The media and its messages
There was a touch of drama in that episode that deserves a footnote in the history of Pakistan’s struggle for democratic survival. And the issue it highlighted, though familiar and…
Media under fire
THE rapidness with which journalists, rights activists, lawyers and mainstream political parties have come together to defend the right to freedom of expression is obviously due to the seriousness of…
The police and social media
THE chief minister of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah, recently urged policemen to utilise social networking sites to reach out to the public during emergencies. We have commonly seen that in developing societies…
Purpose and conviction
An American author Robert Byrne had once said, “The purpose of life is a life of purpose”. Similarly, another wise person had also once said, “The way you live is…
Stifling the press
A “WALKING shadow”. A “poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage/ And then is heard no more”. A “tale/ Told by an idiot, full of sound…
Young Cubans spurn role as guardians of the revolution
In Cuba, thousands of neighborhood cells set up as the eyes and ears of Fidel Castro’s communist revolution are trying to find ways to lure young people who have little…
Mental health: universal human right
Every year, on October 10, we celebrate World Mental Health Day. This year’s theme declares mental health as a basic human right. The World Health Organization (WHO) describes this by…
To livestream or not?
The decision of the chief justice of Pakistan to livestream the hearing on the constitutionality of the SC Practice and Procedure Act, 2023 was greatly appreciated by me. I enjoyed…
Welcome to college – and adulthood
Fall, the time when millions of students all over the world – including Pakistan – will start their college journeys, is upon us. Many will be first-generation students, the first…
Meloni’s dilemma
Amidst their divergent ideological outlooks, US President Biden forged an unlikely alliance with Italian PM Giorgia Meloni during her recent visit to Washington (July 27), and he appears to have…
