Polarization and threat to society
Long hauls often necessitate one to walk around inside the aircraft. I often stand peering through the tiny window on the emergency door, looking down at the passing ‘Lilliputian’ landscape…
Civil-military ties
THE people of Pakistan have a strong democratic temperament. Throughout the year, the country’s many elections are robustly contested in bar associations, chambers of commerce, professional associations, unions, civil society…
Civil society vs the state
Civil society is once again facing the awkward question as to whether it must always support an elected civilian government, regardless of its performance, to avoid the collapse of the…
Lessons not learnt
THE tumult generated by the collapse of Gate 47 of Sukkur Barrage in Sindh subsided after the irrigation department brought the situation under control by constructing a cofferdam. This was…
Run, hit, slap
A family going happily for a walk. Screeches, hit, run, crash. In a matter of seconds the happy walk turns into shrieks, screams and blood. An innocent family razed to…
When courts define politics
The aftermath of the Panama case verdict is characterised by confusion on both sides – those on the side of embattled political parties, PML-N and PTI, and those on the…
Gender equality
The movement for gender equality is an irrefutable reality of the modern era, based on the premise of equal rights for all individuals dwelling in a state irrespective of their…
U-turn on media reforms
One hopes the recent unfortunate reversal by the Supreme Court of its previous position regarding the ban on hunting of the houbara bustard does not become a signal for other…
Backchannel, not Track-II
The text of the brief Pakistan-India joint-statement released after the meeting of the two prime ministers at the SCO Summit on July 10 unfortunately omits specific reference to Kashmir. About…
Justice denied to justice buried
The Supreme Court of Pakistan during the last many days has dismissed a large number of leaves to appeal, mainly filed by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). It has…
