Join the “Rally Against Fear” – by Talib Qizilbash: In the days following the brutal murder of Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer, the voices of reason have seemed absent. Compassion gone. Justice non-existent. But outside of the busy blogosphere and English print media, there are people getting out and

Strategic grandeur – by Raza Rumi: As if Pakistan’s domestic woes were not troubling, the unravelling of the US strategy and its implications are eluding even the best of strategists. Mind you, Pakistan is a place every third person is a ‘strategy’ expert and the term

Floods’ management: A perfect script for a black comedy: Raza Rumi As I write these lines, millions are stranded and vulnerable to disease in the wake of perhaps the greatest natural disaster of recent times. Communities in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa are stranded, Sindh is facing the wrath of gods and

Redefining national interest: Raza Rumi The elusive quest for peace between India and Pakistan remains hostage to the military-industrial complex at both the global and regional levels. Such is the dynamic unleashed by two imagined “nations” that their existence as states is

Media freedoms versus responsibility (holy cow syndrome): Published today in The News Much has been said about media accountability and the dire need of a regulation framework for Pakistan’s new power centre. Pakistani media has earned its freedom and independence after a long, often bloody, struggle

Devising a new framework for Indo-Pak peace: Raza Rumi Today the foreign ministers of Pakistan and India will meet. This major development should be welcomed. Sceptical noises of distrust in both countries have been heard and the Kashmiri leaders have issued rejectionist statements. Subcontinental leaderships have

No alternative to peace with India: Raza Rumi Once again, the fragile peace process between India and Pakistan has commenced. It is too early to say whether it will lead to an amicable settlement of seemingly intractable issues. What is clear is that the peoples

Fatal obsession: Raza Rumi It is a matter of public record that the founder of Pakistan had stated that Indo-Pakistan relationship will resemble that of the USA and Canada. Even before the Partition, Jinnah in a 1946 press conference stated, “the

Reforming the legislators: on the fake degrees – by Raza Rumi: The debate on fake degrees has captured the middle class imagination of Pakistan’s mainstream media. True that lying and misrepresenting facts is not acceptable. Yet, discriminatory laws against the political elites are not kosher either. The debate on the