Conspiracy theories accrue no knowledge
The grander the conspiracy theory, the grander the crown of “easy come easy go” knowledge. Khalil 24 November, 2025
January 28, 2026
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The grander the conspiracy theory, the grander the crown of “easy come easy go” knowledge. Khalil 24 November, 2025
The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith was published on March 9, 1776. This makes the year 2026 the 250th anniversary of its publication. — Everyone should have around 95% of Adam Smith. Yes, only Adam Smith. hen he may have this or that bit of the most notable contributors to the economic theory. That may help make a perfect economist out of him. Dr Khalil 13-01-2026
Everyone should have about one-fourth of Socrates, another one-fourth of Aristotle, more than half a percent of Plato, and finally a thorough dip into Karl Popper – that may help make a perfect philosopher out of him. Dr Khalil 10-01-2026
While stepping into 2026, let’s reboot ourselves with common sense and reason in our thoughts, actions, and daily lives. Above all, let’s resolve to stand by moral principles in everything we do. Here’s to a year of integrity, tolerance, and composure. Happy New Year
سیاسی پارٹیوں نے باہر کے محتسب (قانون کی حاکمیت) کو مار دیا ہے۔ لوگوں نے اپنے اندر کے محتسب (اخلاقی حس) کو۔
جون ایلیا ایک باغی ہیں۔ وہ کسی سانچے میں فِٹ نہیں بیٹھتے۔ وہ کسی سانچے میں فِٹ بیٹھ ہی نہیں سکتے۔ وہ سانچوں کے لیے نہیں بنے تھے۔ نہ ہی سانچے ان کے لیے۔ وہ خالص باغی ہیں۔ وہ ایک خارِ مغیلاں تھے، جو خود ان کے وجود میں پیوست تھا۔ وہ جس اضطراب، جس احساسِ ناآسودگی کا شکار تھے، خود انھیں بھی اس کی خبر نہیں تھی۔ یہی سبب ہے کہ وہ ہمہ اضطراب، ہمہ احساسِ ناآسودگی تھے۔ وہ ایک ایسا بھالا تھے، جس کا پھل خود ان کے دل کے آر پار تھا۔ وہ خود اپنے گھائل تھے۔
برِصغیر ہی کیا، دنیا بھر میں مسلمانوں کی فکر بیشتر مذہبی تقدس میں ڈوبی ہوئی تھی۔ آج بھی ایسا ہی ہے، یعنی پاکستان سمیت۔ لیکن ایک چیز جو سمجھنے کی ہے، وہ یہ ہے کہ برِصغیر میں مسلمانوں کی فکر کا محاورہ (ایڈیم) ’’ادبی‘‘ تھا (اس کی وضاحت آگے آئے گی)۔ وہ اِن اصطلاحات اور اس سیاق و سباق میں سوچتے تھے۔ مراد یہ کہ اگر کوئی محقق برِصغیر کے مسلمانوں کی فکر پر کام کرنا چاہتا ہے، تو اسے لگے بندھے پیمانوں کو طاق میں رکھنا ہو گا۔ یعنی اگر کوئی یہ کہے کہ یہاں برِصغیر میں مسلمانوں میں
Until when Dr Frankenstein is buried irretrievably, his monsters will keep on playing havoc with society and the state. Khalil
POTUS (Donald J Trump) to win the Nobel Peace Prize next year provided Hamas-Israel agreements hold. Khalil
In the subcontinent, Muslims, led by the Ali Brothers and others, were waging the Khilafat Movement to save the Ottoman Caliphate from the British. Meanwhile, in Turkey, Muslims under Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s leadership abolished the Ottoman Caliphate. Ironically, the same ethos persists in Pakistan today. Khalil
No debate or exchange of ideas is possible with those who consider truth as their exclusive privilege. Khalil
Too much mess. All in all, it is too much mess. Yes, the government has created too much mess. It has become a total administrative state, especially in the province of Punjab, and every government, be it federal or provincial or AJK’s or GB’s, has mismanaged everything to the hilt. Yes, all the governments need to be cut down to a smaller size to indispensably allow the society to move forward and achieve progress and prosperity on its own. And the governments’ writ must be confined to their protective function only. 17-9-25
