Opinion

At the first social media summit, I did not know that Pakistan has such a lively and active blogging community.

A binary has been created: The civilians distrust the military; the military distrusts the civilians. Who is to blame?

Maryam wrote many books extolling Islam as a faith and condemning the West as a way of life.

Sarfaraz Shah’s brutal slaying by the Sindh Rangers was disgusting, gruesome and unspeakably shocking.

So what attracts the best and the brightest to Ivy League universities, Oxbridge or top European universities?

Saleem Shehzad's last interview to media lends further credence to theories that ISI is behind his and other murders.

The Yavanas were despised people. For the Pundits of the east, these people were the Mlechha — unclean ones.

The navy has for long been subverted to the army and the air force in terms of funds and Pakistani security paradigm.

During the budget debate, parliamentarians should focus on expenditure efficiency, tax reforms, and reduce wastes.

We need to deny adversaries diplomatic leverage against our nuclear capability and rebuild the military's credibility.

With each terror attack, mainstream Britain looks at Islam and Muslims as a problem, while more Muslims become devout.

Criticise, demand, protest — do all that is required and is right to ensure that state apparatus functions for all.

Pakistan is not a signatory to UN Protocol to Prevent and Punish Trafficking, preventing prosecution of traffickers.

The Baloch question is treated with condescension, conscientious responsible citizens feel compelled to intercede.

It appears that the PML-N has selective courage, selective convictions and selective criteria for party membership.

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.