Protecting Chinese investments
THERE are two critical dialogues taking place between the governments of China and Pakistan. One of them concerns the rescheduling of payables owed to Chinese project sponsors by the government of Pakistan.…
PIA sell-off challenge: crash-landing was long in the making
Six months ago, the buzz in Islamabad was that foreign airline giants were lining up to acquire a seemingly beleaguered Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). The authorities, concerned at potential fallout,…
Empowering Gilgit-Baltistan
THE Gilgit-Baltistan region, the neglected mountainous expanse within the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir, has recently risen to prominence. Previously perceived as a remote liability and officially referred to as…
Censorship with impunity
X, FORMERLY known as Twitter, was blocked in Pakistan on Feb 17, 2024. It took more than a month and several petitions in high courts across the country for the…
Have faith in facts
I SUSPECT many will agree about the benefits of a digital detox, ie a break from the constant stream of information on mobile devices. I enjoyed my break last week…
Rooted in evidence
IN our times, in line with the ascendency of empirical evidence in global policy frameworks, nations are embarking on a new chapter of governance, driven by data, research, and real-world…
Right to health
THE Human Rights Commission of Pakistan recently convened a national roundtable on enshrining the right to health in the Constitution — a great initiative and a step in the right…
The cross-border challenge
LAST week’s coordinated assault on an army garrison in Zhob was yet another grim reminder of the growing terrorist threat emanating from cross-border sanctuaries. The highest single-day casualties suffered by the security…
An inconvenient freedom
THIS Monday, Pakistan’s media regulator took aim at one of its top news channels and pulled the trigger. As of writing this, ARY News has reportedly been taken off air across the country. Representatives…
An overlooked right
AS Pakistan struggles with its economic, political and constitutional crises, there has not been much focus on the human rights of its people. The fact of the matter is that…
