The storm over Raja Pervez Ashraf’s pilgrimage to Ajmer Sharif was needless, to state the least. The Pak Premier was on a private visit and India went out of the way to make it appear as one, without, of course, causing any diplomatic affront to the visitor. Read more

A standing joke in Pakistan’s media circles on Rehman Malik is that the only time the Interior Minister isn’t telling lies or making a fool of himself, is when he isn’t talking. Read more

Lot’s happening within Pakistan: the country’s in election mode; the Army has revised its India-specific security doctrine to declare domestic terror a bigger danger; a religious preacher of Canadian nationality has dislodged Imran Khan’s Tehrik-e-Pakistan as a major challenger to the established political order. Read more

General Pervez Musharraf is essentially day-dreaming when he says he’d be back in Pakistan before the 2013 elections. Another figment of his fantasy is the claim to joining active politics to “set things right” in the country hurtling from one crisis to another. Read more

The decision to rename a prominent square in Lahore after Shaheed Bhagat Singh could go a long way in focusing on the joint history of India and Pakistan in the struggle for freedom from the British rule. I have always held that relations between our two countries cannot be repaired without an honest recollection of history, at the core of which should be an objective appraisal of our respective national icons. Read more

It’s encouraging that India and Pakistan continue to talk. But while they engage, they’d have to be careful about each other’s sensitivities on issues influencing popular support for peace between the two sub-continental rivals. Read more

What should be India’s response to Pakistan Army Chief Ashfaq Pervez Kayani’s statement emphasizing peaceful coexistence and dialogue for resolution of outstanding issues between our two countries? Read more

Asif Ali Zardari lacks Benazir Buttoo’s erudition and charisma. He cannot boast even a fraction of her mass support. Read more

A political maelstrom has engulfed Pakistan. The unpopular PPP-led regime may survive under a new leader. But Yusuf Raza Gilani’s days as prime minister appear numbered after he was served notice for being in contempt of the Supreme Court. Read more

Comparisons are odious. But this one seems irresistible without meaning to equate parliamentary democracy in India and Pakistan. Read more