Opinion

The twisted equation between US and Israel, in which the smaller partner sets the terms of engagement

Dharnas and resolutions notwithstanding, US will not stop using drones as it is the only means of war inside Pakistan.

Recrimination and acrimony between the Pakistan and Afghanistan serves no purpose.

There was nothing in this budget for the poor. Not even the great Zulfikar Ali Bhutto could deliver a people's budget.

No amount of oppression can keep the people chained; Instead, oppression begets violence and deep turmoil.

To boost ratings and prepare for 2012 elections, Sarkozy and his odious government deported thousands of Roma people.

Democracy, no matter how flawed, has a self-corrective mechanism, which takes time to take root and matures over time.

SEF met costs by remaining within budget. Yet the government released money for a new building without consulting SEF.

My main argument of the faujis is that sovereignty is a virtue not in absolutist terms, but in instrumental terms.

These were urbanites: socially liberal but serving conservative establishmentarian politics practiced by dictators.

India-Pakistan rivalry in Afghanistan has a long and vexed history and it will continue indefinitely.

A higher literacy rate might actually translate into greater support and sophistication for terrorists.

Finance and Planning Commission has responded with rare clarity and vision to address the economic crisis.

Pakistanis simply fail to see an enemy if he wears a long beard and skullcap (or turban) and speaks Arabic.

The disproportionate importance environmental issues get, one wonders the relative importance it gets in the budget.

While soldiers honour each other in death and captivity, the poor journalist is degraded and abused by his killers.

Near an election, the budget is not to be judged by the realism of its projections, but by the size of subsidies.

Flexible foreign policy favours a normal state. But if you have ideology driving policy, then ‘fixity’ becomes a flaw.

Pakistan is at a juncture with a poorly done political vision versus a national security vision of the country.

Over the years, sensible men of foresight held their heads in their hands over the sheer stupidity of this stand-off.

Journalists view the anti-terror fight as American and feel responsible to uphold Pakistan’s sovereignty at all...

Public sector investment crowding in the private sector investment has far-reaching implications for long-term growth.

The enemy is somewhere within, deep into the Pakistani psyche which inherits an ‘invasion-threat’ to land and God.

Haqqani, on the other hand, is not merely a reliable ally, but a friend of Pakistan.

All of the promises made by Hafeez Sheikh at last years budget presentation have not been kept.

What endeared him to me was his absolute humility, a trait generally rare and rarer still in our profession.

Shahzad’s life was not more precious than other journalists, but his tragic death can become a symbol of resistance.

With freezing of foreign university projects and funding of higher education, plans are afoot to destroy the HEC.

Expect the budget speech to invoke emotions over the floods, the damage, and how our reserves and exports have grown.

Amongst all the bomb blasts, tortured corpses, incompetent forces, no one sees that we are really brave.

When the interests of rulers are in foreign lands it is unreasonable to expect them to fight for the rights of people.

We need to review our national purpose away from ‘hatred of India’ to something like ‘peace at home and peace abroad’.

Muslim scientists should not bask in past glory. There is resurgence in Muslim science and Pakistanis are part of it.

Weaker states still have to find the means to survive; they still do it through balancing or bandwagoning, or both.

We may never be able to please Washington but we can do more to persuade Iran to keep bilateral ties remain strong.

By design or through characteristic recklessness, the delicate strategic balance in the region has been disturbed.

In the global community of nations, Pakistan doesn’t figure very well, and that has been the case for many years now.

We compel ourselves to love an object that is designed to hurt us; this is the very definition of sadomasochism.

The notion that Pakistanis are watching more porn and watching more porn leads to rape is false.

The Indian government looks jaded and its claims sound like an overused gramophone record.

American assistance to Pakistan is overestimated, as press does not distinguish commitments from disbursements.

Today, every inhabitant of this blighted republic has his/her own idea on how the military should defend itself.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - a place where when lives are lost one can just play again.

The term university should be reserved for an institution teaching all possible subjects.

OODA stands for, observe, orient, decide, act.

It is time for the US to publicly apologise to Pakistan for greatly aggravating an already dysfunctional situation.

The Pakistani military is in some ways an admirable institution, but it is obsessed with India and Kashmir.

It is important to note that now is the time to think of greater accountability of the defence sector.

The political class is supposed to tax those who spend on infrastructure, but it has not understand how to do it.

The people have no doubts that it is the military that controls the miserable happenings in the country.