Balochistan: a flawed policy – by Sanaullah Baloch: While remote-controlling the province via civil armed forces may breed more resentment and violence, support for apolitical tribal chiefs as an alternative against the popular Baloch leadership will solely promote corruption, bad governance and will lead to a harmful
Pakistani democracy delivers — by Wajid Shamsul Hasan: Why Pakistan needs strong institutions is amply demonstrated in recent events of monumental importance. However, these events did not get enough attention either because of indifference from analysts or their lack of comprehension about these issues. It is a
Whither civilian governance?: By Raza Rumi Cross Posted from Pakteahouse While the gurus of security and international affairs continue to unpack and make sense of the high-profile and much-hyped Pak-US ’strategic dialogue’, the people of Pakistan continue to ask questions about its
Sick and Tired! – by Agha Haider Raza: Over the past week Pakistan has read many different news items. From the passing of the 18th amendment to the bomb blast at the US Consulate, much is happening. Some may say the stories are for the betterment of
DSP Babar’s arrest, treatment leaves mark on cops in Lahore: * Senior police officers say issue could have been better managed * Babar’s treatment creates rift in police circles, some oppose suspended DSP, others support him By Shahnawaz Khan LAHORE: The arrest and the subsequent alleged third degree investigation
Benazir Employees Stock Option Scheme – by Saad Hassan: Originally Published at THENEWS! Employees turn millionaires overnight; Govt gives 12pc of shareholding in PPL to employees SUI: Hundreds of junior-cadre workers of the state-run Pakistan Petroleum (PPL) became millionaires overnight after getting ownership certificates of their company under
Pakistan’s low-cost housing needs — by Syed Mohammad Ali: In big metropolitan cities like Karachi and Lahore, housing projects often get started with little idea of urban planning to link them with roads and the required infrastructure. Unless these processes begin to take place simultaneously, new housing developments
Culture of police torture in Pakistan – by Qudrat Ullah: Although the police flogging are not an uncommon arcane in Pakistan, yet the shocking telecast of flout police torture of some hapless accused, in the presence of flabbergasted on-lookers, in a remote Punjab locality by the acerbic media, has
An introduction to Rana Sanaullah: Here are some video clips providing a crisp introduction to what Nawaz Sharif and his PML-N stand for, particularly in view of their much trumpeted rhetoric for the rule of law and fight against corruption. Our focus in these
To be dashing, keep bashing! – by Mian Saifur Rehman: PML-N leaders in various cities of Punjab have taken out rallies and resorted to public display of arms and firing to express their (shameless) support for the police chitrol (bashing). Here is an article on this topic by Mian
Evaluating democracy – by Ghazia Aslam and Wasim Q. Malik: Thanks: Dawn.com, Monday, 01 Mar, 2010 Advocates of democracy claim that it protects property rights, promoting an environment of collective growth. – File photo A passionate debate comparing and contrasting the performance of Pakistan’s democratic and dictatorial regimes has
Civil service reform revisited – by Sania Nishtar: The International Crisis Group’s Report on Civil Service Reform has sparked conversations around the need and potential avenues for restructuring Pakistan’s civil service. This, however, is not the first time that a report on the subject has been made
Development assistance: Impediment or facilitator? – by Junaid Qaiser: Individualland Pakistan, on 20 February, 2010 , organized a seminar on the issue of “Examining Development Assistance”. Representatives from civil society, media and education sector participated in the discussion. In her welcome remarks and context setting address, Individualland’s Director
Two years of democracy and counting – by Raza Rumi: ‘The obvious fallout of the media-government war has been a virtual blackout of what the civilian governments have achieved’, Writes Raza Rumi in his excellent article in The News on Sunday. Two years and counting Given the average shelf
Lahore’s traffic: Jam anyone? – by Masood Hasan: To describe Lahore traffic – or for that matter any other urban city here – as an eternal traffic jam would do no justice to the ground reality. The stage of rough-cut orange marmalade or strawberry conserve is long
“Bonus season at the IMF” – Not institutions we destroyed: By Ahmad Nadeem Gehla Institutions of a state are always the first causality of dictatorship. Although dictatorships promote a feeling of ’stability’ which encourages the investor, the absence of institution soon takes away the fruits of stability. The house of cards built by
The PPP is its own worst enemy – by Irfan Husain: Power, perceptions and the PPP By Irfan Husain Saturday, 30 Jan, 2010 It isn’t often that I agree with Nawaz Sharif. However, when he said a few weeks ago that the PPP was its own worst enemy, he put
Flood management in Punjab: But what next? – by Qudrat Ullah: Punjab, the land of mighty rivers and flowing canals, witnessed many big deluges which caused losses to the tune of billion of rupees, besides damaging lives and property of the public. Although the flood management is the responsibility of
Consequences of Zia’s misrule and Talibanization: Wasted youth: Reflections on the British Council report By Nadeem F. ParachaSaturday, 21 Nov, 2009 Released today (Saturday 21 November), the Pakistan British Council’s hefty report titled, Pakistan: The Next Generation, encapsulates the economics, demographics and, more importantly, the
Where did the funds go?: As the Obama Administration focuses more on the social sectors of the Pakistani economy and separates its aid to Pakistan under the Kerry-Lugar Bill from assistance to the Pakistan Army, new information about how the old US funds were
Good instincts are not enough, Mr Zardari! – by Talat Masood: Good instincts are not enough Monday, September 28, 2009 (The News)Talat Masood The country faces an extraordinary situation. No one trusts its top political leadership. The print and electronic media is in overdrive to give it a bad name
Corruption, corruption? Where is good governance, Mr. Zardari?: Kamran Khan and Talat Hussain send this urgent “telegram” to President Asif Ali Zardari in the following two articles: Rampant corruption causing collapse of govt organisations Reign of kickbacks, commissions, back room deals cost nation billions of dollars By
Local disparities in Punjab – PIDE Report: GENERALISATIONS mask reality and lead to oversimplified, sweeping judgments. One such judgment of our times is that Punjab is getting rich at the expense of the rest of the country. Though generally true, this hides certain specifics that clearly