Adil Najam
I am in Islamabad for a short trip right now and all that anyone can talk about is the new Prime Minister and his new cabinet. Indeed, the place is abuzz with talk of the “new” politics of Pakistan. But, in typical Islamabad style, mixed with the unending cynicism about just how “new” this [...]

Owais Mughal
Whenever we travel to a new country and we see any reference to Pakistan, it naturally catches our attention. Recently this ATP ka numaainda (representative) was in China. I saw following subtle references to Pakistan in Beijing.
(1) Whether we liked her or not; whether we agreed with her or not; the fact [...]

Adil Najam
At the new Prime Minister’s oath-taking recently, the body language of Gen. Pervez Musharraf as well as Yousuf Raza Gillani made it obvious that neither was comfortable being with the other. Each has deep reasons to distrust the motives of the other. One doubts, therefore, if they took any time t reminiscence about [...]

Mast Qalandar (MQ)
Pakistan is a country of several ethnic groups and cultures. This is apparent not only in the looks of the people but also in their language, traditions, food and dress.

One thing a newcomer would notice is the variety of caps and turbans Pakistanis wear. Even though with increased travel, TV, and urbanization the [...]

Syed Abbas Raza
A military dictatorship is a military dictatorship, and a democracy is a democracy. And the latter is always automatically better than the former. It is safer to agree with this statement and to look at every particular complex political situation through the lens of this cliché than to risk having one’s liberal-democratic credentials [...]

Adil Najam
Our repost of our ATP Mushaira post on Anwar Masood prompted reader Shahran Asim to send us this newer audio recording of Anwar Masood commenting on elections in Pakistan. I thought it was not only hilarious but also pertinent; and certainly worth sharing. Thanks, Shahran.
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]