Changing the narrative
No easy fix
The advent of spring is generally the time to talk about Pakistan’s soft image, or the lack of it. This year, however,...
Pakistan’s image problem
What it will take to be a nation again
Pakistan faces a serious image problem. It is not the “Jewish lobby,” the all too familiar...
There is hope
The lighter side of Pakistan that does not make the headlines
“Great were the lamentation and the cry when the news of this mischance was...
The festival that lit up Lahore
Thousands thronged to the city from far and away
The city of lahore has always been a wellspring of literary goodness. The third Lahore Literary...
‘PM more focused on politics than militancy’
The government needs to get its act together
Recent TTP reprisal attacks have called the effectiveness of the National Action Plan (NAP) into question even...
Platitudes plentiful
Grandiose proclamations morphing into ominous premonitions
“The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser...
Part of the problem, not the solution
The ruling elite is blind to the writing on the wall
Despite being in a constant state of denial the IS (the Islamic State or...
Defeating terrorism
NAP has little to show for itself
A little over two months ago a bunch of homicidal maniacs made kids in a Peshawar school (APS)...
Even NAP is not enough!
Government fails to establish peace despite tall claims that NAP was the right anti-dote to counter extremism and sectarianism
Unfortunately, we have not learnt our...
An interview with security expert, Amir Rana
NAP will be implemented gradually: Amir Rana
There has been forward movement, despite setbacks, but progress will be slow
The recent spike in terrorist attacks has called...
Lahore’s Literary Lantern
A report on the 29th Lahore International Book Fair
This year's Lahore International Book Fair ran from February 5th-9th at the Expo Centre in Johar...
Model Town of the ‘70s
Knitting hypocrisy and suffocation with humour to recreate Lahore of once-upon-a-time
Contradictions in society provide subjects for storytelling but subjects alone don't make for good...
Throwback to a waning era, and story-telling style
Love, hate, romance, feuds and gossip from Punjab of once-upon-a-time
What Will You Give For This Beauty? makes for a rare book review. It’s not...
Fossilised brains and deceitful intentions
The looming spectre of a regressive theocratic state
The last few days have been extremely disturbing seeing politics sliding into an irretrievably degenerative labyrinth. Increasingly,...
Badly governed to ungovernable
Pakistan has one of two options: go up or go down. The third – things remaining the same – is no option at all...
Nawaz Sharif’s four deadly sins
Sleepwalking into a nightmare?
The first sin is to continue the absurd and utterly unfeasible style of governance that marred the PML-N’s performance in the...
Leaders with a cause… and ours
A leader is a purely political animal
At times during these past few days an eerie near-silence descended on the streets of Lahore, in sharp...
