Notes in Anguish

A story is told about a roving British envoy going through Iran in the mid 19nth century. He had brought along a secretary who had a smattering of Persian. And the Shah had attached to this embassy a court official who had some english. This ensured that in the back and forth between them, some… →

The PTI government delivered some noteworthy early successes on the foreign policy front, but what was happening on the domestic front did not take long to drown out the applause. The cost of living became back breaking for the common man. He had no way out but to live with it. He knew this was… →

When thug Zardari reached out to Adm Fallon through Hussain Haqqani in what has been come to be known as Memogate, it was a stab in Pakistan’s back. In content Dawn Leaks’ was an act of providing aid and comfort to the enemy, being a well thought out endorsement of the enemy narrative. Nawaz Sharif’s… →

Through history sages philosophers and prophets have thought and spoken on this subject. And the thoughts of many have been recorded. Some of these I quote below: Plato observed that: ” an oligarch becomes two cities, Rich and Poor, as great wealth is opposed to the masses, and almost everyone outside the ruling class is… →

Many years ago, when Zia ul Haq had newly installed himself as President, he declared that it was only after he had taken over that his eyes had opened to all of Bhutto’s misdeeds. An air force officer sitting next to me sardonically observed that he had no idea that it so long for the… →

Is it just the Pakistan Army which influences the making of national policy, or does this happen in other militaries as well, especially in advanced western democracies? It is quite recent that President Trump ordered U.S troops to pull out of Syria. This order was trumped by Secretary Mattis and the ruling Pentagon hierarchy, and… →

Quite frankly, many men [and a lesser number of women] either indulge in it, or dream of doing so, but it is to the undying credit of PMLN to have given to copulation, such a quaint name. By switching the meaning of a single term this political party, so dedicated to the welfare of the… →

About two years ago Pakistan was teetering on the edge of bankruptcy and doom. The debts it had acquired, it did not have the capacity to repay. These debts were primarily the result of a policy hammered out between PPP and PMLN under the euphemistically named Charter of Democracy. The unwritten part of this Charter,… →

Legend has it that Attaullah Khan Essakhelvi was deeply in love with his cousin and was engaged to be married to her. But then “along came a big spider and sat down beside her. “ Only in this case it was not a big spider. It was an “Ingandia” newly returned from U.K. And as… →

Prime Minister Imran Khan was the moving spirit behind the recent Kualalumpur Summit. Yet neither he, nor his Foreign Minister attended the same. What brought about this abstention was a severe talking to that Imran Khan received from the Saudi King who saw this Summit as an anti-Saudi phalanx in the making. And Imran Khan… →

In all societies colloquial phrases used with reference to the ethical framework of such societies often form a fairly accurate measure of the ethos of a society. In the early days of Pakistan, flaunting of religiosity was not yet in fashion, but a reputation for corruption was certainly considered a black mark. To certify that… →

The time for decision in Pakistan has come. The decision to be made is whether to stand with the “System” which has destroyed the country or with Pakistan. It must be understood that the two are antithetical to each other. If the decision is to stand by Pakistan, and the decision is utterly sincere, the… →