Vulnerable women
Women in Pakistan are disproportionately affected by disasters. The conservative social norms limit and restrict their personal, physical and economic autonomy. They face disparities in various aspects of life, including…
The facade of Indian democracy
Seventy-five years ago, India gained freedom and declared itself a secular state. The constitution of the world’s largest democracy provides for “freedom of conscience and the right of all individuals…
#KashmiriLivesMatter
The true way of feeling somebody’s pain is to go through it yourself. Many things cannot be expressed till felt. Words cannot replace experiencing an event. If ever these sayings…
Israel’s ‘Facebook Law’
It is ironic that even former right-wing Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, had rejected a Knesset (Israeli Parliament) bill which proposed to give the government greater power to control and…
Taliban, women and children
As the Taliban overtook Kabul and now-former president Ashraf Ghani fled the country, Afghanistan stands to face its most urgent humanitarian crisis in two decades. More than 80 percent of…
The forgotten people
If at all any reminder of the Palestinians’ helplessness in the face of a brutal and inhuman apparatus was needed, it has come in the form of their hindered access…
Lawfare by Pakistan
Lawfare is defined as the theory and practice of the use of international law as an instrument to advance one's own interests. Orde Kittrie’s book on ‘Lawfare’ defines it as…
Hypocrisy and suffering
The British government’s reluctance in suspending arms sales to Saudi Arabia is not only shameful but also flies in the face of London’s tall claim of working for global peace…
Quetta calling
AS of writing this, my city, the largest in the country, is seeing protest camps spring up in multiple locations (at least 11 as of last count) in solidarity with…
Any police reforms?
In January 2018, 27-year-old Naqeebullah Mehsud was murdered by the police in an ‘encounter’ in Karachi. The following year, on January 19, 2019, the Punjab Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) murdered…
