Author Archives: F.S.Aijazuddin
9th May, 2013
The circus of democracy
POLITICIANS invented democracy as a joke, and electorates have taken it seriously. One has only to follow the latest election campaign in Pakistan to be reminded that in politics, as in the theatre, comedy like tragedy
POLITICIANS invented democracy as a joke, and electorates have taken it seriously. One has only to follow the latest election campaign in Pakistan to be reminded that in politics, as in the theatre, comedy like tragedy
25th April, 2013
The whirligig of time
EVERY general election in Pakistan is an exercise in self-flagellation. It provides an occasion for adult voters and their elected representatives, like contrite sinners, to scourge themselves in an attempt to atone for sins
EVERY general election in Pakistan is an exercise in self-flagellation. It provides an occasion for adult voters and their elected representatives, like contrite sinners, to scourge themselves in an attempt to atone for sins
11th April, 2013
Return of an ex-king
THERE are two flights Pervez Musharraf will never forget. The first was flight PK 805 that brought him from Colombo to Karachi on Oct 12, 1999.
THERE are two flights Pervez Musharraf will never forget. The first was flight PK 805 that brought him from Colombo to Karachi on Oct 12, 1999.
28th March, 2013
The insolence of office
ONE thing is certain: Hamlet’s soliloquy ‘To be or not be’ could not have been written by a committee.
ONE thing is certain: Hamlet’s soliloquy ‘To be or not be’ could not have been written by a committee.
14th March, 2013
Love as a counter
THERE are at least 100 Pakistani families who will not be voting in the forthcoming general elections. They no longer have houses that the Election…
THERE are at least 100 Pakistani families who will not be voting in the forthcoming general elections. They no longer have houses that the Election…
1st March, 2013
The dogs of war
THERE was a time when wars needed to end before historians could begin writing chronicles about them. Today’s wars have become prime time television viewing. History is as immediate as instant coffee.
THERE was a time when wars needed to end before historians could begin writing chronicles about them. Today’s wars have become prime time television viewing. History is as immediate as instant coffee.
14th February, 2013
Laundering one’s sins
HAD our politicians been like their Indian counterparts, they would have taken a dip in the waters at Attock (the confluence of the rivers Indus and Kabul) or at Panjnad (where the rivers of the Punjab merge), without having to worry about Swiss
HAD our politicians been like their Indian counterparts, they would have taken a dip in the waters at Attock (the confluence of the rivers Indus and Kabul) or at Panjnad (where the rivers of the Punjab merge), without having to worry about Swiss
31st January, 2013
The new nouveau
POLITICIANS will never die of starvation; they can always survive by eating their own words. What causes them indigestion, however, is not having to swallow their own speeches as much as being made to ingest the promises made by their elders.
POLITICIANS will never die of starvation; they can always survive by eating their own words. What causes them indigestion, however, is not having to swallow their own speeches as much as being made to ingest the promises made by their elders.
17th January, 2013
Slowly, in English
WHAT do Quaid-i-Azam, Mr Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Dr Tahirul Qadri have in common? Each of them will be remembered for having made a seminal speech to a largely Urdu-speaking populace, in English.
WHAT do Quaid-i-Azam, Mr Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Dr Tahirul Qadri have in common? Each of them will be remembered for having made a seminal speech to a largely Urdu-speaking populace, in English.
3rd January, 2013
Xmas and the city
ONLY a Russian deputy foreign minister could insult with such diplomatic finesse, and leave no bruises.
ONLY a Russian deputy foreign minister could insult with such diplomatic finesse, and leave no bruises.
21st December, 2012
A shared grief
DEATH can never silence Ravi Shankar. His music will reverberate as long as planets continue to orbit in what the Elizabethans called celestial harmony. To hear him play was to be reminded of the divinity within man.
DEATH can never silence Ravi Shankar. His music will reverberate as long as planets continue to orbit in what the Elizabethans called celestial harmony. To hear him play was to be reminded of the divinity within man.
14th December, 2012
The reluctant swallow
THE news that an Indian prime minister will be visiting Pakistan can be capped only by an announcement that he will not be visiting Pakistan.
THE news that an Indian prime minister will be visiting Pakistan can be capped only by an announcement that he will not be visiting Pakistan.
6th December, 2012
The friendly foe
“KINDLY stay on the line. The prime minister will speak to you.” I waited, and within half a minute, I heard a familiar voice. It was I.K. Gujral.
“KINDLY stay on the line. The prime minister will speak to you.” I waited, and within half a minute, I heard a familiar voice. It was I.K. Gujral.
29th November, 2012
Voting blind
THE last time I heard the names of the persons who represent me in the National Assembly (NA 125) and in the Punjab Provincial Assembly (PP 155) was on polling day, Feb 18, 2008. That was almost five years ago.
THE last time I heard the names of the persons who represent me in the National Assembly (NA 125) and in the Punjab Provincial Assembly (PP 155) was on polling day, Feb 18, 2008. That was almost five years ago.
15th November, 2012
The pen and the sword
THE gloves were off. The pugilists entered the ring. The judiciary threw off its wig. The army tossed away its swagger stick. It promised to be a fight with bare knuckles.
THE gloves were off. The pugilists entered the ring. The judiciary threw off its wig. The army tossed away its swagger stick. It promised to be a fight with bare knuckles.
1st November, 2012
‘You shuffle, I’ll deal’
CERTAIN anniversaries subside without a trace. The events of Oct 12 1999, 13 years ago, were one such non-occurrence. It was the day, it should be recalled, that the prime minister of our country hijacked the chief of the army staff of our army.
CERTAIN anniversaries subside without a trace. The events of Oct 12 1999, 13 years ago, were one such non-occurrence. It was the day, it should be recalled, that the prime minister of our country hijacked the chief of the army staff of our army.
18th October, 2012
The indispensable half
IT says much for the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan that they should have used the only weapon they know — a gun — against an unarmed 14-year-old schoolgirl whose only defence against them was her brain.
IT says much for the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan that they should have used the only weapon they know — a gun — against an unarmed 14-year-old schoolgirl whose only defence against them was her brain.
4th October, 2012
Russian bear and the bee
ANYONE in Pakistan who missed seeing the famous Peter Sellers film — The Mouse that Roared — should have been forced to watch it the day the government ordered a national shutdown on Sept 21.
ANYONE in Pakistan who missed seeing the famous Peter Sellers film — The Mouse that Roared — should have been forced to watch it the day the government ordered a national shutdown on Sept 21.
20th September, 2012
Divided attentions
BY donating a million dollars to the shrine of Gharib Nawaz Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti at Ajmer, President Asif Ali Zardari has queered the pitch for us poorer pilgrims. How can anyone compete with such largesse?
BY donating a million dollars to the shrine of Gharib Nawaz Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti at Ajmer, President Asif Ali Zardari has queered the pitch for us poorer pilgrims. How can anyone compete with such largesse?
6th September, 2012
Mobile in Kashmir
PAKISTAN is fortunate that Dr Shashi Tharoor, the newest Icarus in the Indian National Congress, never fulfilled his ambition to become the next UN secretary general. He would have used the UN to resolve the problem of Jammu & Kashmir in less time than it took to create it.
PAKISTAN is fortunate that Dr Shashi Tharoor, the newest Icarus in the Indian National Congress, never fulfilled his ambition to become the next UN secretary general. He would have used the UN to resolve the problem of Jammu & Kashmir in less time than it took to create it.
