The News
PTI and the thaana
http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=76155&Cat=9 Far too many have characterised the PTI rally at Minar-e-Pakistan as Imran Khan’s moment. But a more accurate description would be to classify the event in Lahore as PTI’s moment. Some of the most deserved criticism of his political efforts have been about the quality and depth of his team, and the actual layers [...]
Finding space for linear reason
http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=71864&Cat=9 Tuesday, October 11, 2011 Last week, I wrote about the need to recognise that non-linear reason has a place in Pakistan’s public discourse. Since it does, the state had a duty to draw a circle of trust. And then expel those that break the law from that circle. Afiya Shehrbano – an exceptional [...]
Dealing with ‘non-linear reason’
http://thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=70707&Cat=9 Tuesday, October 04, 2011 Does government not have a legitimate role in maintaining law and order? Is there anything internally incoherent about the criminalising of purposefully inflammatory speech? Does freedom have to include the right for people to commit deliberate acts of profanity against people’s most sacred and intimate religious beliefs? Who is the [...]
Flying into Lyari for Eid
Tuesday, September 06, 2011 http://thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=66247&Cat=9 I spent a little time in Karachi’s Lyari neighbourhood over the Eid holidays. It was memorable for all the wrong reasons. I’d like to talk about the deep feelings and innovative ideas of Lyari’s residents. I would take great pleasure in describing the light in the eyes of little children [...]
The unthinking Pakistani society
Saturday, August 27, 2011 http://thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=64804&Cat=9 Why is Hafiz Sayeed, the head of a UN-sanctioned organisation, being provided an audience with some of Pakistan’s most prestigious talk show hosts? Why is the US ambassador to Pakistan being detained at Islamabad airport, if even for a few minutes? What explains the appearances of fiction script writers and [...]
Progress in a messy democracy
http://thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=63067&Cat=9 The pace and content of Pakistan’s democratic discourse engender little confidence within Pakistan, and much trepidation among countries that have major interests in Pakistan. This is why many intelligent and patriotic Pakistanis are infatuated by political theatre like the impressive dharnas staged by Imran Khan’s PTI. It is also why many very powerful nations, [...]
Punjab, Karachi and decentralisation
http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=61702&Cat=9 Tuesday, August 09, 2011 Two fascinating and parallel discussions about decentralisation have emerged in recent weeks. The first is the revisiting of local government in Sindh. The second is the revisiting of the current configuration of four provinces. Both the question of local governments in Sindh and the splitting up of Punjab (and other [...]
The quintessential ‘un-city’
http://thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=60655&Cat=9&dt=8/2/2011 One of the challenges we face in trying to understand the dysfunction of Karachi today is the question of how far back we must o to pick up the thread. For some Sindhis, perhaps the combustible Zulfiqar Mirza is speaking the truth when he implies that Sindh was rent asunder when the first [...]
Telling Pakistan’s story
http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=54875&Cat=9 Telling Pakistan’s story Tuesday, June 28, 2011 As a one-time participant in the technology policy conversation in Pakistan, and an avid user of social media, I need little convincing of the potentially revolutionary power that new applications of technology offer to smart and dedicated users. I am always struck, however, by how commonly people [...]
The Gilani and Sharif Show
http://thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=53811&Cat=9 Wednesday, June 22, 2011 One way to assess the current situation is to look forward and be deadly honest about the prospects for Pakistan. The judiciary, the parliament, the executive, and especially the military—the key institutions of the Pakistani state are all in disrepair. The media, let’s face it, while making use of technology, [...]
Media Appearances
