Opinion

"This is a level up from the usual burger crowd – some of them look almost hipster!"

There are whispers about the possibility of an internal political arrangement within the PML-N

What happens when an ex-American model visits Pakistan to attend a fashion week, but ends up at the Red Mosque?

Has the government allocated enough funds for the public schools to disincentivise private madrassa education?

The number of universities keeps increasing in Pakistan; yet the number of our unemployed youth continues to grow

Modi, a mass-murderer, was conferred with the highest honour in KSA, a country that claims leadership of Muslim world

Soft power is more than mere persuasion. Different countries use soft power in different ways

How the govt calculated, without a census, a third of the country is below the poverty line, will remain a mystery

Why does the State turn time and again to its judicial arm for what are essentially soul-searching exercises?

The K-P govt has improved the quality of teaching in govt schools and created a better environment for learning

What really draws us to a city like Lahore?

What a beautiful thing the law is: evading taxes is illegal, avoiding taxes is not

There can be little argument that Pakistan is a different country today than it was in 2001, with a decline in poverty

A census would reveal that more than 50 per cent of the population now lives in the country’s cities and towns

More you analyse yourself, the more you are able to put things in perspective. Then you can address your inner turmoil

The demand to bring in experts who investigate white collar crime is a good one

Many leading economists have called for radical changes to bring economic theory into closer contact with reality

Israelis are desperately looking for a US leader who can once again call the shots

Today, it is possible for the Indian tourist to drink legally in Pakistan but not in Gujarat, which I find remarkable

We have now entered an age when whistle-blowers, at great risk to themselves, make confidential information public

If FIA, NAB and police were performing their duties, there would be no need for commissions and media trials

Our democratic prime minister ranks amongst the 12 world leaders who have made it to the Panama list

Pakistan came into existence in a state of trauma. The talk of the day after tomorrow seemed meaningless

The question isn’t whether PM should resign or not, but whether the country is in a position to afford such a shake-up

Tax evasion is a crime. Tax avoidance is not. It is legitimate.

Unlike Sindh, it’s not the parties there that kept militant wings, but militant wings that kept a hold on politics

The withdrawal of the Pakistani state from public welfare has also encouraged non-state welfare, linked with terrorism

Trying to boost agricultural development in Punjab is particularly significant given that it is most populous province

A defiant and indissoluble resolve is growing amongst us to counter the monster we let silently breed

Future of the world will depend on which worldview prevails: Hellenic-cum-Confucian or the religious fundamentalist?

Think of the power of e-learning in places where madrassas or substandard government schools fill the vacuum

Kleptocrats — that’s what we call those why use political power to steal Pakistan’s resources

Bungee jumping has never really taken off in Pakistan — maybe in a metaphorical sense it has been around for a while

Pakistan needs to make up its mind about whether it wants Bollywood

Is stability overrated or is it impulse which is overrated?

Everyday disasters have a higher fatality rate than mega-disasters

What is it doing to our nation, I am often asked. What should we say to our children?

Can the top judiciary propose measures to prevent the collusion between lawyers and the subordinate judiciary?

Why is the women protection bill still facing such vehement opposition from the religious right wing?

Policymakers in India should realise the dangers inherent in destabilising Pakistan

All sides involved in Syrian conflict will have to realise risk of the revival of Cold War-era practices and policies

The real sense of what being a citizen means is a question of identity and requires serious thought

Malik Barkat Ali was a close confidant of Allama Iqbal, who campaigned for his election in January 1937

Despite being the result of a very creative process, Pakistan has always been wary of intellectual activity

Our ruling elite and policy planners are not paying attention to social spaces that facilitate radicalisation

We cannot hope for a realistic economic theory until a more realistic theory of human behavior is adopted

Money for education and health, if well spent, will also increase the confidence of the donor community

Our leaders should learn from world history that fanaticism can’t be appeased

There are examples around the world that through prudent privatisation and will to succeed, we can turn around PIA

March 2016 developments showed that these groups also resorted to violence to pursue their religio-political agenda