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The State And Its' Wars

Pakistan is engaged in a series of debates arguing the role of constitutionalism; of independent judiciary; of free media and civil society’s responsibility, but not yet began to debate the role of the Pakistani military within Pakistan.

The Naval War College Bomb Blasts

I was about 800 meters away from the bomb blast. The force of the explosion was powerful enough to rattle the windows nearly a mile away.

Untitled

Forlorn we must die as we once lived
And no one shall speak of us in death
As we were ignored in life.

Our National Mea Culpa

The Individual, The State and Lal Masjid: The failure of Pakistan to develop a tradition of dissent in its politics

An Unexpected Birthday Gift

It was a case of bad and ill timed advice that ignited a constitutional crisis and unlike any previous crisis, this one has developed a momentum of its own and it is this momentum that has rattled the government in Islamabad.

The Dispatches On War: Part X

Metternich And the European Politics of Power: 1815-1850

The Localization Of International Politics

The one element, which seems to be amiss and is hardly considered in the present Middle East crisis, is the role of the domestic politics in the United States.

Valentine

The politics, which is practiced in Pakistan, has no bearing to the reality that exists in Pakistan and thus, the political debate in Pakistan is limited to a few personal arguments of the political parties in opposition and the government in power.

The Long War: Rethinking American Options in the War on Terror

As the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attack approaches, the United States political thought still has not crystallized the manner in which it hopes to confront the challenges of the Global War on Terrorism.

A Rhyme for Fools -- 2

The evolutionary process of democracy suggests that once the civilian political institutions are strong enough, they will challenge the primacy of the military’s interests in Pakistan, which are not so much political as they are corporatist

A Rhyme For Fools -- 1

In Pakistani politics, democracy is seen as an end in itself and that its attainment will be marked by the culmination of civilian power over the military. Also, the idea of democracy is identified with political personalities, both military and civilian

Dispatches On War (Part IX)

As Napoleon was busy consolidating his power in France, and in Europe, he was mindful of British influence and was determined to end it. He identified the source of British power as its ability to dominate the mercantilist trade of the time

The Dispatches on War (Part VIII)

While Spain was adjusting to its loss of influence in Europe and the English nuisance of piracy was reaching the sublime levels of loot and plunder in the Atlantic Ocean, the greatest threat to the Portuguese monopoly of the spice trade was manifesting it

An Ode to Euthanasia

The Muslim ummah is a myth. The myriad nature of Islamic and Muslim political thought defies such a myopic conceptualization due to the multitude of variances

The Dispatches on War (Part VII)

Once, the power of the feudal barons had been checked and they were resoundingly defeated by the innovative combination of finances and technology, the sole obstacle towards unification of power in Europe remained the Holy Roman Catholic church

Dispatches on War (Part VI)

The American movie industry is a powerful institution, which can shape perceptions globally.

Dispatches On War (Part IV)

The Battle of Somme offers that unique event in which the views of an entire generation and through them, the world’s perspective on a human phenomenon, war, would change and would never be the same.

The Dispatches on War (Part V)

Muslims and Crusades -- In the last five hundred years, the destiny of the Muslim world and the European continent seems to have undertaken diverse paths ...

Old Neighbors And Old Memories

What was really an eye opener was the bonhomie between the Pakistani and the Indian diplomats, who had come to the reception. I drifted towards them and it turned out they were talking about the similarity of Laxshmi Mansions with a few buildings in New D

The Barbarians Within The Gates!

The time for half measures is over and there is no more room left to retreat before the creeping evil of religion in Pakistan.

The Dispatches On War (Part III)

The period from 1789 to 1815 saw a major evolution in the nature of warfare, as wars increased in duration, totality of effort and in a conceptual sense, which would set the stage for the industrial wars of the early twentieth century.

The Dispatches on War (Part II)

The financing of wars.

The Dispatches on War

An ode to the game of war and those, who play it!

Welcome to Reality, My Friend!

