Of Imran Khan, by Imran Khan and for Imran Khan

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I have rephrased the famous cliche after following the bizarre politics of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf chief Imran Khan. Much has been written on how Imran Khan the politician can never come out of the shadow of his own hallowed past. In the last two weeks I have come to the conclusion that this past-life trauma that he suffers is to a great extent Imran Khan's own making.The problem with Imran Khan and his brand of politics is that he reduces democracy to a road-show. In Imran Khan's vision of governance, populism replaces policy and rhetoric substitutes for the fine art of statecraft. In the last few months ,every time he has come out in public, the news is never about what he did or tried to do, the news is always himself. In the news reports he remains a charismatic fighter, much like his cricketing avatar who led his....

Musharraf: Once a commando, always a commando

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Commander is Chief In a remarkable event yesterday, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf did what few dictators in the midst of a political crisis would think of. It occurred at a press conference in Islamabad where he was updating dozens of national/international journalists on the latest in his game plan. Once he finished, he got up and moved towards the exit door but a few foreign correspondents pursued him with some tough questions. To the surprise of many the General didn't walk away. Some would say the correspondents got too close and too personal in their questioning, prodding him on his grip over the army after he takes off the uniform .But here was Musharraf, dressed in smart 'civilian' clothes, ready with his response, assuring everyone with a tone the bore the imprint of a man in charge. All impromptu! My editor once told me how Musharraf remains....

Live and heart breaking

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All eyes were on ticker during the big news day on Saturday As the sun went down behind hills, I was wandering at an ancient temple's ruins in Malot. I should have switched off my mobile phone, since it was in those idyllic hills that I received the disturbing news. Within the next few minutes my mobile phone had exhausted its charge. We drove back immediately to check if what we had heard was true. As most people in the room preferred Urdu we switched back and forth between Geo and Aaj TV. My Urdu is already an embarrassment here and with the tickers and flashes moving at the speed of light I was struggling to get the latest updates right. I asked strangers to read out what was appearing at the bottom of the screen. A friendly old man staying in our guesthouse obliged and....