Opinion
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Terror, trauma and identity
What is it doing to our nation, I am often asked. What should we say to our children?
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Any judicial reforms in sight?
Can the top judiciary propose measures to prevent the collusion between lawyers and the subordinate judiciary?
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Contestations over domestic violence
Why is the women protection bill still facing such vehement opposition from the religious right wing?
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India exploits our internal contradictions
Policymakers in India should realise the dangers inherent in destabilising Pakistan
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The Middle East’s World War
All sides involved in Syrian conflict will have to realise risk of the revival of Cold War-era practices and policies
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Making citizens
The real sense of what being a citizen means is a question of identity and requires serious thought
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Malik Barkat Ali’s role in the freedom struggle
Malik Barkat Ali was a close confidant of Allama Iqbal, who campaigned for his election in January 1937
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Iqbal and the power of the intellect
Despite being the result of a very creative process, Pakistan has always been wary of intellectual activity
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Radicalisation — the mother of militancy
Our ruling elite and policy planners are not paying attention to social spaces that facilitate radicalisation
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Cold, calculating and callous
We cannot hope for a realistic economic theory until a more realistic theory of human behavior is adopted
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Promoting human resource development
Money for education and health, if well spent, will also increase the confidence of the donor community
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Appeasement has failed
Our leaders should learn from world history that fanaticism can’t be appeased
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Turkish delights
There are examples around the world that through prudent privatisation and will to succeed, we can turn around PIA
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The politics of religious parties
March 2016 developments showed that these groups also resorted to violence to pursue their religio-political agenda
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Has the time come to switch off?
The disparaging remarks that Donald Trump addressed to Bush and Blair were richly deserved
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The shadowy world of spies
I am not sure, and much of the activities of RAW and IB are known to us only through rumour and not fact
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Rescuing Pakistan
The Sharif government seems to be utterly helpless in the face of those who cheer for murder
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The battle for Punjab
Punjab is where the ghosts of our policy past come to haunt us
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Battle for hearts, minds and the state
We, the moderates, usually keep stammering until the threat has settled down. What about a bold counternarrative?
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Regional economic connectivity
Our political and economic relations with Iran since the ouster of the monarchy in that country had remained lukewarm
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Towards agriculture-led growth
My government recognises and farmers’ services to the development of the country
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The cancer of militant extremism
How many will die before we realise militant murderers are not all illiterate loafers in search for meaning & purpose
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What one should know about the NSS
The NSS has drawn varying kinds of criticisms from the participating states as well as from some observers
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Regulating corporate behaviour internationally
Business ventures should not be allowed to make profits at the cost of devastating lives of marginalised communities
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Bloody Sunday
The list of ‘they’ keeps growing — TTP, Afghan Taliban, ISIS and the like
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Lahore — the latest target
Between terrorists and law enforcement agencies, the side which demonstrates clarity, dedication & ownership will win
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Proactive disclosure of information
Providing citizens with information is to empower them. The whole edifice of RTI is constructed on this basic fact
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Wash, rinse, spin and repeat
Columnists and commentators, myself included, go through the same wash, rinse, spin and repeat cycle
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Lala oh Lala
I’m an Indian who feels terrible for Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan and Shahid Afridi
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The price of complacency
A Girl in The River uses simple cinematic techniques to convey a ghastly reality
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Bloodbath in Lahore — where does the fault lie?
Little attention is paid to improving their professional competence in providing security to ordinary citizens
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#PrayForLahore
How the suicide bomber was able to get this far into Lahore remains a mystery
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Black Sunday — any lessons?
Will the government, for the sake of “peace”, barter away some of the fundamental rights of the citizens?
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The menace of child labour
Eradication of child labour should not be limited solely to brick kilns; it must encompass all kinds of child labour
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The Nuclear Security Summit and Pakistan’s perspective
Pakistan is justified in blaming the US for ignoring Indian advancements in nuclear weapons
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Action and inaction
What is needed is not just a tweeted resolve, but introspection and commitment to fundamental change within ourselves
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The Girls in Green
What better insult to hurl at the macho men of our National Cricket Team than “even the girls did better than you”
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Little bits of life
The pleasures of living are sometimes about knowing little and seeing little — losing the grand picture
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This cancer is in Punjab
Fear that thrives off the sectarian swamp in southern Punjab
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What can the IS offer Pakistani militants?
The IS can be considered an amateur in terrorism when compared to its Pakistani counterparts
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Regional focus for developing international trade
In 1947, India was by far Pakistan’s largest trading partner
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Everyday heroes
You don’t need to be super to be a hero. You can just be you
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Protecting our marine life
Around 600 Indian vessels enter Pakistani waters for fishing illegally every month
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Women — indispensable to a successful economy
Reports by the McKinsey Global Institute suggest that gender-balanced teams yield better financial results
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A few home truths about the US election
The only contender to sit in the Oval office that I like is the Jewish candidate Senator Bernie Sanders
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Of ‘stings’ and ‘encounters’
The idea of moral responsibility is not particularly strong in the Indian subcontinent. Our morals are flexible
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Our Afridi dilemma
Oh yes Afridi’s certainly entertaining. But so are clowns
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What Brussels really means
Will we allow hyper-nationalism in other countries to auto-power our own, or shape responses that are constructive?
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That illusive light
So low are national standards, that when any official actually does what he should do it is given much eloquent waxing
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Reminiscing 1977
2016 is not 1977. Mian Nawaz Sharif is not Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Fazlur Rehman is not his father, Mufti Mahmood