A personal analysis of the American elections 2004

Life

We live in denial and we gladly shoot the messenger with a new message. It is not because we are afraid of the message, but because we are appalled that someone would accept it. What we do not know makes us stronger and what we do know, makes us weak

The Door To The Barracks

How to end the role of the military in politics

A Mesopotamian Summer

The United States cannot avoid the usage of military force, as it does not trust the Iraqis enough to transfer political power to them.

Who Decides?

Are we capable of deciding what is hate and what is not hate speech on Chowk, given our own biases?

A Waste of National Resource

Currently, there are two distinct educational systems in Pakistan. One is based on the government of Pakistan’s state funded educational institutions and modern curricula and other one is based on the centuries old system of madarassas’ religi

A Fool’s Errand

SARRC Summit 2004 in Islamabad - some thoughts and conclusions

Seducing The Devil

PPP and ARD and PML-N have no one, but themselves to blame for their political marginalization in Pakistani politics.

One Afternoon

A couple of Pakistani school children darted a quick glace at the Indians and then quickly, put their feet across the border and touched the Indian soil.

The Last Trumpets

The choices are whether to adopt a presidential or a prime ministerial form of government and the second set of choices are whether Pakistan needs to be governed as an administrative state or as a democracy

The Razor’s Edge

The United States seems to be losing the proverbial battle for the “hearts and minds” of the Afghans. The biggest problem was that the United States was not prepared for the post-war situation and had no plans to tackle the problems

The Follies of the Natives

A circus called Pakistan

The Wages Of Death

Wars are political acts of concentrated violence and yet, there is violence in this war, but there is no rhyme to its logic.

The March of Folly

All The Bridges Are Burning

The United States’ foreign policy has historically oscillated between recklessness of unilateralism and the cautious nature of multilateralism.

A Work In Progress

Jinnah put Pakistan in such a location that the future state would always be involved in the geo-politics of world

The Day Of All Days

Pakistan will re-take its first fledging steps towards democracy

The Last Crusade

Sharon’s visit finally removed the façade from the Israeli diplomacy

A Reason For Change

What is really interesting about Marianne Pearl’s interview with CNN is not what she said

An International Failure

do the Pakistanis know who they are themselves

A Decision to Regret

the Afghans have always resisted a government imposed from abroad

The Summer of ’47

The role of Lord Louis Mountbatten

The Chicken Hawks Of Pakistan

The military should accept the fact that it is a dictatorship

Lets Destroy The Bamiyan Buddhas!

Oscar Wilde once wrote that you destroy the thing you love and that which you love, will destroy you in the end.

A World Upside Down

can the United States honestly determine the reasons behind the tragedies in Washington

A Long Night’s Odyssey

we do not have the luxury of time

A Different Story

The winds of change are slowly whispering their way across the South Asian sub-continent

Reflections Of Shame

These questions will haunt me till the day I die

The Asian Waltz

In a utilitarian sense, the economic needs of the world will eventually outweigh the political needs of India and Pakistan

A Rumor Of Lies

Pakistan, as a nation, seems to have entered a political terra incognita from which it is unlikely to return

Different Eagles, Same Genus

For the Indian war planners, the Pakistan Air Force is their worst fear...

A State of Confusion

Will Pakistan benefit from a change of government?

Gardens of Stone

In memory of Kargil

A Road To Siachen

An analysis of the Pakistani military thought and its interests in the present crisis

The Decline and Fall of Pakistan

Pakistan on the crossroads of a dilemma

The Battle For Kosovo

An argument for the use of NATO ground forces in Kosovo

Sine Die

A Republican’s thoughts upon the acquital of Bill Clinton

A Forgotten Incident

India and Pakistan go to war!

A Line Runs Through It

Siachen-Kargil: India, Pakistan, Kashmir and forgotton lessons of history

The Gentleman Must Go

Crisis in the shadows of power: Is Pakistan entering an institutional crisis acknowledging Nawaz Sharif’s imperial designs?

Cry my Beloved Country

Thoughts on the nature of democracy in Pakistan.

Onwards to the Nuclear Abyss

India, Pakistan and the March of Folly

Feroz R Khan

• Articles on Chowk: 65
• First article: Jun 18, 1998
• Latest article: Jul 22, 2009
• Times read on Chowk: 1023798