Lack of education, lack of education and lack of education. Invest in human resource, we need to revert to being a developmental state. We have been a security state for too long. The cost is too high.

He is a misguided missile, but the phenomenon is also indicative of the fracturing elite consensus, which can be a new beginning in the polity of Pakistan.

The Man surely has some kind of backing. He has been able to gain the trust of the masses and triggers the imagination of the youth and the educated urban elite. Even if he is not the establishment guy, his new found political standing, can be of great value to them.

The current memogate scandal is a direct reflection on Pakistan’s civil military relations. The PPP government has always had a very uneasy relationship with the security establishment of Pakistan. The recent concerns of United States viz-a-viz Pakistan’s regional role are also linked to the clout that the Pakistan military establishment has on its foreign policy. It is also reflective of US influence and desire to micro-manage Pakistan’s polity. The present government response and to the entire scenario has been of “response with restrains”. There have been no knee-jerk reactions. They have...

The recent spate of killings in Karachi is indicative of institutional breakdown and also the fact that Karachi is largely run by the informal sector. It is also about ownership of the city with all the stakeholders including those in the government using the street to demonstrate their power potential. It has ethnic, political, economic and religious underpinnings but I still think all is not lost and Karachi can be saved provided the political will to do so is demonstrated in tangible terms.

Countries that live under the shadow of looming threats will allow their security institutions to have a say in their foreign policy decisions. The most recent example is the rising role of the American military in policy making. However Pakistan’s case is different, here the threat perception of India did not allow other institutions to grow the way they should have resulting in a very skewed civil military relations. This has to be corrected.

We in Pakistan are fighting our own indigenous war on terror. And we don’t have an option. It has impacted us negatively and will continue to do so. It is a decision we have to live with. The real war is of hearts and minds and saving our youth.

200 percent yes. War is not an option. We have tried all forms of confrontations and paid a very high cost of conflict. Lets invest in peace now.

No, we both hate each other and at the same time need each other. We will continue to see the swing model however the constraint and compulsions on Pakistan’s side remain high. And our options remain extremely limited.

Pakistan may survive the internal political chaos but what is bringing Pakistan down and may results in its collapse is its economic failure, unless something is done on a war footing.