Month: January 2021
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Negative Drift Towards Alienating Minorities
STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan I grew up in the days of cowboy movies and comics. Invariably the non-conformist hero would stand up for the underdog. My formative years were spent alternating between the worlds of Clint Eastwood, Kirk Douglas and the Irish Priests of Burn Hall, Abbottabad and the rustic world of “Jagga” and…
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BIDEN INHERITS USA AT WAR WITH ITSELF
STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan Divisions within America have never been so intense since the American Civil War that nearly divided the North and South. The roots of this divide date back to the Emancipation Proclamation ending slavery by President Lincoln on January 1st, 1863 as Civil War raged. It freed thousands of slaves each…
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LAHORE: A GARDEN TO GARBAGE CITY
STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan The New Year brought glad tidings for Lahore from one of the most prominent and influential newspaper in the world, the New York Times. In its Travel section it selected “52 Places to Love in 2021” out of 2,000 possible locations recommended by their readers. They had asked them to…
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PAKISTAN HAS CHALLENGES BEYOND POLITICS
STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan During my university days in the late sixties and early seventies politics was reentering our civil discourse. After ten years under Ayub Khan, Pakistan transitioned from a “Basic Democracy” system to an “Adult Franchise”. The present borders of Pakistan were then known as West Pakistan where Zulifiqar Ali Bhutto…
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PDM IMPLOSION IS A NATIONAL OPPORTUNITY
STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan December 2020 was a tumultuous month in Pakistani politics. It started with thunder, threatening a severe storm but ended in a whimper despite intense rumblings. PML(N)’s de-facto leader Maryam loudly proclaimed a “now or never” agenda for PDM leaders. Lahore’s public meeting on December 13th would unravel PTI’s Government with…