By Rob Crilly

One man in Pakistan would have watched last Saturday’s election results come rolling with more alarm than anyone else. Pervez Musharraf was the general who cut short Nawaz Sharif’s second term in office by seizing control of the country and arresting the prime minister.How the tables have turned. Now Mr Musharraf is under house arrest, confined to two rooms of his smart villa just outside Islamabad, and his old foe Mr Sharif is preparing to move back into Prime Minister’s House for a third term.

F Z Khan
The elections this time are being directly attributed to the armed forces’ “major contribution” towards democracy. Tremendous satisfaction has been expressed by the people in general and the general election contestants in particular, both print and electronic media as well as the intelligentsia especially after the Chief of Army Staff, General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani’s “much needed assurance” in his widely welcomed speech on the eve of Yaum-e-Shuhada on April 30.

By Anam Nasir

The foreign policy challenges facing the new government have been subject of much interest in the local newspapers. Editorials in the leading papers have identified Pakistan’s policies towards United States, India, Afghanistan, Iran and Saudi Arabia as crucial areas the new government stands to address. Since the elections, Prime Minister-in-waiting Nawaz Sharif has stated that talks will be held with the U.S. regarding drone attacks, ensured cooperation in facilitating a peaceful withdrawal from Afghanistan and indicated that his government desires improved relations with India.

By Ayesha Rana

The first ever political government completes its much trumpeted five years and the political parties are preparing for next general elections scheduled on May 11, 2013. During these five years, the ruling coalition had complete freedom to make policies and run the government. Yet, their achievements remain mundane at best.

Rehman Bilal & Fawad Ashraf

Giyari last year was caught unaware and hit in pre-dawn timings by a crumbling mountainside of huge ice slabs several meters thick. This frozen waste also brought along with it gigantic boulders weighing tons which were floating, rolling and gathering speed in powdery snow. Inaccessible, highly varied terrain did not leave scope for accurate forecasting.

Muhammad Tazeen Akhtar

Pakistanis are so confused these days that they cant judge who their savior is and who is not. There were already many claimants while another made a dramatic return on March 24. Yes! He is none other than Gen (r) Musharraf. Interestingly the savior of poor Pakistan flew home from U.A.E by a chartered plane instead of a routine flight.