Category: Columns

Europe, after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, entered a long era of fragmentation and confusion—what later historians called the Dark Ages. Political authority became weak and localized, tied to small lords, tribal chieftains, and feudal obligations. Armies were temporary bodies assembled for a season, unreliable and loosely organized, often fighting only when personal...

Youth, built on ambition but bound by exhaustion, stands at the edge of quiet collapse A generation built on hope now finds itself overworked, underheard and quietly fading behind screens and degrees. There is a stillness around Pakistan’s youth today, not of peace but of numbness shaped by constant striving and unseen deprivation. Beneath the...

Capitalism today stands at a crossroads, weighed down by contradictions that threaten both its legitimacy and survival. For decades, the system has promised prosperity, innovation, and freedom, yet what we see around us is inequality, ecological breakdown, and repeated financial crises. The global pandemic further revealed the fragility of markets and the centrality of the...

November 7th is my late father’s birthday. I have dedicated my upcoming book, “The Abandoned Pakistanis: 1971, Betrayal and Statelessness,” to him to his unwavering values, quiet strength, and love for truth. On this day that holds both memory and meaning, I take a small liberty: to imagine an interview — of me, with myself....

American system swings between two extremes, either internationalist or isolationists. Both have worked on their policies. Before the First World War, the isolationists were dominant in the system. America was inward-looking, concerned only with its own continent, protected by two oceans and confident that European conflicts were not its business. But when the country emerged...

When Zahran Mamdani, a young Muslim of South Asian descent, was elected as the Mayor of New York City, it was more than a political milestone, it was a celebration of universal human values. In a city where Muslims make up barely 3.6 percent of the population, Mamdani’s victory reflected a society that values character,...

The United States has long represented not just a nation but a system — an intricate web of military, economic, and technological dominance that shaped the post–World War II order. From the Bretton Woods financial structure to the creation of the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank, America built the architecture...

For over five decades, a community that once stood firmly with Pakistan has lived stateless in the ghettos of Bangladesh. Their story rarely enters our official conversations. If we truly wish to build trust and empathy between Pakistan and Bangladesh, we must begin by acknowledging these forgotten people — the stranded Pakistanis. Here are a...

Every year, October 27 stands out in Pakistan’s national calendar a day that revives the memory of an unfinished promise and a people denied their right to decide their own future. For Pakistan and for millions of Kashmiris across the world, this date is remembered as Kashmir Black Day the day when Indian troops entered...