Articles & Column

Global conflict feeds on several divides- based on class, caste, race, gender, faith, and power. Conventional thinking patterns have tried to cross these divides with power and pelf. There were people who took exception to these views and believed that these divides could be overcome […]

I have shared this anecdote previously; however events of 8th March gave it a new meaning. In 1997 we were organizing PTI and holding corner meetings for Chairman Imran Khan to mobilize support for the forthcoming elections. One such meeting was held in Kahna, a […]

The use of violence to settle political differences has brutalized our society, perpetuated injustice, and enabled various mafias to rob the people of Pakistan. Ideological positions have become irrelevant in this conflict. Secularism, Islam, democracy, socialism, and patriotism, every currency has been used to short-change […]

Pakistan has only one national anthem, however on occasions a particular song sinks into the psyche of the nation and takes on proportions larger than the anthem. During 1965 war Madam Nur Jehan’s rendering “meray dhol sipahia tano rab diya rakhan” was a tonic that […]

Filling gas balloons is a routine now-a-days for party events. Helium canisters are readily available. It was not so six decades ago. The balloon vendor would show up with his wooden cart and a gas tank and announce his arrival by ringing a bell. I […]

Imran Khan started his campaign to return to the government through an agitation movement. To understand his politics, it is important to ask some basic questions. He claims that he wants to return to the government so that he can catch the “thieves”. Before coming […]

UseAfter the arrival of the British, the world’s largest canal system was established in our country. Between 1885 and 1925 millions of acres of canal irrigated land were given to a new class of landowners. There was an abundance of wheat and cotton. But large […]

“Nai reesan shahr Lahore diyan” is part of Lahori folklore. It translates “Lahore has no comparison”. A bold statement repeated over generations. Diehards insist on adhering to it even though the city has exploded beyond recognition. It is over five decades since I adopted Lahore,even […]

“Mera jhuga te bach gaya, baqi khair aay” said Mannah, a peasant farmer after a devastating flood. “My hut has survived, so all is fine”. That is the prevailing attitude in all the citadels of power and cushy fortified residences of the corrupt elite. They […]

Capitals worldwide are the pulse of what is happening in a country; a deduction from decades of travel. My recent visit to Islamabad was an eye-opener. Government is poor, rather bankrupt, however the people are rich. When I say people it means the top 1-2% […]