To be in Lahore in March evoked ruminations about the related commonalities and contrasts between 1940 and 2023. For instance:
Published 27 Mar, 2023 09:24am
The British made their first connection with India through the East India Company (EIC), which had been established...
Published 27 Mar, 2023 09:24am
If we can provide adequate representation to the marginalised, strengthen the political process, enhance and safeguard civil...
Published 27 Mar, 2023 09:24am
Being both the nation’s founder and a people’s man, the Quaid-i-Azam was greatly concerned for the man on the street
Published 27 Mar, 2023 09:23am
The very genesis of Pakistan was rooted in a constitutional promise: if there is a minar that stands in Iqbal Park today, it as...
Published 27 Mar, 2023 09:20am
FOR a leader who overcame formidable opposition to the creation of Pakistan from several adversaries — the Indian...
Updated 16 Feb, 2023 01:32pm
WILLIAM Shakespeare wrote in Richard II that the “purest treasure mortal times afford is spotless reputation; that...
Updated 16 Feb, 2023 01:33pm
SHOULD people be changed to suit the system, or should the system be reformed to suit the people? The debate in...
Updated 16 Feb, 2023 01:33pm
MANY believe that the politics of public service practised by Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah is perhaps impossible...
Updated 16 Feb, 2023 01:34pm
A new optimism is apparent at the shrine of Chanan Pir, located approximately 50 kilometres outside Bahawalpur. The mood at the
Published 14 Aug, 2022 09:32am
Shuja Nawaz asserts that repeated crises have led to a derailing of our constitutional order. Yet, a transformation driven by the
Updated 14 Aug, 2022 11:34am
Jinnah’s expansive humanism is in stark contrast with the disregard for freedom of religious conscience in the country he created.
Updated 25 Dec, 2022 08:57am
Pakistan’s ideological journey has reshaped the great poet philosopher Allama Muhammad Iqbal into a patron of its hardening...
Updated 09 Nov, 2022 09:24am
Liaquat Ali Khan, one of the heroes of the Pakistan Movement, was the builder of the nation in its nascent years. ...
Published 14 Aug, 2022 09:04am
The post-1947 dilemmas present in the minds of India’s Muslims today and ironically wonders as to what Jinnah, Gandhi and Nehru...
Updated 14 Aug, 2022 11:20am
Pakistan’s failure to formulate a vision or allocate resources to the writing of history since 1947 will have catastrophic...
Updated 15 Aug, 2022 12:12pm
The state has progressively given way to right-wing obscurantists in a desperate bid to retain control. Makhdoom Ali Khan stresses
Published 14 Aug, 2022 08:53am
Although Jinnah declared that Pakistan would not be a theocracy, but subsequent govts failed to develop a national narrative.
Updated 14 Aug, 2022 05:22pm
Yaqoob Khan Bhangash narrates the stories behind the accession, in the months following Independence, of the major Princely States
Updated 16 Aug, 2022 12:12pm
The centralisation of power and the denial of provincial autonomy resulted in the secession of the eastern wing. Despite the...
Published 14 Aug, 2022 08:19am
Judicial overreach is no less dangerous than executive control of the judiciary. Courts achieve little when they try to do much.
Published 14 Aug, 2022 08:16am
Maleeha Lodhi calls for governance that goes well beyond power politics. Perhaps the emergence of new power structures and an...
Published 14 Aug, 2022 08:09am
To move towards a functioning democracy, Pakistan’s power elites will have to acknowledge the primacy of Parliament and respect
Published 14 Aug, 2022 08:05am
Dynastic politics and factionalism reflect a worsening dynamic within Pakistani political parties but Dr Shuja Mahesar believes...
Published 14 Aug, 2022 08:02am
How Pakistani leaders arise from the crucible of economic change. They may not command an electoral majority but every one of them
Updated 14 Aug, 2022 05:47pm
Pakistan’s history has been marked by cycles of dictatorship followed by limited democracy. The people have indicated time...
