Politics of flags and nationalism on September 1, 2016The moment Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) chief, Altaf Hussain, called Pakistan an epicenter of terrorism and requested India and the US to invade Pakistan, Pakistani flags began appearing in hoards across the country. Sentiments of every Pakistani were hurt when Hussain showed his disdain for Pakistan to the extent of seeing it disappear from the […]
NADRA adds to miseries of overseas Pakistanis on August 31, 2016LAHORE: Mohammad Sharif lives in the United States and is a US national. The government of Pakistan has issued National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP) to facilitate him in Pakistan. Until last year, using NICOP was not an issue. Sharif had used it to open a bank account, to buy cellular phone connection and […]
KP making progress in police reform on August 25, 2016Pakistan has been managing its police system poorly. Never a sincere effort has been made to bring practical reforms in policing. Not even when the need for change — when terrorism had ripped apart the country — was felt the most. High crime and low conviction rates are the direct results of the ineffective rule […]
Dearth of emergency facilities left Quetta bomb victims unattended on August 25, 2016National –normal Web and social media By Durdana Najam LAHORE: Most of the victims of August 1 Quetta blast, where over 70 persons including 53 lawyers were killed, are of the view that had there been appropriate health facilities, at least to administer first aid to the injured persons, the rate of […]
Pakistans muted response to Kashmir cause on August 11, 2016In a seminar titled “Critical Phase of Kashmir Movement and Responsibility of Human Community,” attended by leading retired diplomats, journalists and some military figures, government was admonished for not pursuing the Kashmir cause with the required vigour and vehemence. The Pakistan Institute of National Affairs had organised the seminar. The general sentiment had been that […]
Only 50 percent of national saving goes to capital market on July 26, 2016LAHORE: Investing in the capital market is not an option for an ordinary Pakistani for future saving. Experts attribute this attitude to the mystery that surrounds the stock exchange, in the mind of an average Pakistani, who does not know how stock markets operate. People consider stock market dicey where trading is done merely on […]
Government cannot eliminate energy crisis before 2024: Experts on July 23, 2016LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz has been claiming to eliminate electricity crisis by 2018 since it came into power in 2013 but the energy experts negate the government’s claim saying that it would not be possible to overcome power crisis by 2024. Amidst intense sloganeering by the government that the country would get rid of […]
Death of debate on July 14, 2016Islam and intolerance do not go together. Using them together would, however, cast light on the general attitude Muslims have adopted to defend Islam and its integrity. Muslims never tire of saying that Islam preaches tolerance. They even never tire of talking about creating positivity, a clichéd phrase used to defend one’s position and thwart […]
Power politics and the ways of Pakistan army on June 30, 2016The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has allocated in its annual budget Rs 300 million for Darul Uloom Haqqania. Describing the purpose of funding a controversial seminary, the chief of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Imran Khan, called it an effort to mainstream madrassas. This is the seminary notorious for having produced many of the members of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan […]
Slum-dwellers in Lahore forced to drink contaminated water on June 30, 2016LAHORE: Residents of slums and over populated areas of Lahore are forced to drink contaminated water, a mixture of sewer and potable water, being supplied by the state. Right across the open drain running through Bihar Colony is Arfa Software Technology Park, the symbol of Lahore’s foray into information technology. The residents of Bihar Colony […]