People are talking about —

— how war hysteria and fear are more dangerous than war itself – in such times it’s not just weapons that can destroy, fake news; misinformation and panic can emotionally break a nation. The spread of unverified news; forwarded messages with sensational content fuel fear; divides communities and weakens our collective strength. Trust your armed forces, they are trained; capable and committed to protecting the nation. Panicking, spreading rumours and questioning every step lowers their morale as well as that of the people.

— how repeatedly, we have seen that a crisis exposes the cracks in our social fabric, a disheartening fact. During the days of the COVID-19 pandemic everyday medicines were hoarded and sold at five or six times their normal price; year after year, we see Ramazan, a time that calls for generosity and self-restraint becoming a money minting opportunity for vendors and retailers. Somewhere along the way, the value of collective wellbeing seems to have been eclipsed by the urge for personal gain.

— It is shocking that while the Saudi government treats pilgrims with dignity, our travel agents exploit and mistreat them. The practice of charging exorbitant amounts for subpar services is rampant, with some agents charging non-resident Pakistanis double, so action is needed against such agencies. A complaint cell should be established at airports, allowing the returning pilgrims to report their experiences and seek justice. The government must ensure that travel agencies are held accountable for their actions, and that pilgrims are treated with the dignity and respect.

— the divide between the ‘special’ who have access to corridors of power; privilege and comfort, while the ‘ordinary’ struggle to survive, unnoticed and unacknowledged. We become united only in negativity, taking to the streets to stage sit-ins and strikes but fall silent when a neighbour goes hungry. Not a single regime has placed people’s wellbeing at the centre of the policy making process and our state will begin to heal only when it decides to serve all its citizens without any discrimination.

— the Pakistani students, along with their teacher, who won first prize in the Social Innovation category at Teknofest 2025, a prestigious aerospace and technology festival held in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Their project, ‘Emotion Detector Gadget for Quadriplegic’ outshone 268 finalists from six countries as it will help linguistically paralysed individuals convey their emotions. This is a testament to their hard work, determination and creativity, a win not only for them but a significant milestone for Pakistan’s younger generation.

— the different ‘development’ projects that have been initiated all over that are supposed to be good for the welfare and comfort of citizens. People say in a country where resources are limited and the needs of the people are vast, spending public funds wisely is not just good governance; it is a moral obligation but every rupee allocated to development must be used with care, transparency and a deep sense of responsibility towards those it is meant to serve.

— the worldwide practice that if traffic violators do not have ready cash, or if they do not want to pay the fine on the spot, they may submit the original documents, like the vehicle’s papers and driver’s license and pay the fine later within the stipulated time. People say if motorway police or traffic wardens are not willing to trust vehicle owners/drivers this much, even after withholding their original documents, they must be provided a debit/credit card-charging machine to patrolling officials. — I.H.