Nawaz Sharif Will Return To Imran Khan’s Pakistan

The electorate blames the PML-N for the inflation that’s making their lives difficult, and Imran Khan owns the anti-establishment narrative despite being locked up.…

Imran Khan Vs Military Establishment: The Final Showdown Begins?

The ugly scenes of excessive shelling, PTI workers pelting stones at the police force and the eventual incapacity of the government to arrest former prime minister Imran…

Pakistan’s Ruling Classes Squabble As Masses Endure Hyperinflation

The ongoing polycrisis exhibits the longstanding contradictions within the Pakistani governance system, wherein there is no consensus on who will run the country. Are…

Pakistan’s Elites Have Pushed The Country To The Brink. Can They Fix It?

The resurgence of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its relentless attacks on the Pakistani state come at a time when the country faces the…

This summer Pakistan enters into another phase of instability

Pakistan is slowly gearing up for another round of political instability. By all accounts, the Prime Minister and his political fortunes are likely to…

Go Nawaz go . . . for an early election

The third term of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been far from smooth. Beset by challenges of governance and a strong opposition, he has…

Democracy in recession?

On the surface, things could not appear to be better for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. With a majority in parliament, electoral rigging charges thrown…

Raymond Davis and our national honour

A few weeks ago, when the Raymond Davis saga had gripped the public imagination, I had humbly suggested, on a TV show, that this…

The words of others

My piece published in the Friday Times last week For decades, Pakistan’s poets and writers have defied conventions and the almighty establishment. Rooted in…

The Zardari conundrum

By all statistical estimates and anecdotal evidence, Pakistan’s middleclass has grown during the last decade. The visible manifestation of this historically significant trend was…