It always happens that the essence of the work is lost, and the outward form survives. Not only does this outward form survive, but it also loses all its semblance and transforms into mere optics. For instance, politics has become but a second name for the optics now. Likewise, in the work of “flood relief,” be it being done by private actors or by the government functionaries, photo ops (photo opportunities) have attained supremacy over the essence of helping others. In the wake of this, it behooves that all such photo ops be completely shunned. Along with being shunned, people
Most Pakistanis are psychological creatures. Only a minority elevate themselves to a philosophical level, and a lot of them now and then relapse again into their psychological niche. So we have very few philosophical beings in our midst. The majority of political beings are also psychological beings. And it is for the same reason that our society does not evolve intellectually. 7 September, 2025
My priorities are very much clear, clear like crystals. If it is a contest between an individual and society, I am with the individual. If it is a contest between an individual and the state, I am for the individual. If it is a contest between state and society, I am on the side of the society.
To keep on imploring a government to do this and to do that is just useless. Absolutely useless. I mean when it is done by an intellectual, a journalist, a columnist, an analyst, a civil society organization, an alliance of CSOs, an NGO, an alliance of NGOs, talk show hosts, a think tank, a political group, etc. Simply because all the politicians, whoever they are and wherever they are, do what they want to do. And they do what keeps them surviving in power in shorter terms. They have no long-term view of their survival. That’s why their politics is
آج 7 اگست (2025) ہے۔ صبح اُٹھ کر ناشتہ کرتے ہوئے، لیپ ٹاپ کھولا اور فیس بُک ’’میموریز‘‘ (یاد داشتوں) پر نظر ڈالی تو درجن بھر سے بھی زیادہ پوسٹیں سامنے آنا شروع ہو گئیں۔ یاد آیا اس دن یعنی 7 اگست 2022 کو ایک رو میں بہت کچھ لکھتا چلا گیا۔ اس رو کی تہہ میں غصہ، بے بسی، اور حیرانی کارفرما تھے۔ ابھی آگے ان کی وضاحت بھی ہو جاتی ہے۔ اصل میں کئی برسوں سے لاوا پک رہا تھا۔ اور گو کہ میں اول روز ہی سے اس ’’عمران خان پراجیکٹ‘‘ کی ممکنہ تباہ کاریوں پر لکھتا
اخلاقیات، جمالیات کا جزوِ خاص ہے۔ جبکہ جمالیات، اخلاقیات کا جزوِ عام ہے۔ یعنی جمالات برتر اخلاقیات ہوئی۔ 16 جولائی، 2023
Ahmed Jamal Pirzada is a lecturer in economics at Bristol University, UK, and interested in macroeconomics. In February-March 2022, we had a polite tweet exchange (now X exchange), so rare on the Twitter-space, triggered by his appreciation of Hammad Azhar, Minister of Energy in the incumbent (de facto) government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. HA is the son of Mian Muhammad Azhar, former Governor of Punjab, and belongs to an Ashrafiya business family of Lahore. AJP: Hammad has been one of the few sane voices who is willing to push for what is right: trade with India, deregulating the sugar sector, improving
I’m a member of only 3 groups, and by choice. I had to leave a number of others for different reasons. I post things with the following purposes in mind. It’s not an exhaustive list. Sometimes one does it for no obvious reason. – for the sake of information – having bearing on a certain current issue – having good or bad arguments for this or that policy – having policy implications – having light humor – my own writing, or a video, or bits of thoughts for the sake of information only or relating to a current internal and/or
