By Pervez Hoodbhoy

Governor Salmaan Taseer died at the hands of a religious fanatic on January 4 last year. Fearlessly championing a deeply unpopular cause, this brave man had sought to revisit the country’s blasphemy law which, as he saw it, was yet another means of intimidating Pakistan’s embattled religious minorities.

By Brian Whitaker

Imagine you live in Saudi Arabia and want to start a discussion group with some friends. The only way to do it legally is to ask the king’s permission.

By John Lloyd

 In France, it is les Anglais. In Germany, die Engländer. In Italy, gli Inglesi. In Russia, Anglichane. The peoples of the United Kingdom, for most other peoples, are habitually “English.”

Having bid goodbye to a tumultuous 2011, Pakistanis will certainly be hoping for a less traumatic 2012. But that will depend on certain political, security and international factors which will shape the country`s future in the near-term. Start with domestic politics. From Senate elections to perhaps a general election, the year ahead offers real opportunities to nudge the transition to democracy ahead. Equally, the civil-military imbalance and fraught relations between the political government and the Supreme Court could stamp out the nascent democratic process yet again. Much will depend on how the PPP-led government responds to threats, real and perceived, and the strategy it adopts.