Columns

Whenever a set of documents is either leaked or declassified, it invariably generates tremendous interest and excitement. This is natural for it fills in the gaps and caters to the curiosity of an overwhelming number that takes keen interest in the events and incidents and also the people involved and their thinking.
There however is dissimilarity between the stuff that is declassified and that which is leaked. The declassified papers more often belong to a period that may be

Living in Pakistan is not for the faint of heart. Every day brings a fresh batch of bad news. Inflation, corruption, floods, droughts, earthquakes, car-jackings, gang rapes, terrorist killings, target killings, sectarian killings, honour killings - you name it, we got it. We are a one-stop disaster shop.
I don't mean to be facetious: the national mood these days is about as bad as I have ever seen it, and with good reason. We are high on the list of the most corrupt nations, high

No less than 104 intercepted phone conversations, carefully selected out of 5,000, tapped by the Income Tax Department, has left India's media in turmoil. Surprisingly, though, the decade's most notorious scandal could not charm the Indian media which is always sniffing for "breaking news" and exclusive stories. Reason: it exposed two top pro-establishment Indian journalists - Ms. Barkha Dutt, NDTV diva of Kargil fame, and Mr. Vir Sanghvi, columnist and Editorial Director of the

There are three broad demands that are often made on education systems: education should prepare the student for the role of the citizen, it should provide skills a modern economy needs, and it has to provide for ways for individuals to move within the socioeconomic hierarchy. Broadly, the first two objectives are the public good elements in education and the third is a private good demand.
Major education reform movements have been ways of addressing one or more of the above

The latest controversy about the blasphemy law raises, once again, the issue of the nature and direction of Pakistani society. Islamic political parties, militant groups and their sympathisers have threatened to launch street agitation if the blasphemy law is changed. They know it fully well that their disposition, shaped by Islamic orthodoxy and literalist interpretation of the religious scripture, is shared in varying degrees by a large number of other sections of population.<br

A year ago if you had asked someone about the Sunshine Press you would have received a blank stare in response. Indeed, few were aware of the publisher of WikiLeaks or its founder Julian Assange when they enjoyed a blanket of obscurity. This week's release of over a quarter of a million documents brings the shadowy world of whistle blowing to the forefront of public scrutiny as people and governments begin to understand the Assange Factor and what it means for open society.
So

The Americans have now officially surpassed the Russian presence in Afghanistan. In June, they surpassed their own presence in Vietnam, officially making the Afghanistan/Pakistan war the longest war in American history. Yet another public embarrassment for American foreign wars, and a private success for the perpetual war machine that has increasingly dominated the American economic system.
And what of Pakistan? Twice now it has been America's greatest ally in a war against the

President Barack Obama is indeed a miracle man. His election as America's first-ever black president was in itself a miracle, but becoming a Nobel peace laureate as head of state of a super power that is tirelessly fighting wars since after the Second World War is even a bigger miracle. His choice as the recipient of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize was an unexpected honour and a big "surprise" for Obama himself. When in Oslo to pick up his prize, he drew laughter from his hosts by jokingly

The Wiki is a peculiar animal, if one can call it that. Those of you familiar with the Star Wars saga will remember a particular fur ball that accompanied Han(dsome Devil) Solo wherever he went in his Perennial Falcon. They are a peaceful and unassuming race, apart from their massive bulk and superhuman strength. Chewie, as he is known to his friends, is represented by the crack legal team of Skywalker, Skywalker & Vader and has been known to get away with pretty much everything. In

Asia Bibi's case is one such example of the above.
Rampant ignorance in this country has led to poverty, deprivation, misery, anger, and misinformed bearded persons carrying that baggage becoming accepted as the religious voice of the community.
My beloved Prophet (PBUH), for whom I am willing to lay down my life, was extremely persecuted during his lifetime; yet when asked to curse those who persecuted him, he refused to do so, saying that he had been sent as a blessing for

We certainly live in interesting times, but I regard it as a great blessing rather than a curse, as our Chinese friends would have it. We have seen the world change repeatedly from the end of World War II to the current ongoing economic diminishment of America and Europe, and so much in between that I would run out of space.
Essentially, the rousing plank of world wars is the ideology that exploits the lowest common denominator to get public support - fascism versus democracy,

The unnamed young students of Ahmedabad who had a question or two for Rahul Gandhi this week were pertinent, not pert. They also provided more evidence that students are doing the job that journalists either cannot, or will not, do; which is, ask relevant questions. In this case, media was prevented from reporting the event, so journalists can't be faulted, and we know what happened thanks only to an enterprising reporter from The Times of India who had a source inside the hall.<br

If the boss gets angry, just play it cool. Hamid Yar Hiraj's appointment as Chairman ERRA was greeted with confusion and consternation by the Q-League. But he didn't react when Ch Shujaat Hussain expressed shock at his decision or when he was accused of having lied to Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani that he was accepting the offer with the consent of his party leadership. And when he got what he wanted, there's no point in ruffling any more feathers!
In realpolitik you do what

You wake up in the morning, do your ablution, say your prayers and thank Allah for providing us the opportunity to experience a new day. Wherever a Pakistani wakes up, be it Swat, Balochistan, Sindh coastline, Chitral, Baltistan or any part of Punjab, one cannot thank Allah enough for the beauty, serenity, geo-political location and the unending resources that he has blessed our country with.
When you get down to the business of the day, starting from reading the newspaper,

It seems that it is easier to manage a foe than to manage a friend, as Punjab's top honcho may have found to his discomfort. One can always get a Rana Sanaullah to deal with the guv who has mastered the art of anti-Sharif one-liners but how does one handle a friend who was once Punjab's top mandarin but was put aside after a hit and run incident in which his involvement could not be denied. The dilemma persists that this is a grade 22 friend and there are no other grade 22 jobs to be

NATO's Afghan exit strategy, which was recently unveiled in Lisbon, is symptomatic of the West's desperation to cut and run. After President Obama's now well-known 'draw down' deadline by July 2011, another time frame given at the Summit envisages 150,000 NATO-led forces in Afghanistan to start withdrawing by the end of 2014, transferring part of the battlefield to the Afghan army and police.
The declared strategy does not quite gel with the optimistic note struck by the top US

Many would readily agree that deepening relations with China, as decided by the troika on Wednesday, is in Pakistan's interest provided unrealistic expectations are not harboured. China is an all weather friend who has always helped Pakistan in economic, defence and diplomatic spheres. It has in fact been the policy of every Pakistani government, civilian as well as military, to continue to strengthen ties with our neighbour in the north. So what is the need to reassert the need?<br