Editorial

On the occasion of Asma Jahangir's first death anniversary, two major cities in the country saw a critical mass gather in public, and demand from state institutions to respect the law under which they exercise their authority. The gatherings held in Lahore and Karachi under the banner of the Shehri Tahaffuz March included students, activists, and citizens left aggrieved because of excesses … [Read more...] about Asma and heirs of her activist legacy

Perhaps the biggest relief for the world when the Cold War ended in 1991 was that the diplomatic standoff between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union never escalated to full scale nuclear war. Unfortunately for the world, this did not mean that the risk of potentially apocalyptic nuclear conflict was gone forever. This past Friday, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) … [Read more...] about The Red Cross’s warning

Four decades ago, the last Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi - who had consolidated power in 1953 through a CIA backed coup -- was ousted from power through a campaign of civil resistance including both secular and religious elements. By February 11th, 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini had come into power officially after all troops loyal to the Shah were defeated by guerrillas and rebel troops. Within … [Read more...] about Iranian revolution and the Muslim World

With British politics becoming a laughing stock for the international community, it seems that there’s not much time left for Britain for securing a viable deal to sail through the menace called Brexit. By the end of next month, it would either end up in a dreadful no-deal scenario or there would be measures in place to delay the implementation of Article 50, the formal process for withdrawal from … [Read more...] about The looming Brexit deadline

Dr Ammar Ali Jan, an academic in Lahore, was taken away at 4am on Saturday morning by a police team, including plainclothes person, who broke into his home without court warrants. His ‘crime’ was to attend a protest against the extrajudicial killing of Ibrahim Arman Loni, another academic, in Loralai district of Balochistan. The country’s constitution neither recognises protest as a crime nor … [Read more...] about Crisis of legitimacy

One cannot claim to be standing up for women’s rights and liberty while at the same time assuming every decision they make must have been influenced by their menfolk, and that too without any evidence. Legendary Bollywood music composer AR Rahman recently came under flak on social media when his daughter Khatija appeared on stage to talk about her father on the 10 year anniversary of the hit … [Read more...] about Freedom of choice

In a press briefing on Friday, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry claimed that Pakistan's defence expenditure was low compared to the region, and that the government would look at ways to improve revenue generation to plug more funds towards defence needs. It's unclear where is the minister taking his facts from because credible sources of defence expenditures across the globe do not … [Read more...] about Time for a debate

One would have thought that recent events in Sahiwal would have prompted the Punjab police to keep a low profile, but apparently that isn't the case. In a brazen display of thuggery, a Fatehsher police team raided the World Snooker Champion Academy (WSCA) and subjected the academy's owner, Muhammad Naseem Akhtar, to verbal and physical abuse in front of his students. Muhammad Naseem Akhtar has … [Read more...] about Harassment of athletes

Let's face it. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has lost credibility, and arrests of lawmakers from the government's side won't be enough to fix the damage caused to its image due to the shoddy ways of the Bureau's operations. That the Bureau was constituted by the then military dictator General Pervez Musharraf's administration to act as a tool against politicians falling out of line … [Read more...] about Fixing NAB must become a priority

The main suspect in the murder of a teenager in a Khairpur village has been arrested. Earlier, concerns were raised on social media platforms that the influential family background of the suspect, a relative of Pakistan People's Party leader Manzoor Wassan, may enable him to evade repercussions in the case. As legal proceedings in the case unfold, the fact remains that crimes against women are … [Read more...] about Women’s right to life