Cooperating with regional countries
Pakistan’s location is a blessing as it connects South Asia to Central Asia and beyond, opening up opportunities
The writer is a retired lieutenant general of the Pakistan Army and a former federal secretary. He has also served as chairman of the Pakistan Ordnance Factories Board
Pakistan’s location is a blessing as it connects South Asia to Central Asia and beyond, opening up multiple opportunities. It also is a challenge being in the midst of a tough security environment. For years, Afghanistan has been a deadly conflict zone, mired in perpetual civil war with global and regional powers influencing to shape the outcome. Its adverse fallout has had serious consequences on Pakistan’s economy, politics, security and culture. The situation is still highly unpredictable and in a state of flux with prospects of civil war intensifying as the American forces withdraw and the Taliban being militarily more powerful vying for full control of the c
Correcting the national course
The writer is a retired lieutenant general of the Pakistan Army and a former federal secretary. He has also served as chairman of the Pakistan Ordnance Factories Board
Recently, two very distinct events happened that if viewed in a broader perspective could have long-term implications. One was the demise of the iconic human rights activist and intellectual IA Rehman whose contribution towards promoting democratic and human values remains unmatched. The flood of articles, condolence references, and the respect and appreciation that he received in the country and abroad is a clear manifestation of his enormous contribution in these fields. Above all, it gave hope that not all is lost and the younger generation could look up to leaders that promote the right values and leave behind a strong legacy. Here I am also reminded of Asma Jehangir who clearly was one of our foremost and fearless champions of human rights and a friend of the poor and downtrodden.
Promoting a purposeful political culture
Leadership cannot be imported it has to be nurtured from within the political parties and in institutions
The writer is a retired lieutenant general of the Pakistan Army and a former federal secretary. He has also served as chairman of the Pakistan Ordnance Factories Board
The split in the combined major opposition parties with PPP taking a different position to PML-N and JUI-F, may be considered a setback for the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) in a narrow sense but certainly not for democracy. The PPP has been in favour of putting up a strong opposition to the PTI government in the parliament with viable alternative policies and programmes rather than resorting to agitation on the streets. This certainly is a far better option and a more mature response. Street or agitational politics at best may succeed in paralysing the government but not necessarily ousting it and would not serve the larger aim of strengthening our fragile democrac
Our national contradictions
Not a single activity in Pakistan that involves power or money is not tainted by accusations and counter-accusations
The writer is a retired lieutenant general of the Pakistan Army and a former federal secretary. He has also served as chairman of the Pakistan Ordnance Factories Board
The recent election for the chairman of the Senate was mired in a bitter controversy. Earlier, the election for the Senate seat in which former PM Gillani won against Hafeez Shaikh were strongly disputed by the PTI. It is rare that an election in Pakistan goes unchallenged with the loser accusing of foul play. These unlawful activities are highly demoralising for the electorate when it finds itself being cheated. It is not surprising that the voter percentage has been dropping over the years. In the 2018 elections, the overall voter turnout across the nation was 51.7%. A drop from 2013 when turnout was high at 55.02%.