Where child sex abuse is the norm on April 30, 2023A sickening photomontage started making rounds on social media earlier this week. On one hand, a man garlanded with currency notes stood triumphantly outside the Khairpur district jail. However, sending shockwaves across the nation, the other half featured him in a very graphic screenshot of a video of alleged sodomy. The heart-wrenching lines of sorrow […]
An Unnecessary Diversion on April 14, 2023Remember when an inconvenient moment of truth saw a senior puisne judge request people to “judge us, not the institutions?” Well, the message has clearly been received albeit a little late. Justice Qazi Faez Isa might not see the irony in being the sole representative of the higher judiciary in the house of the Legislature, […]
14-year-old pulls back societal drapes on April 10, 2023Patriarchy in Pakistan enjoys the front-row view; sitting on irony’s edge. Lines become blurred as tragedy is tinged with rib-tickling comedy. Basking in the privilege handed by his genes on a silver platter, a young man is making rounds on social media as he comes down hard on supporters of women’s education and empowerment; branding […]
Hina Butt: speak up and be heard on March 15, 2023Everyone loves to brag. It is for this reason alone that a country so fixated on keeping an entire half of its population under chadar-char deewari wraps occasionally finds pleasure in talking about its first female prime minister in the Muslim world. Still, enjoying the showers of praise and paving the way for other just […]
Mafia proposes, public disposes on February 13, 2023Imran Khan is known for calling a spade by no other name but what it truly is: a spade. So, when he dubbed the coalition umbrella Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) as a sinister mafia, he was quick to point out the illegal tactics in its arsenal against the higher judiciary. In an exclusive conversation with […]
Politician by fate, leader by choice on January 26, 2023With more than its fair share of sticky floors and glass ceilings, Pakistan was never an easy country for its women to thrive in. The situation gets progressively worse when politics comes into the equation. Known to be a gentleman’s club for as far as one may remember, the dirty politicking, crass exchange of fiery […]
Public shall decide red line, not you on January 20, 2023Brimming with scintillating confidence, former prime minister Imran Khan is ready to take on the citadel, come what may. Not mincing words against an “unneutral establishment” and an unrelenting coterie of political rivals, the charismatic cricket star is still poised to win the race. In an exclusive interview with Daily Times, Mr Khan spilt the […]
Salman Taseer: The Light Shines On on January 4, 2023Daring to disagree with Jean De La Fontaine, sadness does not fly away on the wings of time. At least, not always. If the ticking of the clock actually carried some magic, the past 12 years would have been enough to pierce through the blanket of silence commemorating a fallen warrior: Salman Taseer. As his […]
Win-win on November 30, 2022In what can only be termed as the biggest surprise, which would probably wrap up a year full of unimaginable twists and turns in Pakistani politics, former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan has thrown in a crucial hail mary pass. As he called off the long march to Islamabad because he feared “havoc […]
Big win for Bilawal’s ‘climate diplomacy’ on November 21, 2022“What we seek is not charity, not alms , not aid–but justice.” Pakistan’s youngest foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had roared in September with a ferocity that forced many to walk down memory lane to the crowded jalsagahs of the ’70s. However, words, no matter how powerful remain just words unless and until they culminate […]