for The News Holding a peaceful election in 2013 would, perhaps, be one of the important milestones in countering…
Time for complete justice
Published in The News Dr Tahirul Qadri, who has kept Pakistani pundits busy for the past three months, faced a major blow when a…
Time to move on
On peace with India for The News on Sunday After the recent LoC fiasco, there has to be long-term commitment and readiness to install…
A welcome shift
Here’s what I wrote for The News about the Pakistan Army’s revised security and threat assessment The Pakistan army has reportedly revised its security…
Pakistan: Media Freedoms and Judicial Accountability
Media freedoms in Pakistan are no longer a cause of celebration. Recent events have shown that journalists are facing pressure from all sides. Historically,…
Polio, extremism and a failing state
The death of nine anti-Polio workers has come as a new low in the life of the Pakistani nation. Almost as if the country…
This Moharram was turned into Karbala for Pakistani Shias
My piece published on 10th Moharram It is time the state reversed its policy of nurturing extremist groups and think of saving Pakistanis from…
Fighting the existential battle
Published in The News, October 2012 What is the real, existential cause for concern – the imagined enemy, or a real, functional terror network…
Civil service reform for state capacity
Only a meaningful civil service reforms can improve the state capacity to perform better Pakistan’s inability to provide security and justice to its citizens;…
Paradigm Shift? Reassessing Pakistan’s Security
Published in The News on Sunday The Pakistan army has reportedly revised its security assessment and is now placing more emphasis on ‘internal threats’…
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…
Pakistan: Will the Court punish officials who violated their oath?
“We cannot have an army or intelligence agencies that constantly destabilise governments. We cannot have rogue elements incessantly violating their oath and plunging the…