The failure of the state to adequately provide constitutionally mandated basic rights and services to the people is undeniable. Low human...
Pakistan’s total debt has reportedly risen to Rs36 trillion. There are multiple reasons for the rise, including unnecessary and wasteful...
Bertrand Russell famously said in ‘A History of Western Philosophy’ that “in all affairs it’s a healthy thing now and then to hang a...
The month of December in Pakistan has often been associated with collective grief. In 1971, this month saw Pakistan’s its breakup.The first woman...
Peshawar needs to be pitied. In truth, every city in Pakistan is similarly choking. Western Peshawar was amazingly well-planned, , by the British...
Seeking unanimity in selecting the top achievers in different fields is a near impossibility; perceptions differ even where no bias is at play. All...
In the mid-nineteenth century Lord Acton first introduced the well-known dictum, ‘power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts...
On August 5, through a presidential decree, India scrapped Article 370 of its constitution which granted a special status to Jammu Kashmir.This...
With every passing day, Pakistan will regret its failure in not improving its human development indices or its embarrassingly high population...
The merger of the erstwhile tribal areas into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2018 was a wise decision. In fact, this was the only rational course available;...
In my article on June 22, 2019 , I listed out a few people who can be called water heroes for Pakistan. Heroes emerge when vision meets courage....
Pakistan confronts a serious paradox. It was once home to world-class achievers in virtually every field of human activity. Today, it stagnates. We...
Much has been written on ‘unlikely heroes’ in diverse fields. I wish to recall for posterity a few who left their mark on the water sector in...
Pakistan’s economic conditions remain dire but there is hope. It is time it looks East for inspiration. Had we looked East decades back we could...
Of the three tiers of government in Pakistan the lowest one is the revenue/administrative districts. This, sadly, also remains the lowest priority...
Raw emotions aside, hopes for a prosperous Pakistan in the years ahead look rather bleak. We may continue to be allotted an identified space on the...
Financing the Diamer Basha Dam and Mohmand Dam should never be seen as obstacles. We know that money is never the major constraint; poor resolve is...
The efforts being made to open the debate on the Kalabagh Dam are laudable. There are undoubtedly some problems. But these aren’t challenges that...
The white in the flag may acquire greater meaning as Pakistan turns seventy. Let’s not lose Dr Ruth Pfau’s legacy. Let’s make a...
Rarely has lady luck rescued the most helpless section of a society in a manner that was seen in the case of the ‘untouchable’ leprosy...
Rarely has lady luck rescued the most helpless section of a society in a manner that was seen in the case of the ‘untouchable’ leprosy...
Accountability has two components: answering for the sins of commission and subsequently for the sins of omission. Some time back, the press...
In a few weeks, Pakistan will turn threescore years and ten or 70 years old. How has it fared over the years? Has the balance sheet been evenly...
Newspapers are full of matters of current interests. These are stories of ephemeral concerns only, which are, no doubt, important but not...
For those partial towards hydro-power projects, there have been some happy tidings of late. May the good news soon translate into functioning...
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has been a most welcome development. As clichés go, this is a game-changer, probably; a gear changer,...
Once upon a time there lived a tailor in Islamabad. His education was rudimentary, his feet unfortunately deformed and his earnings only modest. One...
Two lessons need to be learnt from the gory events of May 12, 2007 in Karachi. Firstly those responsible for the implementation of the law must be...
The people of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas have suffered enormously over the past fifteen years, for no fault of their own. For the...
Scant attention is paid in Pakistan to subjects like environmental protection, water pricing, minority rights and wildlife conservation and even...
