Welcome musical interlude
WITH so much murder and mayhem in the world, so much turmoil and intolerance, a genocide (now paused) in the name of ‘self-defence’ and with twisted ideologies and terrorism taking…
Staying put
For a few weeks now, the Israeli military has been issuing forced displacement orders to residents of Gaza City, destroying towers and carpet-bombing neighbourhoods. Hundreds of thousands have fled south…
Provinces or local government?
RECENT media reports indicate that the ‘27th constitutional amendment’ is likely to divide the existing four federating units into 12 provinces. Before finalising such a decision, parliamentarians must consider a…
Karachi: inequitable NFC impact
BORN in the name of devolution, propagated as people’s rights, and celebrated as a victory for the deprived, the seventh National Finance Commission award has been nothing of the sort.…
Strikes on Iran mark Trump’s biggest, and riskiest, foreign policy gamble
With his unprecedented decision to bomb Iran’s nuclear sites, directly joining Israel’s air attack on its regional arch foe, US President Donald Trump has done something he had long vowed…
An appraisal of provincial budgets
Provincial budgets for Punjab, Sindh, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the fiscal year (FY) 2025–26 reflect a precarious balancing act between growth ambitions and fiscal realism, raising critical questions about their…
KP and the USAID crisis
On January 20, following the US president's Executive Order on Reevaluating and Realigning US Foreign Aid, all US-related government to government (G2G) development projects and activities have been suspended in…
It’s all political
AFTER a phase of stabilisation, it is encouraging to see the government emphasise growth through Uraan Pakistan. The programme, much like an election manifesto, aims to address an overwhelming range…
The Trump trade wars
US President Donald Trump has formally agreed to impose 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico and 10 percent additional tariff on China. Import prices will rise as a result of…
A sport above the clouds
Pakistan has a unique mountain landscape, where the Himalayas, Karakoram, and Hindu Kush ranges converge and have different characteristics. It is home to five of the 14 peaks higher than…
