The Public Sphere: The Dar and Shah show on June 7, 2016 Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has never been this jolly and confident as he was at the time of presenting the budget last Friday. That it was his fourth show in a row, or the absence of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif whose shoes he is supposedly filling could be the factors behind his confidence. But […]
The Public Sphere: The Integration Act on May 29, 2016German Chancellor Angela Merkel continues clicking new ideas and pricking minds with regard to conflict resolution in a cross-cultural environment. Last Wednesday, she and her cabinet met at their Meseberg retreat to approve The Integration Act, which Merkel later called a “milestone” aiming to help migrants integrate with the German culture and market though the […]
The Public Sphere: Whose victories are these? on May 20, 2016 After Londoners elected Sadiq Khan of Pakistani origin as their mayor, citizens of Germany’s Baden-Württemberg state elected Muhterem Aras of Turkish origin as speaker of their parliament. A lot of media attention went into Khan’s victory here while Aras could not grab much of it back home in Turkey, much less Pakistan. Representing the […]
The Public Sphere: Thank You Afghanistan! on May 12, 2016Afghanistan has once again proved that it is not a failed state and it can do it. Recovery of Ali Haider Gilani, a son of former prime minister Yoursaf Raza Gilani, after three painful years from Al Qaida by Afghan and the US forces may be a surprise for those who have mistaken that war-torn […]
Trajectory of a slingshot on October 22, 2015A slingshot or catapult does not have an outreach of more than a few metres. But that is not the case of a slingshot in the hands of a Palestinian, pulled back in the face of Israeli soldiers — armed from head to toe — or tanks rumbling through the rubble of the houses they […]
The media code of conduct on August 30, 2015The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulation Authority’s (PEMRA’s) new code of conduct for the media answers fewer questions than it raises vis-à-vis the public interest and freedom of expression. The regulatory body is independent and proactive in nature, but the fact that it needed a push from the apex court to come into action casts a […]