Forces of terrorism & obscurantism
Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul HaqOne should never forget the ghastly and cowardly attack of September 15, 2013 by Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) on Major General Sanaullah Khan, Lieutenant Colonel Tauseef Ahmad and Sepoy Irfan Sattar. The deadly incident exposed hollowness of…
Politics of obscurantism
Dr. Ikramul Haq We lost East Wing (Mushraqi Pakistan) in 1971 due to sheer shortsightedness and highhandedness of ruling military junta and its political cronies. In the name of defending “ideological frontiers”, the generals not only gave away big land mass…
Honouring vocations
Huzaima Bukhari“There are no menial jobs, only menial attitudes”—Former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States of America.When we think of work, what more is it than an activity that involves putting in physical or mental effort…
China’s Xingjian Conundrum
(The Vague Element)In recent months Western media and the Washington Administration have begun to raise a hue and cry over alleged mass internment camps in China’s northwestern Xinjiang where supposedly up to one million ethnic Uyghur Chinese are being detained…
Awful planning, dreadful execution
Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq “In a quality city, a person should be able to live their entire life without a car, and not feel deprived.”—Paul BedfrodMany of the towns and cities, especially in the Third World countries, are in…
Countering Corruption
Daunting challenge for Pakistan Dr. Ikramul HaqFor decades, Pakistan has been unsuccessfully tackling the daunting challenge of countering bribery, financial crimes, tax evasion and plundering of taxpayers’ money. It is strange that in a country where tax evasion is condoned…
Taxes, justice and reforms
Dr. Ikramul HaqWhy has the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) after imposing more than 50 types of withholding taxes failed to enforce filing of returns by all those who have taxable income? FBR has even failed to get returns from…
Of unpaid refunds & figure fudging
Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul HaqThe story of “impressive” performance of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) during the period 2013-18 needs a through probe. The jadoogar [magician] Ishaq Dar, we all know, was master of figure fudging, for his shenanigans…
XINJIANG(2)
https://journals.openedition.org/chinaperspectives/648 Harmony in Xinjiang is based on three principlesLetter from Liu Xiaoming, Ambassador of China to the UKThe Chinese people often say: “One does not know how vast and beautiful China is until one visits Xinjiang.” Xinjiang represents the vastness of…