Note: This article was originally published in The Express Tribune ISLAMABAD: In their latest survey, Gallup & Gilani Pakistan asked a nationally representative sample of adult men and women: “Compared to ten years ago, do you feel more financially prosperous, less prosperous, or indifferent?” Surprisingly, 35% of respondents reported feeling financially better off now compared […]
Note: This article was originally published in The Express Tribune ISLAMABAD: Altering the economic system is not an easy task. It is more complex when carried out half-heartedly. Privatisation is only a part of this process. It may not succeed if done in an isolated manner. Among other things, it requires a competitive environment to […]
This is in response to my own short piece: Why there is no anti-tax narrative in Pakistan? Actually, the Tax Payers Alliance Pakistan (TPAP) asked me to send something for their first ever issue of the Voce of Taxpayers. I thought what could be better other than this piece, why there is no anti-tax narrative […]
The idea struck me as a surprise: Poets create aesthetic value. What value do the economists create? In simple words, what’s the purpose that the economists serve? I shared the idea with a number of friends including a few proper economists. They did not like it. They rather took it as something questioning the rationale […]
Let me dispel this impression: “PTI supporters hoped Khan would challenge the entrenched power structures that have kept Pakistan underdeveloped…” [From an article that was published in The Express Tribune] Most of the supporters of the IK/PTI were/(are) haters of politics and politicians generally, and especially Sharif Family and Benazir Bhutto/Zardari Family. That’s why not […]
In Pakistan, almost everybody, especially economists, politicians, etc, wants to tax the people, but they never tell, WHY. Because there is no anti-tax narrative. Because there are no anti-tax writers but hardly a few. Because there are no anti-tax economists but hardly a few. Because there is no anti-tax opposition. Because there is no […]
A few years ago, friends from a political party, that formed the government then, asked me to tell what things our party should do. I told them the following: – that party contested the elections, they had an election manifesto, they already know what to do. – There are so many op-ed writers, analysts, etc, […]
There was a joke about Gen Zia and Noor Jahan in which understandably Gen Zia was meant to be punished. But it appeared he was rather being rewarded and Noor Jahan was being meted out a punishment. The same is the case of Filers and Non-Filers. The government wants to punish the Non-Filers, but in […]
A friend was an economist proper, trained in a foreign university. When I tried to express myself on an economic issue under discussion, he told me ‘You’re not an economist.’ After keeping quiet on a number of occasions, I insisted ‘let’s see what I have got to say.’ Yes, I am not an economist, trained […]
He died last year. Till death, he was a Marxist. He left his home and family to devote himself to serve the cause. His last years were marked by disappointment over failure of the Movement of the Left in Pakistan. He died in depression. He was a polymath. A poet, literary critic, film critic, singer, […]
Under the circumstances, IK desperately wanted any crutches. JIP desperately wanted its mayor to be elected. That desperation is always bad in politics and bad politics as well. JIP provided IK with the crutches (ڈوبتے کو تنکے کا سہارا) at a time when the IK’s party, PTI has abandoned him and the Party itself stands […]
I try to explain why there is no unrest (or it is in a latent state). There is no political group or party to lead the disgruntled people There is too much political and hence social uncertainty and insecurity disallowing the people to act and come out on their own The current political crisis has […]
I learned a lot from the students I taught. Now when I reflect back on those years (1988-2006, a continuous teaching period, after that, it’s sporadic), I feel more indebted to the students for engaging with me in a sustained and productive dialogue than to my own argumentative mind. Without them, there was […]
Peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations; entangling alliances with none -Thomas Jefferson, 1743-1826. American people create abundant wealth. So, they are prosperous and
Judges rule on the basis of law, not public opinion, and they should be totally indifferent to the pressures of the times.– Warren E. Burger
Judges rule on the basis of law, not public opinion, and they should be totally indifferent to the pressures of the times. – Warren E.
