June 2012

Transferring the state-owned assets to private ownership may be the simplest definition of the concept of privatization. When Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan came to power in the United Kingdom and the United States respectively, the proponents of privatization prevailed by stressing that private management was better and more efficient. Consequently, multilateral organizations like the World Bank and the International …

It is very tricky and misleading to pass judgment on any process that is in its initial stage, at least in this part of the world. True, that in the developed countries the process of Women Empowerment, stretched over two centuries of struggle, has gone way ahead and cannot be termed as a process in its initial stages. Equally true …

Objective Resolution 1949: Objective resolution of 1949 was presented to negate the national and international conspiracies upraised right after the formation of Pakistan to make the nation secular, but unfortunately this resolution was not that much discussed. Liaquat Ali khan made it clear that this resolution is no less than a Magna Carte for the future constitutional build-up of Pakistan. …

It is generally believed that observance of merciless discipline and accountability are the hallmark of our armed forces. No doubt there are lots of reasons for this belief, but the unpardonable lapse of security of Mehran Base at Karachi, and now the verdict of the Court Martial has shaken this belief and disappointed us. After a year elapsed, yesterday the …

Dr Shazia Marri: Information & Broadcasting Minister of Sindh Government We salute you for  your bravery;  you wrote nothing but truth;  we salute you for your unwavering austerity for freedom of speech. Flogging is a diminutive thing for us, for freedom of speech and journalistic ethics we could give away our lives; said the veteran journalist Mr. Iqbal Jafri. Sindh …

It is dirty politics – the war waged against drug traffickers and extortionists. All began after gangsters shot dead Pakistan Peoples Party local leader Malik Muhammad Khan and a CID sleuth on April 26. Lyari operation spanned eight days. It ended after the administration boasted of wiping out most of the outlaws with a vow of a final assault in …

The theme of Annual Conference 2012 of BFA “Asia in the Changing World: Moving toward Sound and Sustainable Development,” points toward number of challenges that Asia may face in coming years.  The East Asian miracle which has changed the perception of the World about Asia has developed interest of the policy makers, development practitioners, business leaders and academia in the …

While witnessing the transitions which plagued the Arab world with the coveted disease of ‘revolutionary changes’, Egypt managed to topple down the 30 year old regime of the mighty Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak. The longest-serving ruler had to descend down from his throne as the chorus which demanded for a ‘change’ in the political set up of the country …

Pakistan-US ties are in doldrums yet again. The last of a series of issues related to US actions in Pakistan last year, which apparently led to a stalemate between Pakistan and the US, was the US-led Nato forces’ attack on Pakistan’s military check-post on 26 November 2011, at Salala, near Pakistan-Afghanistan border that killed 29 Pakistani soldiers. Since American SEAL’s …

In narrowly contested elections, the Socialists led by Francois Hollande have finally made it to Elysee Palace in France after 17 long years. According to results of second round which was held on May 6, Francois Hollande garnered 52% of total votes, while the incumbent President Nicolas Sarkozy ended up getting 48%, thereby losing the political battle to his opponent. …