More than a personality clash

THE civil-military saga continues to be the biggest story coming out of Pakistan in the aftermath of the Kartarpur opening. Many of the guests invited...

Quiet steps towards peace

WITH the opening of the Kartarpur corridor, Prime Minister Imran Khan has been handed a diplomatic victory in his first 100 days, which beats his...

In defence of politicians

PARLIAMENT these days is mostly about ugly noises. The government cannot get enough of calling those on the opposition benches ‘chor’ and...

Defending the indefensible

WORDS matter. The message may be important but so is its packaging. And yet Prime Minister Imran Khan and his party are defending indefensible...

Politics and ‘naya’ Pakistan

THE conversation between Jehangir Tareen, Pervez Elahi and others leaked over the weekend was more a storm in a teacup than real news. Who doesn’t...

Is TLP here to stay?

WE are reeling from another ‘surrender’ of the state. The hyperbole surrounding the ‘surrender’ was as extreme as was the praise that followed...

Our missing #MeToo

THE #MeToo movement is resonating across the world and has even taken over next door. But in Pakistan, the silence in comparison is intriguing. A...

A noisy press matters

THERE appears to be no let up in the pressure on the press (which has transformed into the media industry in the times that be). While new channels...

PML-N’s endgame

THE grand opposition alliance seemed true — momentarily — but only till the verbal condemnation of the government was on the menu. The moment the...

‘Corrupt’ but never convicted

THE aggressive drive to nail the corrupt in Punjab has finally reached Shahbaz Sharif, three-time chief minister of the province. Unsurprisingly, he...

Law doesn’t trump politics

THERE is no end to the bad news a government in Pakistan gets, and PTI is proving to be no different. Last week, its share of woes included the...

A less fiery phase for PML-N

LAST week brought some good news for the Sharifs in the shape of the Islamabad High Court bail order. The earlier respite of parole, perhaps, was far...

Tyranny of the ‘same page’

SURELY, the clichés should also be new in ‘naya Pakistan’. The civil and the military being on the same page is so ‘purana Pakistan’. So...

On again, off again

THE new American secretary of state popped in to meet the new government in town. Before he came and after he left, there was much talk of a reset of...

Strong PM vs weak CM

THE PTI knights have been nominated to sit around the table — in the federation and beyond. Most of the ‘nominations’ were a surprise despite...

The austerity merry-go-round

THE Khan promises to be frugal with the government’s entertainment and transport budget and his critics are up in arms. It’s a sham. It’s not...

Shahbaz’s distasteful job

The conspiracy is out there...

THE election is over and done with, despite the controversies surrounding it. But just a year ago, the conspiracy theories swirling in Pakistan made...

Uncertainty of politics

THERE’S a new ‘sheriff’ in town. As the PTI flexes its muscles and aims to dominate Constitution Avenue, its critics wonder what a government...

The fair and foul vote

AFTER many rumours and much uncertainty about the election, the day finally arrived when Pakistan got to vote. The dust from Wednesday past has barely...

A bit of guesswork

ELECTION week is here — the most controversial one ever, it is said. And that is saying something for a country which has experienced 1988 (where an...

It’s never about misogyny

IF this election is about Nawaz Sharif and the rest, the past couple of years have been about Maryam Nawaz and the rest (including most of the PML-N)....

Bumpy ride ahead for Maryam

THE judgement wasn’t as much of a surprise as the announcement from London that Mian Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz are returning. It seems as if...

Boycott is never an option

IF in 2013, the run-up to the election was the best of times, the days leading up to the 2018 poll are the worst of times. Five years ago, the...

Chaudhry Nisar’s exit into wilderness

THE break between the Sharifs and the Chaudhry from Chakri is finally official with the announcement of PML-N ticket holders in his constituencies. A...

Nisar’s exit into wilderness

THE break between the Sharifs and the Chaudhry from Chakri is finally official with the announcement of PML-N ticket holders in his constituencies. A...

Does Fazlullah’s death matter?

FAZLULLAH, the elusive Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan head who had been hiding in Afghanistan for nearly as long as a decade (some reports claim that he...

The vote always matters

KARACHI is the hottest party in town this election year. Anyone who is anyone and is aspiring to national leadership wants a notch in their belt...

PTI’s unravelling from within

THOSE the gods want to destroy, they first make mad. The words come to mind as the PTI stumbles around. And this merely weeks after it appeared to be...

A little less ambition, please

THE PML-N is bent upon on keeping the entire country guessing. From Panama to the Qatari letter to the differences between the two brothers to its...

People’s right to choose

ONCE those outraging over Mian Nawaz Sharif’s statement slowed down a bit, it was time for the crystal ball and election predictions. The...

Amorality of our politics

MIAN Nawaz Sharif’s recent remarks have created another storm in the country. While the government has now been forced to react, the PML-N remained...

Years in the making

LAST week, a young rookie journalist called to say he wanted to quit the profession. There was no point in staying put when it wasn’t possible to...

Winning over Punjab

AS the temperatures rise, election season creeps up on us. Two days after the budget was presented, the dull numbers game had been abandoned on Sunday...