The theory of media consumption stands vindicated in Pakistan! The story goes thus: On June 29 the Federal Defense Minister, Ahmed Mukhtar, who had been
When creative spirit of a nation is arrested from within, it is as vulnerable to external insinuations as is to internal machinations, and can never
When creative spirit of a nation is arrested from within, it is as vulnerable to external insinuations as is to internal machinations, and can never
When creative spirit of a nation is arrested from within, it is as vulnerable to external insinuations as is to internal machinations, and can never
The middleman tends to be eliminated . . . He can only be safely eliminated by natural processes. Sometimes he is of real use and
How to Privatize Successfully – Part I If privatisation needs to be done, it has to be done because it is the decisive step in
Changing the economic system is not an easy task. And, of course, it is more complex when carried out half-heartedly. As privatisation is only a
He knows nothing; and he thinks he knows everything. That points clearly to a political career.[George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950] People are difficult to govern because
[Here is the part 4 of the article: “Cynicism and Pakistan.”] The Theory of Lesser Evil (TLE) is a manifestation of cynicism. As cynicism finds
You can bring the rich to the level of the poor overnight but it takes a lifetime to lift the poor to the level of
O the Ashraaf Rulers! Develop new cities and have your dreams fulfilled; have Metro Buses and Metro Trains there and whatever you want! Why do
لاہور کی میت ہے ذرا دھوم سے نکلے [نئے شہر بساؤ اوراپنے شوق پورے کرو؛ ہمارے شہر کیوں ملیامیٹ کر رہے ہو!] روتی ہوئی حسرت
[Here is the part 3 of the article: “Cynicism and Pakistan.”] The discussion of the political cynicism here focuses only on the sections of society
The credit for any reduction in poverty in the country goes to privatisation, de-regulation and liberalisation, not to the so called pro-poor expenditures. Over a
Here is the 1st part of this article: Cynicism in Pakistan Cynicism and the politics in Pakistan Among other things, political cynicism destroys whatever little
It’s always been argued that there is no clergy among the Muslims. Is it so? Not the least! In fact, there is all the ‘required’
پاکستن کے سیاست دانوں نے، خواہ وہ جمہوریت کا لبادہ اوڑھے ہوئے ہیں یا مذہب کا، قریباً ستر برس سے یہاں کے شہریوں کو ٹرک
A Story of Complicity: Statistical Relationship between a Newspaper and a Politician * The writer supports freedom of thought, freedom of expression and freedom of
Note: The day Benazir Bhutto was murdered, December 27, 2007, it was the day when all the semblance of government evaporated in Pakistan; there was
This article was written last year in the wake of December 16 APS Tragedy to expose the Politicians’ inaction. It’s still relevant today on December
“I am a politician; I cannot commit any crime; I am perfectly innocent!” That is how, as we know at least in Pakistan, politicians argue.
The two noblest professions are teaching and politics. [Aristotle] Back in 2002 when the 35th Annual Session of Pakistan Philosophical Congress held in the Bukhari
Here is the first part of this article: A depoliticized Pakistan on the rampage The 2nd and the final part: Depoliticization and its causes What’s a depoliticized
Note: I sent this piece of writing to all the newspapers one by one; none bothered to see it or use it, that I am
Note: This article was completed on December 31st, 2014, and was originally posted on this Blog in January 2015. Presently there is happening quite a
Note: I completed this article on December 9, 2014, and wrote: “(Government) ought not to be afraid of martial law the prospects of which are
Patron Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders Shahid Rasheed Button says State Aristocracy is being promoted in Pakistan. Here is the story published in Pakistan Observer
Pakistan is a criminally horrible state. Read the whole story, published in The Express Tribune on September 15, 2015: Minister directs hospitals to remove political
So to say, in about 70 years, the political gains Pakistan’s polity has been able to make are dismal! Pessimistically, it’s NOTHING! Optimistically, it’s merely
It seems the present dispensation of PML-N believes in no principles of taxation. It’s just there to extort whatever amount of taxes the Federal Board
Note: This article was completed on August 4, 2014. Since then little has changed; this piece is still relevant on this 68th Independence Day. Stray
A person who is murdered, has he any rights? That question may seem strange. Let me add another dimension to it: What’s the spirit of
The pivot of politics is always seeking power, so that a political party is able, so to say, to implement its program on the basis
Countries may be likened to individuals who are resourceless and in order to grow and progress need help from their near ones, dear ones or
The Government of India Act 1935 declared “Pakistan” only as an independent dominion. Then in the constitution of 1956, the state was named as the
The title of this piece appears to be problematic. One can argue how cynicism may be confined to geographical specifications such as one of Pakistani
History is replete with stories of off-springs used in order to seize and wield power. One such story has been narrated by Abdul Haleem Sharar
کل 17 اپریل کو میں ریاض صاحب سے ملنے گیا۔ ریاظ ، مصورہیں اور بیشترعلمی و ادبی کتابوں کے سرورق کھینچتے ہیں۔ وہ کہنے لگے،
The case of 2014 Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Malala Yousafzai, which she shares with an Indian Kailash Satyarthi, who has devoted himself to the
It does not need any political acumen to see the reality behind the results of those surveys which declare the governance in the province of
Better to start with two clarifications: First, this piece does not raise the question of Pakistani state’s viability in the sense Pakistan’s Leftists and liberals
In the matters of running the state of Pakistan, penetration of politics, politicians and political considerations have marred the capability of the state to think
Nothing can be understood in isolation. So is the case with three recent press releases of the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), which acts as
Years back, when the very well-know Pak Tea House was closed down, a small portion of the Hall III, Al-Hamra, The Mall, Lahore, was made
As the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Pakistan Awami Tehreek launched this August 14 their “Azadi March” and “Inqilab March” respectively, and then undertook the Sit-Ins (Dharnas)
Everything has an aesthetic aspect. Politics is one of them. The political aesthetics appears, among other things, in two forms: Mannerism; and, Language. The others
