Building blues
During last month’s monsoon rains, frequent news reports surfaced about school roofs collapsing across various parts of Sindh, leaving parents filled with anxiety and fear for their children’s safety. In…
Where the customer doesn’t come first
Consumers in Pakistan have few rights, if any. And those codified in law are hardly implemented by service providers. Take the case of the telecom industry where the state-run regulator,…
From concrete to canopy
Urban centres in Pakistan, mainly cities like Karachi and Lahore, confront intensified flooding, rising temperatures, and stressed infrastructure because of climate change. Rapid urbanization together with poor planning worsens these…
Balochistan’s ‘game of thrones’
As an avid reader of fiction, I often wonder if even some of those who sit at the high table in the citadel of power read books and have learnt…
Heat the rich
THE last time Karachi’s mortuaries ran out of space was in 2015, and frighteningly enough, for the same reason. Nine years ago, a merciless heatwave swept Karachi’s most vulnerable, and…
Lahore’s challenge
LAHORE and the monsoons have a strange relationship. When the sweltering summer months approach, the anticipation of barsaat brings respite to the residents. However, the relief comes with its own…
Solar disruptions
PAKISTAN is not usually an early mover on global climate concerns. But at least from one perspective, that is exactly what is happening as rich Pakistanis defect from a fossil-fuel…
Outpacing the state
THE modern state differs from its earlier predecessors in that it seeks to regulate and control all aspects of the society it lays claim to. Whether it is successfully able…
Trump holds first post-shooting rally, Biden comes under pressure to quit
Donald Trump is set to hold a triumphant first campaign rally Saturday since surviving an assassination attempt, in startling contrast to President Joe Biden, who remains hunkered at home with…
Gods of finance and the ‘great unwind’
Nobody puts it all together quite like Bloomberg columnist John Authers, who described the recent financial market bloodbath, in the wider geopolitical context, as: “Neither Vladimir Putin’s army, nor Hamas…
