Editorial

The gruesome killings in Sahiwal have once again brought into the public domain the deep-rooted practice of extrajudicial and staged encounters. Let’s call a spade a spade, and recognise that it has been a widely accepted practice. The country’s leadership as well as the classes with a public voice have been well aware of state agencies resorting to such encounters to deal with criminal and … [Read more...] about Sahiwal killings have highlighted a deeper malaise

On Sunday, students and youth from Gilgit-Baltistan organised protests demonstrations against a recent Supreme Court judgement. The judgement appeared to have recognised fundamental rights for the people of the region, which is a marked improvement over existing state of affairs. However, it falls far short of expectations of an increasingly vocal young population that has grown up in the era of … [Read more...] about G-B youngsters’ protests

The tax collection department - Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) - needs full support of the government to settle tax evasion cases and to widen the tax net. As the cash-starved government is coming up with a mini-budget this week, mainly to generate more resources, it must introduce reforms in the FBR so that tax evasion cases are decided at an expedited rate given the fact that the board has … [Read more...] about Taxing figures

Reported differences between the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and its junior coalition partner Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) in Punjab are not a good omen for both the government and democracy. On Friday, Chief Minister Usman Buzdar visited the residence of PML-Q leader and Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi to fix the threats to his government brewing in the wake of a … [Read more...] about Fissures in Punjab coalition

Zalmay Khalilzad, the US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, means business and is looking forward to "concrete progress" during his stay in Pakistan. He has had extensive meetings in the Foreign Office, and with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshmi, Imran Khan and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa. The "concrete progress" he seeks through his tweet from … [Read more...] about ‘Concrete progress’ on Afghan peace?

Maria Espinosa, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) president, is currently on a five-day official visit to Pakistan. The visit, arranged by Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN Dr Maleeha Lodhi, is of high significance since there are several issues being discussed on state level, including the longstanding cause regarding the disputed region of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K). Prime … [Read more...] about Highlighting the Kashmir cause

In a weekly media briefing, the Foreign Office spokesperson said on Thursday that there was no role for India in the Afghan peace process. This was in contrast to the position taken by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi a month ago while speaking to lawmakers in the Parliament. Speaking at the National Assembly, Qureshi had said, "since India is present in Afghanistan, its cooperation in … [Read more...] about FO’s approach to Afghan process

Access to public space in our cities continues to be an uphill task for marginalised social segments. The problem is pervasive, and there is no city which can claim to be offer safe public spaces for women and transgender persons. Most recently, a women's only bicycle race had to be cancelled in Peshawar after bigoted politicians from a variety of Islamist parties called protests against the … [Read more...] about Women’s access to public space

Poor agriculture policies have been bringing farmers on roads every time there has been a bumper crop of potatoes in the last few years. In the absence of a carefully thought-out export policy, market mechanisms mean that for many farmers the selling price is far short of the cost incurred on the crop. Speaking to the media during a recently held protest demonstration in Lahore, the leadership … [Read more...] about Farmers’ woes

A year has passed and the trial court has yet even indict accused former Malir SSP Rao Anwar in Naqeebullah Mehsud's murder trial. Given the importance attributed in to joint investigation teams (JITs) in accountability references against certain politicians, it is quite remarkable that the finding of the JIT in this instance has not led to an expedited trial. In its report, the JIT led by … [Read more...] about A year after Naqeebullah’s killing