Author Archives: Muhammad Ali Siddiqi
24th April, 2013
PPP’s persona: popular and persecuted
The 40-year-old ‘Roti, kapra aur makan’ shibboleth is out of sync with today’s cellphone-centred youths.
The 40-year-old ‘Roti, kapra aur makan’ shibboleth is out of sync with today’s cellphone-centred youths.
18th April, 2013
Test of JI chief
Of late, there has been a toning down of the party's main plank, the Islamic ‘system’.
Of late, there has been a toning down of the party's main plank, the Islamic ‘system’.
28th March, 2013
Pakistan-Egypt rows of the past
EGYPTIAN President Mohamed Morsi’s first visit to Pakistan was essentially a stopover on his way to New Delhi, where he had more important matters to attend to. Loyal he may be to the ummah, but that doesn’t mean he should ignore
EGYPTIAN President Mohamed Morsi’s first visit to Pakistan was essentially a stopover on his way to New Delhi, where he had more important matters to attend to. Loyal he may be to the ummah, but that doesn’t mean he should ignore
18th March, 2013
PPP manifesto — incumbency is albatross
When a party that just ruled pledges a utopia, voters find it difficult not to snigger.
When a party that just ruled pledges a utopia, voters find it difficult not to snigger.
4th March, 2013
A Karachi ‘fault line’
Abul Hassan Ispahani Road is a microcosm of life in Karachi. Anarchy reigns, and your daily schedule mocks at you.
Abul Hassan Ispahani Road is a microcosm of life in Karachi. Anarchy reigns, and your daily schedule mocks at you.
4th March, 2013
Walking on mud with reddish hue
KARACHI, March 3: The blast occurred as the Maghrib prayer was drawing to a close. So it must be between 6.50 and 6.55pm. Even though the Masjid-i-Bilal is almost two kilometres from Abbas Town, it appeared the
KARACHI, March 3: The blast occurred as the Maghrib prayer was drawing to a close. So it must be between 6.50 and 6.55pm. Even though the Masjid-i-Bilal is almost two kilometres from Abbas Town, it appeared the
11th February, 2013
World waking up to Kurds’ ordeal after loss of 40,000 lives
THE murder of three Kurdish women activists in Paris last month and the beginning of an unprecedented peace process have drawn the world’s attention to one of the Middle East’s most intractable problems – the
THE murder of three Kurdish women activists in Paris last month and the beginning of an unprecedented peace process have drawn the world’s attention to one of the Middle East’s most intractable problems – the
1st January, 2013
MIDDLE EAST: The Gotterdammerung
ONE despot fell, an ex-dictator was convicted and a reigning president was fighting to maintain his 40-year-old dynastic rule as the year drew to a…
ONE despot fell, an ex-dictator was convicted and a reigning president was fighting to maintain his 40-year-old dynastic rule as the year drew to a…
27th December, 2012
Uzbeks: a one-para article
I HAD long wanted to write an article which wouldn’t go beyond one paragraph. What editor would publish a two-and-a-half-line ‘article’? The intended paragraph was: if Uzbek militants are keen on waging a jihad and
I HAD long wanted to write an article which wouldn’t go beyond one paragraph. What editor would publish a two-and-a-half-line ‘article’? The intended paragraph was: if Uzbek militants are keen on waging a jihad and
21st December, 2012
M.A. Majid — Dawn’s unknown soldier
It was Majid who groomed writers, some of them mediocre, into becoming renowned columnists.
It was Majid who groomed writers, some of them mediocre, into becoming renowned columnists.
16th November, 2012
Maudoodi’s six points
DAWN’S ‘50 years ago today’ column is a valuable piece of journalism. Besides evoking nostalgia among us of the old generation, it fascinates the young ones, because they get to know things they did not know.
DAWN’S ‘50 years ago today’ column is a valuable piece of journalism. Besides evoking nostalgia among us of the old generation, it fascinates the young ones, because they get to know things they did not know.
11th November, 2012
New hope for KCR?
Muhammad Ali Siddiqi writes on the delay in the Karachi Mass Transit project.
Muhammad Ali Siddiqi writes on the delay in the Karachi Mass Transit project.
26th October, 2012
Romney: the Pakistan perspective
If Romney wins, of which there is a fair chance, it is unlikely that US policy will undergo a major change towards Pakistan.
If Romney wins, of which there is a fair chance, it is unlikely that US policy will undergo a major change towards Pakistan.
21st October, 2012
Pakistan and India-China war
FIFTY years after China and India fought it out in the Himalayas, there is a misconception in Pakistan, and often shared abroad, that Islamabad and Beijing came close to each other as a result of the brief war between the two Asian giants in 1962.
FIFTY years after China and India fought it out in the Himalayas, there is a misconception in Pakistan, and often shared abroad, that Islamabad and Beijing came close to each other as a result of the brief war between the two Asian giants in 1962.
11th October, 2012
US presidential debate
AMERICA’S corporate sector must be wondering whether the billions they have invested in the Romney campaign is worth it. Mitt Romney ditched his agenda and became what he wanted to be — the winner; Barack Obama appeared off-colour and tired.
AMERICA’S corporate sector must be wondering whether the billions they have invested in the Romney campaign is worth it. Mitt Romney ditched his agenda and became what he wanted to be — the winner; Barack Obama appeared off-colour and tired.
29th September, 2012
China’s ‘new’ Afghan policy
THOSE having nightmares about China’s ‘new’ Afghan policy should relax: the ‘new’ policy is unlikely to make a break from the past, especially because China is soon going to have a new leadership.
THOSE having nightmares about China’s ‘new’ Afghan policy should relax: the ‘new’ policy is unlikely to make a break from the past, especially because China is soon going to have a new leadership.
20th August, 2012
Polarisation in Turkish politics
THE political stability given to Turkey by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) has not served to lessen the intensity of the country’s ideological polarisation.
THE political stability given to Turkey by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) has not served to lessen the intensity of the country’s ideological polarisation.
27th July, 2012
Morsi, Benazir: some parallels
PAKISTAN and Egypt have never been genuine friends, and there were moments when their relationship was adversarial.
PAKISTAN and Egypt have never been genuine friends, and there were moments when their relationship was adversarial.
5th July, 2012
Gary Powers & ties with US
THE posthumous award given five decades later to Francis Gary Powers by the American Air Force last month brings to mind not only the halcyon days for Pakistan in foreign relations; it serves to highlight
THE posthumous award given five decades later to Francis Gary Powers by the American Air Force last month brings to mind not only the halcyon days for Pakistan in foreign relations; it serves to highlight
4th June, 2012
Lessons to learn from Germany
WHILE we, as students of European history, are aware of the harsh conditions imposed on Germany by the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, few have any idea about what the victors did to Germany after the Second World War.
WHILE we, as students of European history, are aware of the harsh conditions imposed on Germany by the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, few have any idea about what the victors did to Germany after the Second World War.
