close
Syed Ali Zafar
Syed Ali Zafar

  • January 27, 2024

    Symbol judgment: what went wrong?

    This representational image shows a person holding a gavel. —...

  • August 04, 2023

    This is not how laws are made

    Law making by parliament is its most important task and huge...

  • April 13, 2023

    When water is weaponized

    The Indus Waters Treaty has survived major wars and numerous conflicts...

  • February 09, 2023

    Weaponizing water warfare

    “The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.” –...

  • October 03, 2021

    Fake news

    Fake news can have dangerous consequences; this was true even in ancient...

  • September 18, 2021

    The lawfare trap

    We all know how nations conquer. Yes, though war – which conjures up...

  • September 01, 2021

    More supreme than the law?

    The judiciary is the guardian of rule of law, and that is why people have...

  • December 27, 2020

    Checkmate

    The recent declarations by the top leadership of Pakistan’s main...

  • December 16, 2020

    Rape and the law

    In a previous column on these pages, I had stated that severity of...

  • September 30, 2020

    The cultural industry

    Cinema takes us into a world of fantasy and affects how people see...

  • September 18, 2020

    Reform the system

    In a recent tweet, I had said that in a civilized society protection to...

  • September 10, 2020

    Oh, Iftikhar!

    Worried about the potential of infighting on religious, sectarian,...

  • August 27, 2020

    Kashmir: the way forward - Part II

    India’s case on Kashmir is based on illegal occupation, which is...

  • August 26, 2020

    Kashmir: the way forward - Part I

    Our ‘Foreign Office boys’, as they are generally called, are about...

  • August 07, 2020

    Right to life

    Thomas L Friedman, Pulitzer Prize Winner, in his famous book ‘The world...

  • July 29, 2020

    What’s in a name?

    Why this furious debate on change of name of Lahore’s Nicholson Road to...

  • July 22, 2020

    For a second culture

    Henry Kissinger, former US secretary of state, a scholar and a diplomat,...

  • July 15, 2020

    Learning in safety

    It is rightly said that “the true character of a society is revealed in...

  • July 08, 2020

    Is democracy dying?

    At a time in history when democracy is the creed and prevailing system of...

  • July 02, 2020

    Balancing the federation

    The constitution is referred to as a living document for a dynamic...

  • December 13, 2018

    The population challenge

    Thomas L Friedman has written a book in which he says: “In the world...

  • December 04, 2018

    The one who cannot be seen

    In a far-off island of New Guinea, surrounded by dense fog, engulfed in...

  • November 27, 2018

    The answer is within the system

    The idea of a ‘parliamentary democracy’ is that the legislature be...

  • November 13, 2018

    Living the spirit of Ubuntu

    In a world that is becoming increasingly intolerant, where calls for...

  • November 06, 2018

    The compromise

    After the Aasia Bibi judgement, riots erupted throughout Pakistan which...

  • October 30, 2018

    Ultracrepidarian

    I have been searching for a word that describes one who offers advice or...

  • October 23, 2018

    Question of allegiance

    How does one ascertain loyalty? This is the question at the heart of...

  • October 16, 2018

    Will Fata be lost to history again?

    In the 1800s, the area previously known as Fata was strategically nestled...

  • October 10, 2018

    Don’t be shy of the truth

    According to a 19th century legend, Truth and Lie met one day and agreed...

  • October 02, 2018

    The imperial censorate

    No one, least of all the ruling class, wants to go under the microscope...

  • September 18, 2018

    The fourth lion

    According to ancient legend in Japan, the emperor’s throne is guarded...

  • September 11, 2018

    Is ‘South Punjab’ possible?

    The PTI’s win in southern Punjab in Election 2018 was strengthened by...

  • May 16, 2017

    Balancing freedoms

    “I am not a pornographer but a story writer” –...

  • August 26, 2016

    The CPEC authority

    The writer is an advocate of the Supreme Court and president of Supreme...