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Facing popular upheavals

THE state may have succeeded in pushing the protesters back from the streets of the capital on Tuesday night, but consider what it took to make that happen. Even before the crowds…

Stuck in the shadows

For the 14th consecutive year, Pakistan ranks as ‘Not Free’ on Freedom House’s Freedom on the Net (FoTN) report, with greater internet outages and restrictions on the internet. The question…

In defamation’s name

LAST week, the Punjab Assembly hastily passed a defamation bill, despite grave concerns raised by journalist unions and rights bodies, as well as opposition legislators. The bill, which now only requires the governor’s assent before coming into…

Paper cuts

I AM not alone in worrying about the future of journalism. I learned this in my conversations (in person and online) with journalism instructors in the US, Canada and Armenia.…

Fighting toxic talk

I HAD to step outside social media silos to understand what was happening in Lahore, because my trusted sources — ie, this newspaper and other legacy outlets — were reporting…

Monetising hate

THE unverified news of a young female student being sexually assaulted at a private college in Lahore has shocked the country. The news, that was made viral via social media…

Blinded by devotion

Supporters of a particular political party and a former prime minister are so blinded by their love and devotion for their political leader that in this quest everything else is…

Silencing the press

THANK goodness journalist Asad Toor was finally released on bail on Saturday. But his ordeal is not over as he battles numerous charges under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act…

Rebuilding trust

PAKISTAN’S institutions seem to be in free fall. Politicisation and polarisation are plaguing our political class, judiciary and security establishment, and few will survive the mudslinging unsullied. One institution, however,…