Editorial

Another month and another Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) activist has been arrested by the state; albeit temporarily. The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) picked up Gulalai Ismail at Islamabad airport as she returned to the country from London. The move is linked to the FIR registered against more than 15 PTM supporters for holding the Swabi jalsa in defiance of the authorities. As such, any … [Read more...] about Looking for Naya Pakistan

It has been one year since the Harvey Weinstein sex abuse scandal broke. And this week saw the District Attorney’s office throw out part of the sexual criminal case against the now disgraced Hollywood mogul over alleged misstatements made by one of his three accusers. Lucia Evans was 21-years-old when Weinstein assaulted her in a hotel room back in 2004. And her accounts of what transpired have … [Read more...] about #MeToo one year on

Prime Minister Imran Khan this week launched the Naya Pakistan Housing Programme. The goal is to construct five million low-cost homes over the next five years. It is, in his words, an ambitious project. All the more so given that is running out almost before it has begun. The scheme envisages applicants paying off mortgages over a period of 10-20 years. A national financial regulatory body … [Read more...] about Right to shelter

The ruling PTI has finally ended the suspense. Pakistan has now formally approached the IMF for a $12 billion-bailout. The bad news is that the country may need up to $20bn to stem economic haemorrhaging. The international media has made much of the seemingly mixed signals coming from Islamabad. They are right to do so. Among the biggest concerns is that the Imran Khan government may be rather … [Read more...] about Coming clean at the IMF

A second suspect has been arrested for the rape and murder of Bulgarian journalist Viktoria Marinova. A twenty-one-year-old man holding the same nationality was picked up by the German authorities near Hamburg; on a European arrest warrant. A previous suspect had been released a day earlier. Ms Marinova, who was killed at the end of last week, was an administrative director of a small … [Read more...] about Justice for Viktoria Marinova

Reports in the international media have made much of how Pakistan is not currently part of the Combined Task Force (CTF) 151. This is a multilateral framework that operates in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR); focusing on maritime security and freedom of passage. There has been speculation that American refusal to pay for fuel used by patrolling warships may have prompted Islamabad’s departure. … [Read more...] about Regional Maritime Security

Ambassador Nikki Haley will bid farewell to the United Nations just before the US mid-terms; after 24 months in the job. Much has been made of the fact that she has bucked a Trump Town trend. That is, leaving on both her own timeframe and terms. Unlike so many of her colleagues at the White House. Naturally, there is now talk of how the highest-ranking woman in the Trump administration has her … [Read more...] about Farewell, Nikki Haley

The visiting FATF delegation still has more than a week in-country. Yet some key points have begun to emerge. Such as how the team held questions-and-answer sessions with three important agencies: the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA); the Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU); and the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF). This is crucial to helping both sides pinpoint how and which terror financing risks … [Read more...] about FATF recommendations

As coincidences go, it could not get much better than this. To have Zalmay Khalilzad, the US special envoy for Kabul peace and reconciliation, in town a mere day after the Centre announced that it would, in fact, be approaching the IMF for a much-needed bailout package. Two years ago, Mr Khalilzad called for Pakistan to be designated a state-sponsor of terrorism. That he was handpicked by Trump … [Read more...] about The Khalilzad factor

The precarious situation of the Indian girl-child is making headlines once more. Indeed, the beginning of the week saw activists calling on the authorities to protect girls in state-run institutions who are all too vulnerable to sexual abuse. The latest incident occurred over the weekend when some 36 schoolgirls in Bihar were attacked by a mob of teenage boys — some of whom were accompanied by … [Read more...] about The Bihari girl-child