Category: Articles
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SHARING THE INTENSE PAIN OF COVID
STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan It is human nature to share joy and success. We internalize our pain and put up a brave face. Everyone likes to bask in the glory of success and we all enjoy a good time. Pain is an orphan few want to own. However this pandemic has inflicted so much…
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THE INDESTRUCTIBLE SPIRIT OF AFGHANS
STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan A quiet storm is brewing in our front yard that will impact the future configuration of the entire region. The Americans are committed to leave Afghanistan by September 11th, 2021, twenty years after their stormy entry. They will leave a void and a power vacuum, and nature abhors a vacuum.…
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THE BUMPY ROAD TO MAKKAH
STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s recent visit to Saudi Arabia reminded me of an incident during my stay in the Kingdom. Our Chairman Abdul Latif Al-Sheikh had a close friend who was an engineer. It was early eighties and we were developing our agricultural project in Al Kharaj, south of Riyadh.…
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COVID will lead to a New World Order
STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan The wide-bodied Boeing 787 nicknamed “Dreamliner” entered Toronto airspace and circled down to land. There was no line up in the air corridor to delay the landing. Like most international airports, Toronto’s Pearson International is quite expansive. The walk from the gate in terminal 3 to the immigration counters is…
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25 YEARS LATER, IT IS PTI’S CHOICE TO DO OR DIE
STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan Early February 1997 the air still had the wintry chill in Saidu Sharif, the capital of Swat. It was the scene of the last political rally by PTI Chairman Imran Khan before the elections. I was accompanying him. We had chosen this venue because out of the multiple seats that…
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ACCOUTABILITY WITHOUT RESULTS IS A TRAVESTY
STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan Recently I was sitting with my friend Raja Munawar, Member Senate Punjab University. Although he is younger than me our association goes back decades. I feel so blessed to have friends who have my back, whether we are together or oceans apart. He is one of them. I have often…
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RAMADAN REFLECTIONS: STOP TRAMPLING “HUQOOQ UL IBAD”
STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan We all witnessed mayhem on TV across the country and I saw some firsthand. It was senseless, brutal defiance of authority leading to the breakdown of law and order. I was crossing a roundabout and saw a small group of teens wielding sticks, lighting fires, beating up people and breaking…
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UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PM IK IN 2ND AWAKENING Part 2 of 2.
STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan I was invited to friend’s farmhouse for dinner. The guests included close friends and I got introduced to some new people. The weather was changing; sitting outside cold and warm air were hugging each with firewood providing warmth and ambiance. Suddenly I saw a motorcade enter the gates. Expensive SUV’s…
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UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PM IK IN 2ND AWAKENING Part 1
STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan PDM’s threat has dissipated for now. Chances of their resurrection at the same level are slim and at least not until the end of the year. It is an opportunity for Prime Minister Imran Khan to play catch up and come out swinging. The onset of COVID for PM IK…
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SOLUTION LIES IN CONVICTIONS NOT ACCUSATIONS
STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan Living in Lahore is a unique experience. We have are two competing elements in our airspace; pollution in our air, and accusations on our airwaves. One wonders which one is more harmful. One damages the body the other hurts the mind. Yet Lahoris go about life in their merry ways…