Travelogue (Part II) – Yeh hai Bombay meri jaan
Things had changed. Bombay has metamorphosed into Mumbai (shining India is also more parochial); Sahar airport had been renamed (as Chatrapathi Shivaji International Airport)…
Travelogue (Part I) – Jammed in Delhi
The more we fight, the more similar we look. After the 2008 tragic incidents in Mumbai, the Indian and Pakistani media displayed their raw…
Islamabad tragedy – a close call
While we were landing, it makes me shiver that another aircraft had lost contact with the control tower in Islamabad and was about to…
Pakistan: Ungoverned Spaces
My paper published by CIDOB – Barcelona Centre for International Affairs Even after more than six decades since its inception, Pakistan has been unable…
Wikileaks and our fantasies
Pakistanis are not interested in what the west likes or dislikes. We are concerned for our security, especially for the burgeoning youth of this…
Redefining national interest
There is simply no alternative to information flow and dismantling the iron curtain. Let the disputes remain, but allow media access across the borders.…
Media freedoms versus responsibility (holy cow syndrome)
Published in The News Much has been said about media accountability and the dire need of a regulation framework for Pakistan’s new power centre.…
Blog it out
Published in The News Haneya H. Zuberi writes on how the influx of blogs has made writers — or bloggers — out of the…
Devising a new framework for Indo-Pak peace
The next 12 months are critical: an Afghanistan settlement has to take place, the water issue needs to be explored and Kashmir back channel…
No alternative to peace with India
It is clear that regional stability is a foremost priority for India given its focus on achieving a 10 per cent growth rate. Pakistan…
Saving the Capital
My piece for The News: The recent decision of the Supreme Court to order closure of a multinational food chain restaurant in Islamabad is…
Bleak prospects
My op-ed published in Express-Tribune today It is evident that the Pakistani state faces a crisis of legitimacy and survival. Twelve years ago, on…
Lahore’s shrine bombed – outrageous, barbaric and unacceptable
As if the recent acts of violence and an atmosphere of fear was not enough, the butchers have attacked Lahore’s oldest and grandest shrine…
Lahore attack strikes Sufism, a tolerant blend of Islam
A France24 story By Leela JACINTO (where I was quoted) The attack on the landmark Data Darbar shrine in the eastern Pakistani city of…
Suicide bombers kill dozens at Pakistan shrine
Declan Walsh in Islamabad reporting for the Guardian At least 42 killed and 175 injured in blasts at Sufi shrine in Lahore where thousands…
Suicide Bombers Strike Sufi Shrine in Pakistan
I was quoted in this piece – wish the references were made in a less tragic context. “Suicide Bombers Strike Sufi Shrine in Pakistan”,…
Fatal obsession
It is a matter of public record that the founder of Pakistan had stated that Indo-Pakistan relationship will resemble that of the USA and…
The other way
Today’s The NEWS: civil service structure must deliver and there should be many models such as the Jhang variety. Much has been written about…
Summer yellows
Summer yellows, originally uploaded by Jahane Rumi. I have been wanting to take pictures of Amaltaas trees that are still blooming despite the awful…
Is this Jinnah’s Pakistan?
The massacre of Ahmadis in Lahore has once again exposed the inner fissures of our society. As if treating them like second class citizens…