A critical moment for Pakistan
Our weak political institutions and conspiratorial politics converted our victory against the dictator into political defeat. We failed to translate our struggle into democratic...
Unanswered questions on Bajaur
The missile strike was just a reminder that the coalition forces would use such force in hot pursuit of the Taliban and against groups...
Emerging national consensus
The military rulers and their subordinate class of civilian bureaucracy share an elitist view of politics and think that only they understand what is...
Civil society and democratic transition
The lawyers' associations are important, but are only one element in the overall struggle for democracy in Pakistan. They must gather the support of...
Securing judicial independence
Judges must be independent of street pressure as well as demands from other quarters to be able to make impartial decisions. In securing independence...
Problems of democratic transition
The big vacuum of credibility, trust, genuineness, true representation, and clean image, helps the military run the country with the political horses it can...
Reforming political parties
As our present phase of democratic struggle moves forward, we must debate the flaws in the internal structures of our political parties and whether...
Finding keys to the Kashmir gridlock
Resolving stubborn conflicts like Kashmir requires flexibility, bargaining and compromise. The major difficulty in this situation is asymmetry between the contending powers
The Kashmir dispute...
Beyond the judicial crisis
Pakistan has a long and complex history of democratic struggles against military regimes, but each time we failed to transform the movement into a...
The regime’s new challenges
Political cycles have a life of their own and often spin out of control, whether the rulers like it or not. It is obvious...