Published 14 Aug, 2022 07:52am
Jinnah stressed the need for civilian supremacy and instructed the military to stay true to the constitution and the government.
Updated 08 Sep, 2022 10:34am
It is to be hoped that there will never be a repeat of such operations as Gibraltar, Chengiz Khan, Fair Play and others.
Updated 09 Sep, 2022 10:59am
Shuja Nawaz traces the events and the missteps that led to the breakup of United Pakistan. Could the loss of Pakistan’s eastern...
Updated 14 Aug, 2022 10:58am
Five decades on, Javed Jabbar highlights reasons why the loss of East Pakistan in 1971 is still a subject of considerable debate.
Published 14 Aug, 2022 07:24am
Just how did Pakistan, a country with so few resources and a dysfunctional state apparatus, manage to bypass Western intelligence
Updated 28 May, 2023 09:56pm
The All-India Muslim League, while electioneering in Muslim-majority areas, promised that religion would play a central role in
Published 14 Aug, 2022 07:12am
Pakistan’s trade unions remain relevant to our future, especially as times get tougher. But their failure to unite reflects poorly
Published 14 Aug, 2022 07:12am
Despite a rapid increase in the number of universities, the quality of Pakistan’s intellectual output has largely remained dismal
Published 14 Aug, 2022 07:12am
While concerted attempts are being made to render Pakistani society homogenous, the threads that bind us together are fraying...
Published 14 Aug, 2022 07:12am
Dr Navaid Hamid argues that although Pakistan’s urban population has spiralled, governments have failed to address the civic...
Published 14 Aug, 2022 07:12am
The characters and drama serials broadcast on PTV are now part of our national lore.
Published 14 Aug, 2022 07:12am
A once thriving industrial sector was thrown off track by Bhutto’s nationalisation policies. Dr Ishrat Hussain asserts that only
Published 14 Aug, 2022 07:12am
Censorship, bans and limited support continue to rob filmmakers of the opportunity to truly realise their potential.
Updated 14 Aug, 2022 06:18pm
Dr Hafeez Pasha believes that Pakistan witnessed strong economic growth earlier but failed to address the larger question of...
Published 14 Aug, 2022 07:12am
Our political parties love to champion free speech as long as they are in the opposition. When in power, however, each of the...
Published 14 Aug, 2022 07:12am
A proliferation of genres has overtaken Pakistan’s English-language literature. ANUM SHAHARYAR explores its progress and concludes
Published 14 Aug, 2022 07:12am
Born on the battlefields of Afghanistan during the Soviet jihad, Zahid Hussain explains how the modern Pakistani militant, once...
Published 14 Aug, 2022 07:12am
National media, including print, electronic and digital, is a divided house beset with all kinds of challenges.
Published 14 Aug, 2022 07:12am
Over the years, Pakistani Urdu literature has developed differently from its Indian counterpart and reflects ideological battles
Published 14 Aug, 2022 07:12am
Pak-Afghan ties were frosty in 1947, hostile during the pendency of the Afghan-sponsored Pashtunistan project, and complicated
Published 14 Aug, 2022 07:12am
The struggle for equality in the battle for women’s rights persists today against entrenched mindsets. From the violent street...
Published 14 Aug, 2022 07:12am
The overall decline in sport in Pakistan has been as rapid and spectacular as success had once been, laments former national...
Published 14 Aug, 2022 07:12am
Pakistan and India have had a toxic relationship since Partition. Is there hope for a rapprochement between the two bitter rivals
Published 14 Aug, 2022 07:12am
Civil society organisations have raised their voices in favour of minorities, women, workers, and the protection of community...
Published 14 Aug, 2022 07:12am
There is little appreciation in Pakistan for the centrality of science in every modern economic pursuit.
Published 14 Aug, 2022 07:12am
Pakistan’s foreign policy has been underpinned by security concerns rooted in its own traumas. It is largely independent...
Updated 18 Aug, 2022 09:37am
After the denial of rights in the eastern wing of Pakistan, it was the turn of women and minorities during Ziaul Haq’s military...