In my opinion, the following is the case. This country was achieved by the politicians by waging a peaceful political and democratic struggle. And it was meant, constitutionally, to be run by politicians. Though the original constituent assembly was dissolved. And whatever constitutions were agreed upon or promulgated or enforced or dissolved or revoked halfway, they all unequivocally meant this country to be run by politicians duly elected and enjoying the mandate given to them by the people. Thus, whenever any martial law was imposed, the constitution was suspended, unconstitutionally amended, revoked, or abrogated with impunity; all the burden of
Re East Pakistan into Bangladesh… the role of Zulikar Ali Bhutto and/or General Yahya… who’s the real culprit? In principle, it’s the politicians who are to exercise the mandate given to them. And be they military or any other departments or agencies, they are in fact merely employees. So the responsibility rests with the politicians. And here in this case, the sole responsibility rests with ZAB. In case he sided with the Awami League (of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman) and supported and honored its mandate, regardless of the facts of whether Bangladesh had come into being or not, there would be
On this Women’s Day (8 March 2025), have a look at the newspapers; most of the politicians and public personalities are trying to highlight the good role they played in favor of this movement. That’s the power of the women’s movement in Pakistan. First they opposed it. Then they opted to remain silent. Then they joined the chorus. And now they are supporting it, and most of all, now they are counting their contributions to it. That translates into the fact that they are on the defensive now. The Women’s Movement in Pakistan has crossed a milestone. Bravo! Congrats to
Note: This article was written in early 2011 as a short introduction to the life and work of Aslam Effendi and was included in the book, Hard Facts of History, by Aslam Effendi that was published in February 2011 by the Alternate Solutions Institute. It was back in March 2002 that I came to know about Aslam Effendi sahib. Vincent H. Miller (died 2008) of the International Society for Individual Liberty (now Liberty International), USA, made a revelation that there was a free marketeer in Pakistan, and he lived in Islamabad. He introduced me to him. I wrote him, and
No documentation. No income tax. Only consumption tax in one digit at the POS. 50% cut in the size of the government. 50% cut in the spending by the government. Let everyone import. Let everyone export. No licensing. Only registration. Minimum tax/duty.
ایک طرف دو قوتیں: عدلیہ اور عمرانیہ دوسری طرف دو قوتیں: قائمیہ اور سیاسیہ ان میں سے ایک راستہ ممکنہ طور پر آئینی حکمرانی کی طرف جا سکتا ہے۔ جبکہ دوسرا راستہ آئین کی لازمی تنسیخ اور فسطائیت کی طرف جاتا ہے۔ اقتدار کی اس اعصاب شکن جنگ کا اہم ترین پہلو یہ ہے کہ اس میں ہم شہریوں کے کسی کردار کی کوئی ضرورت نہیں۔ 15 اکتوبر 2024
پاکستان کے دانشور اور تجزیہ نگار ایک سے بڑا ایک خلطِ مبحث پیدا کرتے رہتے ہیں۔ اور پھر خود ہی بڑے ناز سے بتاتے ہیں کہ بس یہی آخری صداقت ہے۔ ان کا یہ عمل ایک مغالطے کو تخلیق کرنے اور پھر اسے ایک سچائی کے طور پر پیش کرنے سے مماثل ہے۔ جبکہ ان کے پاس دلائل کم ہی ہوتے ہیں۔ نہ ہی یہ دلائل لانے کو ضروری سمجھتے ہیں۔ بہرحال، موجودہ مغالطہ جس سے بحث مقصود ہے، یہ ہے کہ عمران خان کو سیاست میں شکست دیں۔ اسے سیاسی طور پر ہرائیں۔ یعنی وہ کہنا یہ چاہتے ہیں
Here are two books and a movie to understand the nature of fascism and the unravelling of IK fascism in Pakistan. 1. Political Ponerology: A Science on the Nature of Evil Adjusted for Political Purposes, by Andrzej Lobaczewski 2. The Mass Psychology of Fascism, by Wilhelm Reich 3. Movie: A Special Day, by Ettore Scola (1977) 23 September 2024