The month of September every year comes and goes without changing anything in our turbulent world, but for world’s leaders, it brings the season of a ‘global carnival’ that takes place with a lot of fete and frolic in the ‘capital’ of the world, New York, with almost the entire leadership from across the globe descending on this already crowded …

In an unlettered society where one rarely comes across people genuinely into writing or reading and where books are sold not by content but by weight as a waste paper commodity and where bookstores are disappearing fast, getting converted into video shops or burger stands, the arrival of every single new book by a Pakistani author is freshening expression of …

Nobody can deny this reality; otherwise there would not have been two states carved out of India in 1947. A deep study of the history of this land proves that the differences between Hindus and Muslims were not confined to the struggle for political supremacy, but were also manifested in the clash of two social orders. Justice Markandey Katju, a …

The situation in Pakistan is no different. We too witnessed the Athenian scene being enacted in our capital with a lot of political ferment and frenzy. On a day in 399 BC, philosopher Socrates stood before a jury of 500 of his fellow-Athenians accused of ‘refusing to recognize the gods recognized by the state’ and of ‘corrupting the youth’. If …

Will naming decades’ old Shadman Chowk after Bhagat Singh immortalize the legendary figure? The renaming of Lahore’s Shadman Chowk as Bhagat Singh Chowk sparked a spontaneous controversy over distortions of history that led to this ill-advised decision. There were many reasons against this decision. As if already there were not enough governance worries at home, we recently saw the Lahore …

‘Never forget that you are the servants of the State. You do not make policy. It is we, the people’s representatives, who decide how the country is to be run. Your job is only to obey the decisions of your civilian masters.’ [About Military officers’ nominations in a reception at Governor General House on the occasion of first Independence Day …

In foreign policy, Obama has an equally challenging agenda on which he cannot afford to remain complacent. By now, he knows wars do not bring peace. Hopefully, he will resist any attempts to open new fronts and instead will look for peaceful arrangements through diplomacy and dialogue, not by force or coercion. He is likely to pursue a deal with …

This part of Asia is certainly in transition, but any assumptions of the SCO emerging as a regional security bloc at this stage would be too far-fetched. One must be realistic. Our chaotic world is not ready yet for any dramatic changes on the global geo-political scene. Both China and Russia may have concerns over Washington’s predominant role on global …

We just had the 16th three-yearly NAM Summit held in Tehran attended by leaders of 120 states but no one even heard of what it decided. The event was no different from the earlier 15 summits in terms of heavy agenda, high-sounding rhetoric and voluminous documentation with little readable substance. Nothing earth-shaking came out from the Tehran Summit to change …

Palestine is tired and has given up. Iraq is still burning. Afghanistan has yet to breathe peace. Kashmir stands disillusioned. Lebanon is simmering. Libya has been tamed. Egypt and Syria are being chiseled anew. Pakistan is on ICU resuscitation. Iran is on notice. The Muslim world could not be more chaotic and more helpless. Surely these are critical times for …