Dr Qaisar Rashid

Research is still a new area in Pakistan. Though the academic institutions are constrained to undertake research to fulfil the needs of their degree programmes, the training institutes are keen to keep their trainees abreast of the concepts and techniques of research. The Civil Services Academy (CSA), Walton, Lahore, is one such training institute that […]

Are peace and Afghanistan two conflicting concepts? Is it really lunacy to think of peace and Afghanistan simultaneously? During the Taliban era (1996-2001), Afghanistan might have experienced peace but that was under a regime that tried to imitate the medieval age. The question is, does Afghanistan feel contented with (replicating) the medieval age? Do peace […]

The Federal Service Commission (FPSC) is obligated to recruit candidates every year from all over Pakistan on grade 17 posts through a competitive examination called the Central Superior Services (CSS) examination. In the compulsory paper of current affairs, the CSS candidates are not only required to express adequate knowledge of the subject but they are […]

Pakistan is becoming a blend of hope and despair. On the one side, the democratic future seems bright, while on the other the ethnic and sectarian future seems ominous. Generally, both ongoing ethnic and sectarian conflicts are due to different reasons and their incidents take place separately from each other. However, Karachi and Quetta are […]

Is whistle-blowing a misdemeanour? Why is it insulting for the Establishment Division of Pakistan if someone blows a whistle and if the whistle-blower happens to be a lady officer, Anita Turab, a grade-19 officer working in the National Counterterrorism Authority, Ministry of Interior? On raising a voice against the acts having the potential of rendering […]

If the Taliban affect Kabul, will they also affect Islamabad? This is the question the answer to which most Pakistanis are looking for. The past few weeks have revealed that the Pakistani version of the Taliban is a replica of the Afghan version. Hence, there exists a correlation between the future of Kabul and that […]

When the ultimate hiding place of dictators is a hole in the ground, as was the case with Saddam Hussain, or a concrete drainage pipe, as was the case with Colonel Qaddafi, it can be said that the age of authoritarianism is over. In the case of Pakistan, where the military ruled over the country […]

For the purpose of education, the UK is divided into two halves: England (and Northern Ireland) and Scotland. Each of them has its own body that supervises quality assurance in its part of the higher education sector. For instance, in England (and Northern Ireland), the job is carried out by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) […]

It is not winning that matters, it is participation that matters. These words were uttered by a lady, Dr Sania Nazir Chaudhry, who contested for the office of Central President Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). She lost the election to Makhdoom Javed Hashmi. With that the PTI has shown that it is open to party workers to […]

The history of Balochistan has entered the next phase characterised by two events: first, general (retired) Pervez Musharraf is back in Pakistan; and second, general elections are round the corner. Musharraf is the most hated person amongst the Baloch who consider him responsible for the assassination of the late Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, the face […]