Archive for March, 2012

By Hassan Belal Zaidi - For many years now, a multitude of political leaders, opportunistic hacks, clerics, celebrities and sundry opinion leaders have been moaning about this prodigal child, known as the Pakistani news media.

By Xari Jalil - When Aslam* left Lahore for Faisalabad, his wife knew it was business. Until her friend called her and told her she had seen Aslam with another woman entering a hotel elevator. Fareeha was stunned. She was upset and

By Mushahid Hussain Syed - Not since 1962 has Pakistan had such a watershed year in foreign policy. The 1962 Sino-Indian conflict was a catalyst for Pakistan’s moving away from the US and closer to China, a relationship that remains

By Khawaja Manzar Amin - So it is official now. This will also be a Basant-less spring. The ban, based on a conditional apex court judgment, was already in place since 2009 on Lahore’s wildly popular annual kite-flying festival. This time

By M Ali - Civil Quarters is a quiet residential neighborhood of Peshawar and houses Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government officials. However, barricades and police guard outside an ordinary quarter takes one by surprise; guards and

By Marvi Sirmed - Swathed under various crusts of inequalities, the men and women of Pakistan continue to struggle for a better life. No other people would have struggled so vociferously and consistently for democracy and rights,

By Syed Adil Gilani - While the PPP-led coalition government has failed to develop a consensus with the opposition parties on the new accountability bill and the parliamentary watchdog – the Public Accounts Committee – has virtually

By Dr. Salman Shah - As 2011 came to a close, Pakistan found itself enmeshed in the most challenging fight of its existence. The memo gate episode unfolded before us the fissures between our government and national security

By Abdullah Yusuf - The effectiveness of the taxation system of any country is judged from ratio of tax revenues to the size of the economy. Developed countries have the Tax-to-GDP ratio much above 25 percent, while in the developing

By Shahab Jafry - It is ironic that the rupee has sunk to its lowest against the dollar just when the reserve currency is hovering around its own long-term weakest level against its most traded partners. Last month’s sudden dollar bulge