Insurgency and social change
THE recent killing of seven barbershop workers from Punjab in Gwadar is another indicator that the insurgency in Balochistan is evolving and intensifying demographic changes, which will impact the sociopolitical…
A social contract
WATCHING the news recently, I heard the IG of Punjab Police berating women for having the audacity to be out protesting in public. He used the damning word ‘modern’ to…
Lies, damn lies and social media: fake news stalks Brazil vote
In a divisive election campaign blighted by fears of unrest if far-right President Jair Bolsonaro refuses to accept defeat, Brazil is waging an uphill battle against disinformation wielded as a…
Women in social cohesion
The World Economic Forum's Global Gender Index 2021 ranks Pakistan at 153 out of 156 countries. Categorised on indicators of social cohesion including education attainment, health and survival, economic participation…
Moral panic and social change
LAST week in an interview to a private TV channel, the prime minister made several remarks about what he believed were indicators of moral degradation in Pakistani society, and the underlying reason…
Quaid’s commitment to democratic norms
During his long political career, spanning some forty-four years (1904-48), Quaid-i-Azam Jinnah donned several roles. But whatever the mantle he donned, the Quaid stood steadfast by certain well-defined principles. Since…
Social media war
A Couple of months ago I wrote on these pages vis-à-vis the need to think critically about new information technologies and how they will shape life on the planet in…
Crafting economic and social transformation
The manifestoes of the political parties - all political parties have listed most of the transformations that they will bring about if they came to power. Most of the political…
Revisiting SWOT
WHO would’ve thought a phone call from a journalist asking to write an anonymous column called ‘Single Women Over Thirty’ (SWOT) would lead to a) a trailblazing column in the…
The CPD forum
PAKISTAN is a member of the 58th UN Commission on Population and Development (CPD) session to be held next month. The session will focus on the implementation of the Programme…