Published 14 Aug, 2022 07:12am
The benefits of Pakistan’s economic growth have accrued mainly to powerful elites patronised by the state, preventing any broad
Published 14 Aug, 2022 07:12am
Pakistan’s built spaces have transformed over the years to better reflect the aspirations of its upwardly-mobile social classes.
Published 14 Aug, 2022 07:12am
After witnessing one of history’s largest migrations, Pakistan’s population grew from 30m in 1951 to 220m in 2022. A lack of...
Published 14 Aug, 2022 07:12am
An assortment of cultural interventions by the state, the flag-bearers of religion, and modernist forces have enabled Pakistani...
Published 14 Aug, 2022 07:12am
Will the economy grow in the absence of adequate allocations for health and education? Should we allow the ruling elite to indulge
Published 14 Aug, 2022 07:12am
ARSHAD MAHMOOD discusses the evolution of Pakistani music over seven decades and how, following the migration of classical...
Published 14 Aug, 2022 07:12am
Transforming an antiquated and complacent bureaucracy into a force capable of excellence in service delivery will not be an easy
Published 14 Aug, 2022 07:12am
ARSHAD MAHMOOD relates the story of how a rousing piece of music became an exquisite musical gem.
Published 14 Aug, 2022 07:12am
Cataclysmic events as well as multiple and diverse factors on a global scale shaped the world in which the struggle for Pakistan.
Published 23 Mar, 2022 10:43pm
Even those who opposed the idea of attaining independence later became its biggest supporters which underlines...
Updated 26 Mar, 2022 11:02am
Those who have wielded power in the country over the years have often overlooked the requirements of an Islamic state.
Published 23 Mar, 2022 10:43pm
Fertile imagination has prevailed on both sides of the divide when it comes to dealing with matters related to partition.
Published 23 Mar, 2022 10:42pm
The outline that the Lahore Resolution had drawn in the shape of geographical zones and majority areas got a concrete shape later
Updated 26 Mar, 2022 11:04am
Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah had a progressive, visionary streak of extremism rooted in non-violence, civility and respect...
Published 26 Dec, 2021 04:26am
Luckily for the Muslims of the subcontinent, the Indian National Congress did not have a Jinnah in its ranks. As has been famously
Published 26 Dec, 2021 04:20am
Jinnah’s appeal is so universal that everyone claims to own him, and, on the basis of this ‘ownership’, insists on interpreting...
Published 26 Dec, 2021 03:58am
In dealing with his political adversaries, Jinnah used one of his major weapons with precision — logic.
Published 26 Dec, 2021 03:54am
Those striving to make it big in the corporate sector would do well to at least try to follow the success template that the...
Published 26 Dec, 2021 03:49am
Instead of focussing disproportionately on the bad, there is a need to use Independence Day as illumination for the good
Published 15 Aug, 2021 02:16am
The Independence Day is an occasion for introspection, and to look back with the intention of charting a better course for the
Published 15 Aug, 2021 02:14am
The demands of statecraft mean nation-states, including the superpowers, generally enjoy only relative independence; not absolute.
Published 15 Aug, 2021 02:13am
Counted among the youngest countries in the world, Pakistan produces diversified talent catering to the global demand of
Published 15 Aug, 2021 02:13am
Pakistan started its journey when the British Empire was already on a slide and India was able to flex its economic muscles freely
Published 15 Aug, 2021 02:07am
IN just two sentences, the Quaid-i-Azam defined the role of the armed forces and determined the texture of civil-military
Published 15 Aug, 2021 01:52am
In practical terms, reality comes before theory, for a theory seeks to ‘explain’ what already exists. Like gravity which existed
Published 26 Mar, 2021 12:28pm
The federating units of might have raised a voice if they knew that the principles cited in the Pakistan Resolution were not
Published 26 Mar, 2021 12:24pm
The fact that the League’s Central Working Committee in April 1946 amended the Pakistan Resolution and replaced the word ‘states’
Published 26 Mar, 2021 12:22pm
Having suffered at the hands of the Hindu majority, politics in Pakistan has a constant majority-versus-minority streak.
