Comment

Thanks and congratulations; Pakistan Today is like a wish coming true. I wonder if we could just take our collective attention away from the nonsensical shenanigans of our political (non) actors and comment on how the public at large feels about the iron pickets that criss-cross entries east of the Canal into Lahore Cantt & DHA.
What logic lies behind such unprofessional and arbitrary checks by these combined MP/Police manned blocks needs closer scrutiny. There is neither any

While the government is obsessed with saving its tenure, the people are being crushed under the weight of food inflation in the country. Only yesterday, the price of sugar was raised. Again. Everything from sugar to tomatoes to garlic is now beyond the reach of the common person.
While issues like an independent judiciary and a working system are important, there importance will be next to nothing for a people who cannot even afford the basic necessities of life. Many

Yet another blow to the poverty stricken, flood affected and helpless Pakistani public was inflicted as the US secretary of state Hilary Clinton has appealed to international donors to immediately stop all aid to Pakistan.
Whether this is a good thing or bad remains debatable. It would be totally bad if the entire confection was actually to be used to assist and rehabilitate the devastated people, which is an impossibility considering past examples and models of corruption.<br

Recently, the Global Handwashing Day was celebrated in many parts of the world.
In our country, the same the same was also held. I can picture former President Pervez Musharraf washing the blood off his hands for the political blunders he made during his dictatorial rule. Lal Mosque, Bugti murder, extraordinary renditions, Balochistan Operation, missing persons and many others speak for themselves.
After playing havoc with the country, he now claims to be a true patriot

Every round of Pak-US dialogue, the third one beginning next week, provides an occasion to each side to squeeze out as many concessions from the other as it can. This requires a lot of haggling and recourse to direct and indirect pressures. As the talks proceed, negotiators from both sides have to keep an eye on public opinion at home where numerous lobbies and interest groups keep making all sorts of noises. The announcements subsequently made comprise of truths, half-truths and

The west is in a bit of a wringer when it comes to Pakistan. On the one hand, they cannot afford to let it slide into anarchy: the phrase that has caught on when it comes to describing nuclear-armed Pakistan is, unfortunately, the drunk with the car keys. It has to be helped. On the other hand, however, is the feeling that aid to Pakistan is like throwing in good money after bad. Like anybody putting in the money, the western leaders want results. They want a change in the status quo.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: this parliament must complete its natural life, no matter how bad it gets, as must the provincial assemblies. This is an absolute imperative. Else we won't grow and mature politically and the system will not evolve. If any changes have to be made, they must only come constitutionally. There are three ways to do this:
1. The National Assembly can elect a new prime minister if the incumbent feels that he has lost the confidence of the

The despicable act of smuggling rare and endangered species of birds to far off territories for petty gains shows clearly our emotional degradation and how clever we have become to trade anything and everything including humans as well. Cruel is the manner in which these birds are dealt with as they are displaced and dislocated from the climate and geography that the Lord assigned to them that is instrumental to end their flights of freedom. That they would adapt to foreign climes in

I recently had the misfortune of seeing the new cigarette packs that features the really disturbing image of a mangled mouth. Even though I am not a smoker myself, I am quite ambivalent about that image. It makes a supposition that people are idiots who need such graphic reinforcement. People make conscious choices and are well-aware of the consequences. If you are 18 and above (the age at which you can be sold a pack), then you should be rational enough to judge the pros and cons of

The recent order of the Apex Court that the executive order of reinstatement of Supreme Court Judges could not be taken back, short of being declared a subversion of the Constitution, feels like a breath of fresh air in the form of the majesty of the law that invigorates the soul of our nation.
The Apex Court was aware of the November 3rd 2007 emergency plus imposition which was denied a day earlier. So this was a case of once bitten twice shy. This time our Apex Court has grown

All the 33 Chilean miners trapped for over two months down under the 2,041-feet gold and copper mine were rescued on October 13 with the President Sebastian Pinera himself supervising the rescue operation, and the miners foreman Luis Urzua coming out as the last man from under the deepest cave, for he refused to see light of the day unless his all companions come out, safe and sound.
The entire Chilean nation, its President and the heroes of hero, Luis Urzua, deserve applause.

The truism "everything is political" is truer in Pakistan then any other country in the world. The ongoing saga of the pro-active and preemptive measures of our Judge Sahiban show that even the office that is supposed to be the most apolitical office, has also been politicised to an unacceptable extent. Juridical activism, judicial independence and other such jargon is thrown around to confuse the public and to justify actions that do not suit the honorable office of the apex court. I

I wonder when Pakistan cricket will be free of this scourge of mismanagement (an understatement, by all means). The PCB is in tatters. It has always been in tatters but the fact that now due to its high jinks, Pakistani cricket is in bad shape is unforgivable. Bad administration did not always result in bad cricket but now that is the case. There have been moments in the current administration's reign, when any self-respecting man would have resigned instantly. But, Butt Sahib lacks

There doesn't seem to be an end to these absurdities. The Punjab Assembly keeps creating controversies by adopting pointless resolutions, thanks to the province's myopic political leadership. Last week's resolution asking the federal government to develop consensus among the federating units for building the Kalabagh Dam was no less bizarre than the one it had adopted against the media three months ago. You can't expect anything sensible from the Q-League especially from its mindless

What does the word Ram, the name of one of the most important Hindu gods, mean to you? Do you think of thousands of Indian Muslims who have died in the violence unleashed under his name? Do you think of Mahatma Gandhi who died while saying 'Hey Ram'? Do you think of LK Advani, the Karachi-born BJP leader whose Ram Temple movement is single-handedly responsible for the killings of thousands of Indians?
Last month, on September 30, India stopped. In Delhi, the markets were shut

It has been noticed that private colleges in Lahore have taken to increasing their fee arbitrarily. This is an injustice to the students and causes severe problems for them. As most of our population cannot afford these private colleges, public colleges being not enough in number to accommodate all the students, it is becoming increasingly difficult to get high quality education at affordable rates. This is not good for the society as, by offering various tiers of education system, we

This is with reference to the regional editorial "Abduction of doctors" that was printed in your editorial pages on 14 October 2010. This is an alarming trend that the Taliban are now targeting individual civilians like this. It is also very sad that this grave issue is getting very little coverage in the mainstream press as this was the first prominent piece I have seen on it. This issue should not be taken lightly. I think the people in our country find it hard to empathise with the