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Conspiracy theories and polarisation

WHY do conspiracy theories thrive and divide political opinion so much? The answer to this question is, perplexingly, very simple and rooted in the science of making decisions under uncertainty.…

State of a failed promise

On August 24, which falls today, Kiev marks Ukraine’s Independence Day. Each anniversary is an opportunity to examine what has happened over that period, sum up the achievements, and review…

There’s a new spectre in Europe

The spectre of brutal policies has once again returned to Europe. However, this time it is neither communism nor the bloody red revolution; it is the pernicious far-right forces that…

Sham elections

IN the bail petition of Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the ‘cipher case’, Justice Athar Minallah, through an order dated Dec 22, 2023, almost prophetically observed: “Discrimination or…

Law and the refugee

Pakistan has been home to nearly 3.8 million Afghans since Pakistan first started admitting Afghan refugees after the beginning of the Soviet-Afghan war in 1979. The most recent influx of…

A sudden change of heart and policy

The issue of refugees is not new in Pakistan. Since its inception, the country has faced challenges in accommodating refugees from across the borders and even from faraway countries such…

Modi’s forever war

India’s tax authorities raided the BBC’s offices in Mumbai and New Delhi last week. This incident may have forced the world to reluctantly wake up to Narendra Modi’s strong dislike…

Acumen not antagonism

Political polarization is not something new. All states around the globe practising any form of government have had to deal with this phenomenon with varied degree of severity. Its undesired…

Hidden misery

The 9/11 attacks were a devastating event for both the US and Afghanistan. In the US, the attack resulted in the deaths of around three thousand Americans and injured more…