Natural disaster, social catastrophe
Pakistan’s economy is vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. Pakistan, in 2016, stood at the fifth highest in the list of countries facing climate risk, according to the…
Climate-smart social protection
PAKISTAN’S social protection system is at a crossroads. Traditional social protection systems, while providing critical support for poverty reduction, are not designed to address the compounding challenges of climate-triggered disasters. The country’s…
A ‘disaster’ foretold
IN one of his last reports as the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan’s Reconstruction, John Sopko highlighted the factors contributing to America’s failure in Afghanistan. One of the main…
Two sides of the social media coin
WITH social media platforms running amok without much regulation or oversight, the hybrid Pakistani government and those considered established democracies in Europe, such as the United Kingdom and Germany, seem…
Sleepwalking to disaster
IT seems like an endless journey to nowhere. We keep moving in circles with no hope of coming out of the rut. The prevailing uncertainty is now becoming more and…
Children of disaster
SOME estimates say that 40 per cent of the people live in poverty, and 24pc below the poverty line in our country. It is no surprise that survival is their…
Disaster orthodoxy in Pakistan
ALMOST 40 years ago, ‘disaster orthodoxy’ started being challenged and critiqued in Western societies by researchers such as Kenneth Hewitt, Paul Susman and Phil O’Keefe, amongst others. According to Kathleen…
The Dar disaster
WHILE boasting that the country has not defaulted, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar revealed that the government was negotiating the restructuring of external debts. This leaves us wondering about his chest-thumping claim that…
Gender and disaster
PAKISTAN is undergoing the worst of catastrophes due to unprecedented monsoon rains and the ensuing floods. The exact losses and damage to crops, homes, livelihoods and animals cannot be ascertained…
An elevated disaster
ONE of the major concerns related to local government systems in Pakistan is the usurpation of municipal planning by provincial government entities such as development authorities. This has been a…
