Cruel malignity
CANCER respects neither age nor position. One has only to visit a cancer hospital to realise how indiscriminate the choice of its victims is. Or read recent revelations by royalty.…
A helping hand
IN a country without institutionalised social security, how do people of limited means survive in an emergency? A wage earner might lose his job unexpectedly, a young woman with small…
Charity and the state
VISUALS of long queues, crowd conflicts and general mayhem at government-sponsored wheat flour distribution points should weigh heavy on this country’s collective conscience. They underscore the unprecedented nature of Pakistan’s…
Decaying morals
A THRIVING, harmonious society is based on certain moral values that God has ingrained in human nature. When nations forgot or deliberately decided to forego these values, messengers were sent…
75 and tottering
AMPUTATED at 25, Pakistan is tottering at 75. Every institution is wobbling and governance has descended into a farce. The veils that had papered reality now lie on the floor…
Philosophy of Islam
I LIVE in Canada but often visit Pakistan. I notice two types of differences in how Islam is practised in the two countries. The first is a much wider range…
Islamic finance for climate
THE 27th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP 27, took place in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, last month. Against the backdrop of…
Unequal and immoral
JUST a bit over a week ago, the World Inequality Report 2022 was released. Among its notable but not surprising findings were the fact that half of the world is…
Trust the state?
SHOULD citizens trust the Pakistani state with relief efforts and donations in the aftermath of these devastating floods? This is a common question, and one that was asked after the 2005…
Islamic environmentalism
IT is no secret that Pakistan faces an existential climate change crisis. Currently ranked fifth in the Global Climate Risk Index, we are at severe risk of exposure to extreme…
