Tag: civil-military imbalance

It wasn’t easy. it wasn’t easy at all. I think I should say this merely to remind people that Bhutto sb’s constitutional government lasted for...

No mean feat Despite the various failures and shortcomings of the PPP-led coalition, it goes to the government’s credit that it has managed to take...

Twentieth time’s the charm The ruling coalition and the opposition have both been successful with their agendas. The opposition wanted to ensure that the government...

Haqqani leaves Will the furies have no mercy on the champions of doom and gloom in the country? Will the national addiction to drama -...

Everybody jostles In an interview to a foreign news channel in Davos on January 26, PM Gilani rejected the notion that “democracy was under threat...

Civilian, assert thyself. Or not. Gilani has gone back on his stand that the military leadership had violated the constitution and rules of business by...

Conciliation, not confrontation After several rounds of near head-on collisions with military institutions, the PPP-led government seems to have finally settled down for its pre-Memogate...

Cooperation is the only way forward With the memo commission rejecting the plea to record the statement of Mansoor Ijaz outside Pakistan and Ijaz refusing...

Taking credit, avoiding blame It was General Kayani's strong warnings that prevented Nato strikes into Pakistani territory, claims the military. This is a cause for...

Of tensions and extensions The Supreme Court’s direction to the government to submit a written assurance within two weeks that it has no intention of...

It’s wearing a judicial wig and an army uniform Overdose of speculation lead to ‘Great Expectations’ the last maddening week. With uncertainty and speculation rife,...

National security and democracy National security is integral to any state system. Internal and external dimensions of national security are assigned an important place in...

Far from ideal Stable civil-military relations are a pre-requisite for political stability and democratic continuity in Pakistan because the military has over the years acquired...

But how to make that smell go away? Conventional wisdom says that if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, talks like a...

Now, eyeball to eyeball Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani – usually soft spoken and compromise-seeking – thunderously declaring “there can be no state within a...

They run the show still… That the armed forces and the ISI constitute a state within a state is no secret. That they intend to...

The curse of interesting times The prime minister is a mild-mannered man. Even his worst detractors – and there are many – admit to the...