Farrukh K Pitafi's Official Website

(First published on May 18, 2019) PHOTO: REUTERS Technology is changing the way we live and work. And despite its breakneck speed, the incremental nature of change has made it nearly impossible…

(First published on May 11, 2019) Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. PHOTO: FILE Narendra Modi recently gave an interview to an Indian film actor. The ostensible purpose was to offer an apolitical…

(First published on May 04, 2019) The discussion began in a classroom. A young lady was presenting review of ‘How Democracies Die’ by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt. I was sitting in…

(First published on April 27, 2019) Between 1934 and 1939, three British Prime Ministers – Ramsay MacDonald, Stanley Baldwin and Neville Chamberlain – did precious little as Hitler walked away with murder,…

(First published on April 20, 2019) PHOTO: AFP Whenever we hear of hybrid wars and fifth-generation warfare, we witness disbelief and rancour emanating from a circle of friends and colleagues. Skepticism is…

(First published on April 13, 2019) The first photograph of a black hole and its fiery halo, released Wednesday by Event Horizon Telescope astronomers, is the "most direct proof of their existence,"…

(First published on April 06, 2019) In 2011, in a piece titled “Per Capita Happiness”, I cited the Bhutanese government’s Gross National Happiness (GNH) index as an effective tool to measure citizen’s…

(First published on March 30, 2019) For the students of electoral politics, the past week has been thoroughly illuminating. Two countries face elections in the next few weeks. One country hopes to…

(First published on March 23, 2019) The terrorist who attacked worshippers in Christchurch released a 74-page manifesto titled ‘the great replacement’. The title is borrowed from a conspiracy theory popularised in France…

(First published on March 16, 2019) Prime Minister Imran Khan’s job approval continues to grow steadily. A nationwide survey by International Republican Institute (IRI) revealed on March 14 that a combined 57…

(First published on March 09, 2019) “We do not wish to go into war. But please be rest assured should you initiate any aggression, first you shall never be able to surprise…

(First published on March 02, 2019) Special Bulletin is a 1983 made-for-television film. As the name suggests it is a story presented as live news broadcast. So realistic was the depiction at…

(First published on February 23, 2019) The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP)’s rise to power presents an interesting case study with some important lessons. It also highlights some darker aspects of Indian society…

(First published on February 16, 2019) Quick question: Has America’s leadership and standing in the world declined as a result of Trump’s policies? Isn’t it what pundits and scholars often claim? But…

(First published on February 09, 2019) The Economist calls it Slowbalisation. The magazine has produced a deeply worrying piece. It suggests that the steam has gone out of globalization. The new trend shifts…

(First published on February 02, 2019) Indian sources tell us that when the 2004 tsunami struck Asia, a number of former US presidents, as well as the incumbent one, visited the Indian…

(First published on January 26th, 2019) Question: What does India get out of it? Believe it or not, the sheer size of the deployment of the Indian forces in Kashmir has exceeded…

(First published on January 19, 2019) “Two elements, therefore, enter into our investigation: first, the Idea, secondly, the complex of human passions; the one the warp, the other the woof of the…

(First published on January 12th, 2019) Former Indian army chief and now a junior cabinet minister VK Singh just made a prediction. Banning Indian content will not stop Pakistanis from watching Indian…

(First published on January 05, 2019) Democracy in Pakistan is under threat. And this threat emanates from within. The two major parties, PML-N and PPP, think that when they are not in…

(First published on December 29, 2018) The ghosts of our tragic past are revisiting us. Pakistan, as it stands today, was once forced to be one administrative unit. It was primarily an…

(First published on December 22, 2018) Mr President, it’s about time we release him. He’ll prove more damaging to the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) outside jail than inside.” This reportedly was the…

(First published on December 15th, 2018) When the entire world is adamant to go to hell in a hand basket, it makes little sense to bemoan one’s own shortcomings. But sanity demands…

(First published on December 08, 2018) Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck, the commander-in-chief of the British Indian Army, was initially in favour of a joint military command for India and Pakistan. This…

(First published on December 01, 2018) Realpolitik can do terrible things to people. Under high pressure, it can crush the humanity of a soul. And in South Asia everything is politics. Trade…

(First published on November 24, 2018) It was entirely unnecessary. Watch Trump’s interview with Chris Wallace again. He wasn’t even asked about Pakistan. It was a question about Admiral William McRaven’s criticism of…

(First published on November 17, 2018) Remember those magical days when you had a kingdom of your own. When you placed your head in the lap of your grandmother and were immediately…

(First published on November 10, 2018) Man seldom questions his relationship with his environment, nature surrounding him, even the things he uses every single day. He has little time to relent and…

(First published on November 06, 2018) As per the website of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics 96.28% of Pakistan’s population is Muslim. Hindus make 1.6% and Christians 1.59% of the total population….

(First published on October 27, 2018) At the end of World War II two documents namely the Long Telegram by George Kennan and NSC 68 by Paul Nitze helped identify the challenge…