EDITORIAL (March 14, 2010): With almost the entire cabinet at the airport to welcome him, President Karzai was accorded an extraordinary protocol. This was meant to send a reassuring message that the government was keen to maintain warm relations with him at this critical juncture when the issue of holding talks with the Taliban is under discussion in Washington.

EDITORIAL (March 14, 2010): They say that economic crises give birth to despots. In Pakistan, it is militancy and extremism that came out of the womb of our poorly performing economy, and if allowed to remain so, it would only add to that segment of the population. The so-called war on terror, that we now own, has bled our economy white, while the erstwhile Friends of Democratic Pakistan have gone into hiding.

EDITORIAL (March 13, 2010): Speaking to members of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) Dr Shoaib Suddle committed to eliminating the scourge of tax maladministration. Surveys past and recent have, time and again, revealed that one of the major reasons behind successive Pakistani governments' failure to increase tax collections is rampant corruption within the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR).

EDITORIAL (March 13, 2010): As follow-up of an earlier law to prevent violence against women, President Asif Ali Zardari signed a bill last Tuesday that aims to provide a mechanism for addressing complaints of harassment and establishing an environment for all working women that is free of intimidation and abuse. Each organisation, it says, shall constitute an inquiry committee comprising three members, including one woman member, within 30 days of a complaint, to investigate the complaint.

EDITORIAL (March 13, 2010): While the ANP and PML-N are still to settle their differences over renaming NWFP, ANP leader and Federal Minister for Railways Ghulam Ahmad Bilour declared at a public meeting last Sunday that the 18th constitutional amendment cannot get his party's approval unless the issue is resolved. Understandably, the ANP realises that given the sense of urgency with which the PML-N views the constitutional reform, this is its best chance of success.

EDITORIAL (March 12, 2010): Politics plays an important part in subsidisation. Politicians from across the divide excessively use subsidies to appease the constituents. The federal government is considering a proposal with a view to ending the subsidisation of feed gas to fertiliser plants and instead, to give a direct subsidy to farmers.

EDITORIAL (March 12, 2010): The by-elections on two National Assembly and two Punjab Assembly seats, held on Wednesday were, by and large, peaceful for which the Punjab and Balochistan governments and participating candidates need to be congratulated. Unlike what happened in Rawalpindi last month, there was no celebratory firing by the supporters of the winning candidates either.

EDITORIAL (March 12, 2010): At long last Washington seems to be coming round to accepting the logic of Pakistan's perspective on the war against terrorism. For far too long Islamabad's grim struggle to stem the tide of ever-surging militancy on its western border, at an enormous cost, evoked nothing but the 'do-more' mantra, as mandarins in the American establishment doubted Islamabad's sincerity - often prompted by an unhelpful media in the west.

EDITORIAL (March 11, 2010): War is a serious business, and more so when it is being fought within your own country. Pakistan today is in a state of such a war. No doubt, insurgency on the western borders has been effectively tamed and controlled to some extent, but the task there is far from finished yet.

EDITORIAL (March 11, 2010): While addressing the APNS award distribution ceremony at the Aiwan-i-Sadr on Tuesday, President Asif Ali Zardari clarified that when he stated he knew the identity of the killers of his late wife Benazir Bhutto he was not referring to those who actually assassinated her but to a 'mindset'.