Published 26 Mar, 2021 12:19pm
Our own history stands testimony to the fact that economic independence is what matters above every other aspect of sovereignty.
Published 26 Mar, 2021 12:17pm
The core of Jinnah’s personality needs to be retrieved and protected in the face of multiple threats emerging from the diverse
Published 27 Dec, 2020 09:51am
The Quaid’s relevance in Pakistan has remained intact, but we have failed to follow his principles, ideals and vision which he set
Published 27 Dec, 2020 09:51am
THE Quaid-i-Azam was an ardent supporter of a Palestinian state. When Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben...
Published 27 Dec, 2020 09:44am
SOME 16 months before Pakistan came into being, the Time magazine ran a cover story on India — more specifically ...
Published 27 Dec, 2020 09:43am
Any discussion about Jinnah generally revolves around his role as a politician. The fact is that there was much in his personality
Published 27 Dec, 2020 09:41am
HOPE constitutes a vital factor in mobilising people for a cause. It becomes all the more relevant when there is...
Published 27 Dec, 2020 09:38am
There is enough evidence in history to believe that Pakistan will continue to move forward.
Published 12 Sep, 2020 03:56pm
Pakistan is not alone as a country drifting away from the vision of its founding fathers.
Published 12 Sep, 2020 03:52pm
Political parties demand democracy but do not practise it themselves.
Published 12 Sep, 2020 03:42pm
Like the losers adopt the traits of the victors, society at large seems to have adopted the attitude of the landed gentry.
Published 12 Sep, 2020 03:39pm
While Pakistan terms Kashmir its lifeline, India considers it an in integral part. The struggle continues.
Published 12 Sep, 2020 03:36pm
From being the best ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity to the founder of an independent state, Jinnah remained an outstanding leader
Published 12 Sep, 2020 03:33pm
RECORD of the past few decades shows that with the change of the government, the situation in the Islamic Republic...
Published 26 Jan, 2020 07:46am
MOHAMMAD Ali Jinnah was the first political leader to protest against the Salt Tax, calling it “iniquitous, ...
Published 26 Jan, 2020 07:46am
“…The Mussalmans of India are a Nation…the problem in India is not of an inter-communal character, but...
Published 26 Jan, 2020 07:46am
THE coupling of the Quaid’s name with a malevolent noun is done deliberately – to jar the senses like a mild...
Published 26 Jan, 2020 07:46am
ACCORDING to Hector Bolitho, one of Jinnah’s biographers, scrupulousness and uprightness were few of the several...
Published 26 Jan, 2020 07:46am
IN the overall context of Indian independence movement, Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s successful espousal of...
Published 26 Jan, 2020 07:46am
“Remember we are building up a state which is going to play its full part in the destinies of the whole Islamic...
Published 26 Jan, 2020 07:46am
Significant policy interventions and investments may strengthen the technological ecosystem and help it move forward.
Updated 18 Aug, 2019 03:43pm
IF the mass acceptance of Imran Khan was ever in doubt, the issue should have been settled on the evening of July ...
Updated 17 Aug, 2019 10:47pm
While democracy is an integral component of statecraft, it is nowhere to be found within political parties.
Updated 14 Aug, 2019 02:48pm
AT the time of partition of the Indian sub-continent in August 1947, Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Mahatama...
Published 14 Aug, 2019 07:05am
THE election 2018 slogan of creating a ‘Naya’ (new) Pakistan was clearly a sincerely meant theme to express ...
Published 14 Aug, 2019 07:05am
INDIAN military misadventures in February 2019 and after created a premise for Pakistani polity.
Updated 14 Aug, 2019 12:31am
The territory of Pakistan exudes subtle as well as explicit diversity.
Updated 23 Mar, 2019 04:14pm
THERE are three days that the Pakistani nation celebrates every year as national holidays — Independence Day on...
Updated 19 Aug, 2019 02:05am
The challenge of national integration in Pakistan is as old as the history of this country.
Updated 14 Aug, 2019 12:52am