Tag: imran khan
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SECULARISM IN FULL RETREAT
STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan The first time I landed in Bombay, now Mumbai, was mid eighties. It was in the evening as the sun was going down. The view from the plane was breathtaking. The coastline with boats lined up conveyed vibrancy. I was excited. I was received by my host with his team.…
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SAVE THE EARTH-DAVOS THEME 2020
STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan Davos, Switzerland is where the rich, powerful and famous come together and rub shoulders with each other every year at the World Economic Forum (WEF). It was started in 1971 by Klaus Schwab, a business professor from University of Geneva. It is an NGO headquartered in a sprawling campus in…
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2020 – WILL IK SHED HIS SHACKLES?
STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan It is the wedding season in Lahore bringing multiple invites. The cold and fog lends coziness to the atmosphere. A word of caution before you accept, driving in fog/smog combined with long distances is a lethal, time consuming combo. Lahore now is an urban sprawl; fertile agricultural lands that supplied…
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WHO IS THE TRAITOR?
STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan It’s in the air, Lahore does it to you. It does not matter wherever you are from, after how long you return to Lahore, the moment you land, you go care free. Your system stops taking stress, you join the Lahoris in their merry ways. Whatever will happen shall happen,…
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DECENCY BUTCHERED
STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan Announcement was made over the intercom that the plane was about to land. Despite nearly four decades of international travel, landing in Lahore gives a flutter of excitement unmatched anywhere else. There is a feeling of belonging, a sense of owner ship. Too many memories and associations. However the Lahore…
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GOVERNANCE ON TRIAL
STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan In my last post I had written about the “Great Escape” of Nawaz Sharif. I had commented about the emerging convergence between the institutions. I repeat the relevant portion. “For the first time in Pakistan’s 70 plus years of existence all the institutions were pulling in the same direction. They…
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BILLION TO BOND
STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan There is huge circus going on in Pakistan. Nawaz Sharif is suffering from some serious ailments. It led to being granted bail on medical grounds, despite being a convict. An extremely unusual relief painted as a “humanitarian act”. But there is nothing unusual when it comes to the “Royal” Sharifs.…
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MAULANA UNCHAINED
STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan Maulana Fazal Ur Rehman is roaring. Echoes are reverberating around the country. His march on Islamabad has eaten up a lot of air time on TV and prime space in newspapers. His demands are very precise. He wants IK gone as Prime Minister and fresh elections be held. Serious stuff.…
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PM UNDER SIEGE?
STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan Things are not going well within the power structure in Pakistan. It seems Prime Minister Imran Khan is not being able to cope with the vultures surrounding him. He is in power yet he comes across as powerless! He is not being obstructed by the men in uniform, it is…
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CLOUDS OF WAR
STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan I sustained a minor injury from which I am recovering well, but under doctor’s advice I had to avoid focusing on computer screen for a few days. Hence the delay in this post. Many countries in the west are post religious societies. Living here, it is sometime difficult to visualize the…