Arm-twisting is not paying off
Opposition remains united despite pressure Pressures continue to be mounted on the PDM to force it to change its anti-government stance. PML(N) stalwart Khwaja Asif was arrested on Tuesday in a case…
The new variant
Stopping the spread is crucial There is a new variant of the coronavirus which is taking over the UK and Europe, which has caused the government to ban flights from the UK…
Talking peace but waging war
PTI’s offer for dialogue There is a need no doubt on the part of the PTI government to dissuade the PDM from further public rallies and marches at a time when the…
Pak-Saudi relations
Sound diplomacy required Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has confirmed that a high-level Saudi delegation is to visit Pakistan soon to “further strengthen” relations between the two countries. Coming from Mr Qureshi,…
The all too familiar cycle of rallies
And demand for civilian supremacy For more than two years the mainstream opposition parties tried to resolve their differences with the government in parliament rebuffing suggestions to take recourse to extra-parliamentary means…
Rising terrorism in Balochistan
Need for a fresh approach Terrorism continues to rise in Balochistan with the latest incident claiming the lives of seven FC soldiers as militants attacked a checkpost resulting in an intense exchange…
Held Kashmir democracy
Can we stand a comparison? The Foreign Office was rightly indignant at Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s claim that the local body elections in Kashmir showed that there was democracy there. As…
Why not polio?
IMB asks a valid question The Independent Monitoring BOARD (IMB) for polio, in its latest six-monthly report, has asked pertinently why Pakistan has been unable to eradicate polio while it has been…
The system in quandary
And the establishment’s dilemma The PDM has plans like resignations from the assemblies, a march to Islamabad and a sit-in aimed at paralyzing the federal administration. Attempts to create dissensions in…
PTA and social media
Outlandish warnings that are a source of embarrassment for the country Despite being a direct beneficiary of unregulated social media that helped propel the party into being a mainstream political contender,…
What a fall!
From Jinnah’s Pakistan to Naya Pakistan There is a need today to reiterate the five basic tenets of the state that Quaid-e-Azam Muammad Ali Jinnah and Allama Iqbal wanted to carve out…
Moves for dialogue
Too late to do any good? PML(F) Secretary General Muhammad Ali Durrani has met National Assembly Leader of the Opposition Shehbaz Sharif in jail with a message asking him to play a…
Need for immediate relief
Social justice cannot be put on backburner Prime Minister Imran Khan’s presence at the passing-out parade of Islamabad police was an occasion when one least expected him to devote a good part…
Preparing for a vaccine
Preempting potential problems at home As the news kept coming of the current wave of covid-19 infections continuing, the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) was told that Pakistan was in touch…
A belated confession
And a lame excuse While addressing cabinet members Prime Minister Imran Khan complained that he did not receive an extensive briefing like the one being provided to US President-elect Joe Biden.…
Rising temperature
Government refuses to unify the nation India’s BJP government seems bent on developing a war hysteria against Pakistan. Not only has it engaged in increasing pressure on the Line of Control, with…
Senate elections
ECP asserts itself, but what’s the opposition’s strategy? The ECP has finally put its foot down, letting the government know that the Commission alone is authorised to issue the schedule for the…