STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan I was not even a teenager when I learnt one of the most important lessons in life. It became a part of my value system. Abbottabad was popular as a “hill station”, a legacy term…

STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan Folks let us keep it simple; it is bullet versus ballot. The barbaric commando style action to kidnap Imran Khan was shameful, demeaning and a gross violation of human dignity. IK was hit, pushed and…

STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan The Chaudhries of Gujrat have been prominent in politics for three generations. I have known all three of them. Their patriarch was Chaudhry Zahur Ellahi emerging onto the national scene from rural Gujrat during Ayub…

STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan I have vivid memories of PTI’s founding event at Holiday Inn, Lahore in April 1996. My late friend Ahsan Rashid, Mehmood Awan, and I drove to the venue ahead of IK to get a feel…

STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan There are many versions regarding the final words of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto before he was led to the gallows. There is one, favored by his supporters. It narrates that as the noose was tightened, Bhutto…

STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan One of my favorite pastimes on our farm was to have “poona,” an indigenous variety of sugarcane, harvested and have it squeezed for fresh “roh”, sugarcane juice. After sunset in autumn evenings we would sit…

STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan It was early days of PTI and Chairman Imran Khan gave me the responsibility of organizing the Party. Mairaj Mohammad Khan, a political icon, at one time designated successor of Bhutto, was PTI’s General Secretary.…

STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan Nearly a hundred years ago in 1920 USA amended their Constitution prohibiting production, imports, transportation and sale of Alcohol nationwide. It was a radical change that was in the making since the 19th century led…

STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan I was in my library prepping for a long–distance call when the ground under feet started to move. It did not register right away; however as tremors continued I called my wife and staff to…

STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan “Chuj tey bolday sun hun chananee we boldi aiy.” In the days gone by, wheat and chaff were separated manually using a hand held device called “Chuj”. It was used mostly by women sitting in…