Ashwin Makhija

Lately, a piece of news broke out that the construction work on the Diamer-Basha dam has started. This news provoked much attention and sent many into rejoicing. For many, it rekindled hopes that the dam would finally be taking a step closer to reality. It is not less than a dream coming true for the people as they have been waiting for more than twenty years for such an announcement. Yes, you heard it right: Twenty years.  One might wonder why it took so long. What were the previous governments doing? If the questions intrigue you, go ahead, read whatever this article offers you, and quench your thirst for the answers.  It was back then in 1980 when some experts suggested that erecting a flurry of dams, including Diamer-Basha Dam, was imperative to meet the future needs of the country. Simply an idea took birth, but it was not until 1998 that the foundation stone of the Diamer-Basha dam had been laid down by then prime minister Nawaz Sharif.  Came later president Pervez ...

Before Pakistan got independence, Quaid-e-Azam had made it a point to grant as much autonomy to the provinces in the new country as exercised by states in the USA, Canada or Australia. He believed that a federal form of government with considerable decentralization would add to the nationhood in the novel state. His ideals, however, began to change once he succeeded in his objective of securing a separate state for the muslims of India. He backtracked from his promises to the provinces, antoganizing the other half of the state - the East Pakistan - partly because of the fear arising from the Indian intentions of disintegrating the new state. Even before India was divided, Congress leaders had been contemplating that Pakistan would ultimately reunite with the former, and Quaid, though reluctantly, was urged to take that proposition at face value. He was afraid that India, the would-be arch-rival, might exploit particular ethnic communities in a state where there was greater provincial a...