High drama in the sky, Nadeem on Imran,

Two’s company: In fashion



Pakistan lawmakers cut short US visit over full body scanning



Nadeem on Imran: The JI is old news. But, on the other hand, if Imran Khan wants to lift his party from the fringes and propel it into electoral politics, he will have to carve out a political identity for himself instead of mimicking the demagoguery of the JI and assorted TV show hosts. As a politician, he only comes out looking more like a glamorous and modern face of the JI rather than one with his own vote-able identity.



Anjum with Jamsheed: “Pakistan after Liaquat has never been ruled by a genuinely elected leader.” says Marker. “Those who ruled were never true representatives of the people.”

High drama in the sky: Of the two principal characters involved in the nerve-racking drama on the evening of Oct 12, 1999, when the fate of 198 passengers on board flight PK 805 hung in the balance, one was supposed to be a paragon of virtue, the other a scoundrel. Author Aminullah Chaudry has tried to prove that both were great scoundrels. One was a household name, Nawaz Sharif; the other name would hit world headlines when he threw in Pakistan’s lot with America in the war on terror – Pervez Musharraf.

Ardeshir: KBCA takes no responsibility for the seismic stability of buildings ‘regularised’ by them. ‘Briefcase’ architects/engineers have certified illegal structures to be safe, and the KBCA has condoned the offences. Should one structure collapse in an earthquake the architect/engineer will be untraceable; if many fall the KBCA officials will also disappear. The government must warn the occupants of ‘regularised’ (and other poor) structures of the life hazards faced. The officials (KBCA, cantonment boards) who continue to condone dangerous constructions and the builders who violate the codes must be prosecuted. The politicians who sponsor and promote illegal buildings and ‘regularisation ordinances’ must be brought to book.

ANALYSIS: Malthus’s disciples —Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur

There are some 23,300 nuclear weapons, made and maintained at enormous cost and enough to destroy the earth a thousand times over, in the arsenals of eight states. A-bombs neither alleviate poverty nor raise literacy rates. There should be total nuclear disarmament