Rankings matterBy: Daily Times on April 11, 2019There is an unfortuante practice in the education sector to make dishonest and exaggerated claims about rankings of institutions of higher education and their degree programmes. Many parents fall for these claims and throw good money for the education of their children in some of these institutions.Which is not to say that ranking is not a reality. It is. A number of very reputable … [Read more...] about Rankings matter
The plight of Pakistan’s minersBy: Daily Times on April 11, 2019It is no secret that being a miner in Pakistan is a difficult and dangerous job. Accidents, such as cave-ins, poisonous gas leaks, explosions and rock bursts are frequent. Those lucky enough to survive these disasters have to worry about a plethora of respiratory diseases, such as coalworker's pneumoconiosis, also known as black lung disease. In short, miners frequently die young in this … [Read more...] about The plight of Pakistan’s miners
The BJP and KashmirBy: Daily Times on April 10, 2019The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) continues to play dangerous politics in India, which is just days away from a general election. On Monday, the BJP released a manifesto that made 75 promises, one of which is to scrap Article 370 of the Indian constitution -- which gives special rights to Kashmiri citizens -- and Article 35A -- which prevents Indian citizens who are not permanent residents of Jammu … [Read more...] about The BJP and Kashmir
Helping the poor should not require curbing provincial autonomyBy: Daily Times on April 10, 2019While the street is abuzz with warnings of runaway inflation and the threat of an economic slow down, Prime Minister Imran Khan has issued a policy statement regarding Ehsaas, his government's flagship poverty alleviation programme.Mr Khan has tweeted: "I am pleased to release my policy statement on Ehsaas, my priority poverty reduction programme with its four focus areas and 115 policy … [Read more...] about Helping the poor should not require curbing provincial autonomy
More police high handednessBy: Daily Times on April 9, 2019Video footage of what seems to be police harassment has emerged on the internet, once again bringing the issue of high handedness by the police into the spotlight. The video shows a vehicle with a man and his wife (who is recording the footage), stopped in the middle of a main road in Karachi's Defence area, surrounded by policemen. The police could be seen and heard asking the man to come out of … [Read more...] about More police high handedness
How not to die in a road accidentBy: Daily Times on April 9, 2019A recent study has found that 44 per cent of all road accidents in the world occur in the Asia Pacific region although it has only about only 16 per cent of the world's automobiles.The study undertaken at Quaid-i-Azam University's Department of Sociology concluded that the authorities concerned needed to make all kinds of interventions to remedy the situation. Among other measures, the authors … [Read more...] about How not to die in a road accident
The case for sound law educationBy: Daily Times on April 8, 2019Establishing the rule of law requires, among other factors, ready-for-market law graduates. After all it is from among these people that the next generation of our legal practitioners and judges shall emerge. The standards and consistency of legal education in Pakistan leave much to be desired. Our law schools have not been able to produce law graduates of first water. This fact is responsible for … [Read more...] about The case for sound law education
Wasa fundsBy: Daily Times on April 8, 2019The people of Punjab may experience significant water supply disruption in the coming summer due to short-sighted policymaking by the government. Last December, monthly and annual subsidies on the water and sanitation agencies (Wasa) were abolished by the Punjab government. Six months later, the organisation finds itself unable to pay monthly electrical bills. This could result in power … [Read more...] about Wasa funds
One-sided escalationBy: Daily Times on April 7, 2019Reports in the international press about the latest Washington-Tehran spat are highly disconcerting. According to the Wall Street Journal, the US will soon designate Iran's elite Revolutionary Corps (IRGC) a "terrorist organisation", however no official confirmation has come in from Washington as yet regarding such a change in US policy.This would be the first time the US would declare another … [Read more...] about One-sided escalation
A draconian drug regimeBy: Daily Times on April 7, 2019In January 2018, just as the Supreme Court of Pakistan, then led by Justice Saqib Nisar, was seized of the matter of high prices of cardiac stents, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan struck the public a hard blow by allowing the prices of essential life-saving drugs to be raised by 15 per cent. The decision was taken with the approval of the federal government. The Senate Standing Committee … [Read more...] about A draconian drug regime
