Curious case of official (dis)appointments on November 24, 2019Civil service refers to the body of government officials who are employed in civil occupations that are neither political nor judicial. A well-functioning civil service helps to foster good policymaking, effective service delivery, accountability and responsibility in utilizing public resources which are the characteristics of good governance. Thus, civil service, as the primary arm of […]
Art exhibition Light Conundrum explores the phenomenon of visual and mental imagery on November 8, 2019The city of Lahore is dotted with art galleries and two or three exhibitions are always running concurrently; however, sometimes these stand out for the nature of works they exhibit that are always altruistically oriented. One such show by Mariya Sajjad on ‘darkroom photography’ has opened at Alhamra Art Gallery, Mall Road Lahore on November […]
Sword of Damocles: FATF Review & looming repercussions for Pakistan (Part-III) on October 15, 2019Institutional and Legal Framework for AML/CFT Pakistan has made considerable progress in establishing an institutional framework for combating money laundering/terror financing ever since APG conducted its mutual evaluation report. Following is the present institutional set up. (a) National Executive Committee formed under section 5 of AML 2010 under Chairmanship of Minister of Finance; (b) General […]
Sword of Damocles: FATF Review & looming repercussions for Pakistan (Part-II) on October 14, 2019Improving Inter-Agency Coordination The following measures have been taken for enhancing inter-agency cooperation between the federal and provincial governments: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs convenes regular meetings of stakeholders to discuss matters relating to implementation of UNSCRs. In December 2017, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized an awareness session to educate all concerned stakeholders on […]
Sword of Damocles: FATF Review & looming repercussions for Pakistan (Part I) on October 13, 2019The Bretton Woods financial order created as a result of Bretton Woods Conference (1944) was meant to focus on the economic development of war ravaged and less developed nations. It also aimed at bolstering world trade by providing short and medium term financial assistance to countries which were experiencing temporary deficits in their balance of […]
Ethical bureaucracy in Pakistan — a dream gone sour: Part-II on September 17, 2019In the context of culture there are many studies which reflect that the cultures in developing countries are unique and have different sets of values such as ritualism, tribalism, client patron relations, reciprocity, caste structure, informal interaction, seniority based authority, collective responsibility etc. The westernized bureaucracy and the formalized system of administration are thus many […]
Ethical bureaucracy in Pakistan — a dream gone sour: Part-I on September 16, 2019Civil Bureaucracy forms an integral part of the governments and they do a lot more than just execute policies. Simply put, it is the manpower that runs the public sector at all levels of the government. Pakistan inherited its administrative apparatus from the British India. Civil Service was the pivot of this administrative machinery. The […]
Transgenders in Pakistan (Part-III) on September 9, 2019Since the higher courts in Pakistan are empowered under the Writ Jurisdiction to enforce all fundamental human rights, guaranteed under the Constitution, therefore, the ultimate enforcement of transgender rights remains vested in the High Courts and the Supreme Court of Pakistan. However, the judgments of the higher courts and provisions of the Act of 2018 […]
Transgenders in Pakistan (Part-II) on September 8, 2019In this article, the focus is limited on the following five categories of the rights of transgender persons. It analyses the provisions of the Act related to them. Right to identity The marginalisation of transgender persons is considered to have been rooted in the persistent denial of the most fundamental right of gender identity. Although […]
Transgenders in Pakistan (Part-I) on September 8, 2019Gender identity is, perhaps, the most important aspect, which determines the psycho-social behaviour of humans. A gender identity crisis not only leads to a problematic social life but also lowers the self-esteem of an individual, which may potentially lead to his socio-economic and political alienation. Normalcy is conformity to prevalent norms of the majority. The […]