Our Media Freedom “A Clear and Present Danger”on April 3, 2020The medium of modern Communications are television, Internet, cinema, newspapers, radio, magazines and social media. Having become the basic needs of any society, they facilitates exchange of information, organizing of daily lives, economy, culture and developing of ideas. The tools of mass communication are a means to transmit information and opinion, to entertain, teach and […]
Make Tandoor the Focal Point!on April 1, 2020The current coronavirus pandemic is not only a medical emergency but an economic emergency as well. Given that almost half of our population lives on or below the poverty line even before the pandemic hit us, bread and food prices have been a political issue. Because of hoarding and panic buying price hikes of staple […]
Balancing Life Against Livelihoodon March 31, 2020Despite relentless critique by the opposition bent upon making political capital out of potential catastrophe, and virtually in confront the media “sold” out on selling misinformation, distortion of facts andspreading lies across a broad swath of the masses, force-multiplied by a truly irresponsible social media. PM Imran Khan’s govtis still coping well with the current […]
Digital cash now imperative in Pakistanon March 26, 2020Ordered to sit at home because of the coronavirus epidemic to avoid infection social contact has been outlawed. Apart from touching other people, we even start being afraid to touch door knobs, handrails and other surfaces. Cash money, anyway known to be dirty, is now suspected to be a carrier of the virus and able […]
On Our National Day: stop protecting fatcats!on March 23, 2020Look at the worldwide interest rates. We are in the second largest bracket of high interest rates, 149thout of 166 countries, double the interest rate of 148 others. Since most bank profits are out of govt bonds, because of the high interest, in effect SBP is making the govt pay banks’exorbitant profits. Having annunciated an […]
Declare national emergency, now!on March 20, 2020The stock market crash of October 1929 sent Wall Street into a panic, wiping out millions of investors. Lasting from 1929 to 1939, it reached its lowest point by 1933 making some 15 million Americans were jobless and nearly half of the country’s banks had failed. Over the next several years, consumer spending and investment […]
An emergency is on uson March 18, 2020The Coronavirus crisis has rolled over the world. By the time the seriousness of the situation dawned upon national governments and WHO the virus had spread across borders and infected thousands. Unprecedented actions restricting social contacts and travel including civil rights of like freedom of assembly have been put in place. Infringements on these strict […]
Client-patron relation and cronyismon March 18, 2020More than seventy years into independence Pakistan continues to be bedeviled by major socio-economic challenges, to its credit many have beenovercome but not all problems have been resolved. The major threat ofterrorism was effectively dealt with by the Pakistan Army and other law enforcement agencies (LEAs) at a huge cost in men and material; however […]
Politicisation of water resources (Part-III)on March 4, 2020Bangladesh will experience a serious threat to its water supply by Indian activities upstream the Ganges river as well. The Brahmaputra and Ganges rivers merge in Bangladesh and flow into the Bay of Bengal. India’s damming of the Ganges River has already reduced its flow downstream. Soil salinity in Bangladesh has increased as a result […]
Politicisation of water resources (Part-II)on March 4, 2020The global demand for fresh water resources has escalated dramatically over the last few years, especially in light of rapid population growth and widespread urbanization across the globe. Moreover, as the impacts of climate change and stresses of resource scarcity gain further traction, societies are increasingly hard pressed to find effective and sustainable solutions to […]