Nadeem Paracha leaves aside his usual wit and satire today, but his column in Dawn is still a must-read for anyone that believes in Pakistani democracy. Paracha’s point, in short, is that the new right wing in Pakistani politics is much more sophisticated than the military dictatorships of the past. As part of this sophistication, [...]

Specifically, fashion week was reported as being a political protest against Talibanization, and this was description of the events was met with great discomfort by many commentators. From major news media like the UK’s Guardian to bloggers the response was the same – why does everything in Pakistan have to relate to Taliban in the [...]

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Congress on Wednesday that her department was seeking $3.2 billion for Pakistan during the next fiscal year, which begins on Oct 1. She told a Senate appropriations committee that the money would be spent “to combat extremism, promote economic development, strengthen democratic institutions, and build a long-term relationship [...]

Now that the judiciary ‘crisis’ has settled down and the TV progamme directors are scrambling to invent find the next ‘crisis’ to increase their advertising sales, one question remains: If the judiciary is watching the government, who is watching the watchers? Munir Attaullah asks some questions that have not been talked about in his column [...]

The past year of the Zardari government has been filled with controversy and tension. Every week there is another prediction that the government is breathing its last, and only a matter of days will go by before its death. But with each of these controversies, each of these ‘near-death experiences,’ the government comes out not [...]

For all the talk about the proper role of an independent judiciary and accusations flying that the President was meddling in judicial affairs, is this really the case? Two prominent American lawyers say no, that actually the case is that the judiciary has acted improperly. David B. Rivkin Jr. and Lee A. Casey, Washington, D.C.-based [...]

Husain Haqqani is Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States in Washington, DC. A trusted advisor of former Pakistani Prime Minsiter, Ms Benazir Bhutto, Ambassador Haqqani is known as a Professor at Boston University and former Director of the Center for International Relations. He is also the Co-Chair of the Hudson Institute’s Project on the Future [...]

We have been writing on this blog for some time that the greatest threat to democracy is the political polarisation and gamesmanship being played by political parties and interests across the spectrum. We, as a nation, have seen how small disagreements between government officials and branches are blown out of proportion by political actors and [...]

Think what you want about Nadeem Paracha. Sometimes it seems like nobody is safe from his sharp tongued wit. But then again, he seems to have a remarkable patience. Considering his intense frustration with the right-wing chatterboxes and conspiracy wallas, you might expect him to be heated and angry when confronted by some follower of [...]

Who are Pakistan’s real friends? This is a popular question, and one with answers that come quickly off the tongue. China and Saudi Arabia are certainly friends. Everyone will tell you that. What about America? NOT a friend! This is also always the answer. There is no suprise to this attitude as it is presented [...]