A century of bookselling
Not many readers would have visited Juna Market, the commercial hub of Karachi where hardware and spices compete with halwa puri to find buyers. In the ocean of commodities catering…
The housing imperative
Thirty-six point seven per cent of Karachi’s land is currently utilized for residential purposes: 27 per cent has been developed formally and 8.1 per cent informally. The development process for…
Remaking of ourselves
The last few weeks have been painful for the people of Pakistan. What happened in Abbottabad, at PNS Mehran, then with Saleem Shehzad in Islamabad and Sarfraz Shah in Karachi…
When bad men combine…
When Marx spoke of the withering away of the state, he envisaged society progressing to a higher stage – a sort of classless utopia. When Pakistanis speak of their state…
Crime, culture and forensics
We are all aware of the failings. Five years ago tomorrow will mark not simply the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto but also scenes that have become etched…
Polls and the security challenge
The PPP-led government, despite all its failures in tackling the issues of massive corruption, bad governance and the worsening law and order situation, should certainly be credited for some of…
Sideshow becomes the main event
Negotiations over the cost of hauling freight from Karachi port to Afghanistan and the wording of a statement of regret or apology over the Salala deaths have become demeaning to…
Seeking a sliver of hope
For a Karachite like me, the fetid bastis, open sewers, pitted roads and the hovels/huts of the underclass on the fringes of some sectors in Islamabad were signs of premature…
Crushing the working class
The power crisis in Karachi has now begun to paralyse life in this metropolis. The immediate factor responsible is the KESC management’s failure — or is it unwillingness? — to…
Woes of the `powerless
The melody is upbeat, even soothing, the recorded message mockingly polite; calling the Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) would have you believe that they were aching to hear from you.…
