Articles from the author

In the federal capital, Islamabad, where life in general proceeds along a calmer, more serene route than is the case in Lahore and most other cities in the country, most residents already possess the smart new identity cards being issued by Nadra (National Database and Registration Authority).

On two occasions in the past month, teachers and college professors have been ruthlessly baton-charged by the police as they attempted to stage rallies in Lahore.

car seen cruising along the canal in Lahore recently bore a telling message. Two giant portraits of Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif had been screen-printed across its rear windscreen in violation of the rules.

Letter from Lahore: Many dismayed at statute changes

The unceremonious ouster of Mian Azhar as chief of the ruling PML-QA was by no means an unexpected event.

Hopes that the condition of a graduation degree, and the presence of over 70 women in the house would result in an element of decorum entering the traditionally unruly Punjab Assembly were quickly dashed during the opening sessions of the house.

In times when money and financial standing seem to matter above all else, the once simple festival of Eid Al Fitr, too, has been converted into an occasion to show off status.

Letter from Lahore: City needs to fight pollution tag

Though several of Lahore's better known residents have made it into the newly-announced federal cabinet, few in the city are rejoicing over the look of the country's topmost decision-making body.

The political turmoil in the country since elections on October 10 has been so great that it has created the ideal situation for columnists, analysts and the new breed of suited anchormen starring on cable television channels.

The scenes are familiar ones to all those who have followed events at key junctures in the country's political history.

In the absence of Benazir Bhutto from the political scene in the country, her Pakistan People's Party has been delivered one of the most serious blows since its inception in the late 1960s.