All posts in Kamal Siddiqi

As a Pakistani, one can only wonder why we almost always snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. We have so far never won a military conflict. When

This week was dedicated to political statements and the fact that nothing ever gets done if you leave it to our present band of leaders. When her government

Earlier this month, a man went to a renowned hospital in Karachi for treatment of his son who was injured by a falling pedestal fan in his village

It is an irony in Pakistan that democratic governments are the biggest enemies of the local bodies system, despite the fact that local governments are the foundation of

Every day, without fail, public transport buses without any route permits ply on some of Karachi’s most prestigious roads. These buses, which come from as far away as

In any democracy, the media serves as the fourth estate. Historically, the first three estates refer to a meeting of the Estates General summoned in May 1789 by

One can only wonder at the ways in which our government operates. Despite the fact that we had high hopes in Shaukat Tarin, who took over from a

How difficult is it for a nation to stand on its own feet? We have examples around us in the form of India, China and Iran—all three our

We are still waiting for our government, its intelligence agencies and the various outfits that operate in one guise or another, to find for us the people behind

Every day, officials and volunteers stationed at the PAF Museum in Karachi wait for people to come with donations for the internally displaced persons (IDPs) of Swat, Malakand

One can only wonder how Pakistan’s political and military leadership functions. Earlier this month, the faulty Nizam-e-Adl Regulation was steamrolled through Parliament and signed into law by the

Praise be to the lawyers’ movement and its shining stars. One can congratulate them on the release of Maulana Abdul Aziz, a man who was an integral part

An appeal has been published from a man called Dr Zulfiqar Ali Khan, who is currently on death row in Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi. This 39-year old man has

It is more than three weeks since the dastardly attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore, but we are no closer to discovering who the assailants

One of the things that most Pakistanis agree on is that we have had enough of political jugglery. Why can’t our politicians — both civil and military, keep

We have been warned by the British Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, that Pakistan is facing a mortal threat from its internal enemies. With due respect to Mr Miliband,

The deal between the government and the Tehreek-e-Nifaz Shariat-e-Muhammadi has drawn a variety of responses from within the country and abroad. Stakeholders have welcomed the move in some

For a country tottering on bankruptcy, it seems strange to appoint a cabinet of nearly 60, thereby breaking the record of another all-time great prime minister, Mr Shaukat

While Pakistanis try and figure out the economic future of the country and ponder over what the coming months hold in store for them, hard bargaining and bickering

Within days of a perceived financial crisis in India, the country’s finance minister, P Chidambaram, confident as ever came on air and assured his country that while the

President Zardari has returned empty-handed from the US despite claims to the contrary. Aside from vague promises from the World Bank, there was little in terms of financial

It is difficult to ignore the sufferings of the people of the North-West Frontier Province, soon to be known as the people of Pakhtoonkhwa. For most people in

It is said about events and issues in Pakistan that the more you see, the less you understand. American helicopters and drones continue to violate our airspace. Troops

As Pakistan tries to take on the US administration, it is clear that the hero from this side is Gen Kayani. One day after the general broke his