The media’s crisis of conscience
In some ways, the Axact scandal has intimations of a classical tragedy. A powerful individual has fallen because of his own monumental failings in circumstances with which he cannot deal.…
Sinners to saints?
The problem with a dictatorial mindset is that it makes one believe that your version of a phenomenon is the only true version. Moreover, the proclivity of advisers to blindly…
Courage, convenience in bureaucracy
Pakistan's bureaucracy has declined substantially from the time Pakistan attained independence. Then a handful of CSPs managed the two wings of Pakistan. These were committed people who did not believe…
Mosque & seminary
The two emblems of Islam — the mosque and the madressah — are frequently vilified, feared and even shunned by many non-Muslims. In Pakistan, some are places to avoid, rather…
Teaching Islamiat
In the British era, schools of the Indian subcontinent did not have the formal subject of Islamiat for their Muslim students. The senior members of a family were supposed to…
Profit motive big hurdle for Ebola drugs: experts
For nearly four decades, mention of the Ebola virus has evoked death and terror, yet a simple factor - money - has stood in the way of erasing the curse,…
Runaways to runway: ‘ethical’ fashion changing lives of Africa’s poor
The muddy streets of Kenya's crowded Korogocho slums are a far cry from the fashion boutiques of Paris, Milan, New York or London. But beneath a tin roof, workers from…
Integrity management in tax administration
Similar to the socio-political culture of most public sector institutions in Pakistan, FBR is also in the 'integrity crises'. Given that the widespread publicity on this issue drives public opinion,…
Hindering development
Pakistan's budget is never clear on where we should be going and what strategies should be employed for that purpose. Have look at the current budget and one will see…
Lessons in democracy
At that bizarre Punch and Judy show in Islamabad, where men pop periodically out of boxes to make their proclamations, one debate that was re-generated echoed old myths and dangerous…
