Overseas Pakistani Friends

Khurram Dastgir Khan
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani owes his election to the hallowed spectre of PPP’s slain leader Benazir Bhutto, but he owes the anti-establishment tenor of his government to PML-N’s Nawaz Sharif. Sharif inspired PM Gillani’s first executive order by making PML-N the electoral sword of the lawyer’s movement. From the ashes of his unceremonious deportation less than seven months ago, Nawaz Sharif has risen phoenix-like to the centre of Pakistani politics. Continue reading »

Finally PMLN chief Mian Nawaz Sharif has swallowed what he described as a ‘bitter pill’ in his joint press conference with PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari at Bourbon after signing the famous Murree Declaration on March 9, 2008. Point 2 of the Six-Point Declaration declared: “This has been decided in today’s summit between the PPP and the PML (N) that the deposed judges would be restored, on the position as they were on November 2, 2007, within 30 days of the formation of the federal government through a parliamentary resolution.” Continue reading »

Islamabad—India is back to its old business of double talk. On the one hand New Delhi speaks of normalization of relations with Pakistan. On the other, it test-fires Pakistan specific Agni-1 nuclear capable ballistic missile on 23rd March. It was a rather very cruel and undiplomatic message New Delhi was sending to the Islamabad at a time of celebrating independence and new political dispensation. Continue reading »

By Kamran Rehmat

A LARGE chunk of our young female population need not lose their sleep over the headline above. The bride here is used as a metaphor for Islamabad to describe how decked up — in a manner of speaking — the city was this past week. Continue reading »

By Anwar Syed
ON March 20 I went to a conference on ‘internal threats to Pakistan’s security’ organised by the Punjab University political science department, guided by its eminent chairperson Dr Ambreen Javed with the help of her learned and very energetic colleagues (seven of whom happen to be women). Continue reading »

By Amir Mateen

Yusuf Raza Gilani, while romping to victory, became the country’s first prime minister to gain a unanimous vote of confidence from the National Assembly.

This called for jubilation all around. This was seen as one of those rare occasions when Pakistani politicians showed solidarity for the welfare of the nation. Continue reading »