On February 8, 2012, Nasim Wali Khan had her application for senator rejected by the ANP party parliamentary board. Here’s a look at the former provincial president of the ANP and the first-ever woman directly elected to Pakistan’s national parliament.

PESHAWAR: The Federal Government has agreed in principal to rename Peshawar International Airport after the name of Khudai Khidmatgar Khan Abdul Ghaffar alias Baacha Khan in recognition to his services for the Muslims of sub continent and struggle as preacher of non-violence. The jubilant President of Awami National Party Asfandyar Wali Khan announced this at [...]

Each new year, fates promise us a new beginning. And as is the wont of the most beautiful amongst the ladies, and a part of their allure, this assurance can ultimately lead to either of the two, a heartbreak or a delicious surprise . But in the meantime the mere thought of the possibilities keeps one enthralled.

And the new year is also a traditional time for us foolish mortals for making our own resolutions, remarkable only for the generally singular absence of any real intent and serving the rather useful purpose of making us feel good. The frivolous ones go unheeded, as expected, after a few days into the new year. But then there are others , normally based on personal convictions driven by and filtered from bitter experience, which are meant to be kept.

As with individuals, so do nations appear to make new year resolutions. And judging by the general mood, Pakistan has firmly resolved to change.

This new year has a special universal significance anyway. December of this year is when the fourth count on the ancient Maya calendar ceases. Unlike that portrayed in films and imbedded in popular culture this date is not a portent of some great cataclysm which will strike the human race, but to the Mayans it signified an end to one cycle of human civilization and the beginning of the next one.

And this year is also associated with the most powerful positive force in Chinese cosmology, the Dragon. The Dragon symbolizes potent and auspicious powers. It is also a symbol of power, strength, and good luck. What superheroes can do, Dragons can do better, and then some more.

By some quirk of fate, both of the above seem to have intertwined and gifted us ordinary Pakistani’s something which most of us had despaired of ever coming across again , a year to look forward to. Looking back it’s amazing how much difference a mere three months can make in changing the psyche of a whole nation. And to emphasize the point, please do recall that the term nation itself had sounded embarrassingly alien in context of Pakistan not so very long ago.

Now we seem poised on the cusp of a new beginning, with PTI being the catalyst.

While for the elite among us , as a popular saying goes, every day has always been Eid and each night a celebration, for millions of other citizens life had become too much of a struggle. The dire socio-economic situation being a major cause but the chief instigator being an absence of hope. A void which had created a palpable pall of depression all round and put a question mark on the very viability of Pakistan as a normal country. Snide remarks of a failed state were being incessantly echoed in international and national media.

And then the previous three months came along. It’s still debatable that whether PTI jumped or it was pushed but it sure made a hell of a splash. Irrespective of who scored the most points, or runs, in this phase one thing is quite apparent, that the ordinary voters have suddenly been energized and become uncompromisingly demanding. They are no longer willing to be treated as mere numbers, to be duped by the more astutely wily of our traditional politicians.

As that most erudite of observers of life , Oscar Wilde observed “what seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise”, the apathy of voters in the last election subsequently dealt them a very harsh lesson indeed as to the perils of imprudent choices. Having suffered under the resulting political oligopoly of PPP, Muslim League, MQM and ANP for the last three years, the voters had become increasingly desperate. The desire to teach these arrogant oligopolists a lesson had been thwarted by the fact that there had been no real alternative available. Now Imran Khan and PTI have made sweet retribution all too possible. And promise of real change hangs thick in the air, further exciting the imagination.

No wonder then that two different observers reporting about the mood in Pakistan now and say in the past June would come across to the uninformed reader as addressing different countries altogether. Make no mistake that’s the magnitude of the change which has taken place in the national psyche. At this point in time, after many a year, there is a visible undercurrent of optimism and exhilaration in the national polity.

What we are now witnessing is that for the second time in our history , post independence, the engagement of the voters in the political process is promising to dramatically influence the direction our country is likely to take. The people feel that they have an alternative leadership to support. And most importantly well meaning political leaders have another platform to join in case they feel out of sync with their present party’s policies.

Like a particularly well thought out teaser campaign the new year has thus already provided exciting glimpses of a list of alluring possibilities to the Pakistani nation. For once the ordinary people seem to have a fighting chance to set the national agenda. For too long this has remained a prerogative, directly or indirectly, of our armed forces. Well meaning or not their intervention has ended in disaster for all of us, sooner and later. The last undisputed elections were held in 1970. We all remember what happened next when the will of the people was subverted on the plea of greater national interest. This must not be allowed to happen this time round.

For those pointing out the numerous chinks in the armor of our knight to the rescue, a word of advice. Please save your energy , nobody expects a perfect hero in Imran Khan. Real life hero’s, other than saints, are individuals who despite their all too human flaws have the courage to strive for real , meaningful change. I too disagree with his current tactics, and am pretty vocal about it, but I also truly believe that he is the best choice we have.

The Oracle is in a good mood, the auguries are auspicious, the mood is buoyant. Now it is up to all of us to ensure that 2012 year turns out to be a year to remember.

What prompted Sindh’s senior minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza to lash out at the MQM and federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik when his own party was in talks with the MQM to bring them back into the cabinet?

A summary of the political and ethnic violence that shook Karachi in July 2011.

One of the most instructive moments of clarity in the days since the assassination of Salmaan Taseer was provided by Jamaat-e-Islami chief Syed Munawar Hasan, as he spoke to the press in Karachi on Sunday. At a rally at which more than 20,000 Pakistanis gathered in defence of Pakistan Penal [...]