Green precedents: Pakistan’s judiciary on the frontline in the battle against...
A country under siege, not by war or strife, but by nature itself. Pakistan, ranked as the fifth most vulnerable country to climate change, stands on the frontline of climate catastrophe: glaciers are...
View ArticleCan Lahore learn from London’s Great Smog of 1952?
The factories of Manchester and New York were the proud symbols of industrialisation, ushering in an era of progress and prosperity in the 18th century. But beneath the chimneys that fuelled this...
View ArticleThis Movember, it’s time to ‘man up’ and talk about it
Why can men debate a referee’s decision for hours while watching football, yet barely utter a word when asked, “How are you feeling?” According to a Cleveland Clinic study, nearly 60 per cent of men...
View ArticleWhat does the Council of Islamic Ideology have to do with VPNs anyway?
With a gilded halo of virtue, the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) declared the use of VPNs as “un-Islamic” earlier this month. Before the ink had dried on public reaction, the council’s chairman,...
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Lahore’s smog: the sun may be out but a sustainable solution remains out of...
Atif Manzoor, 45, the owner of a blue pottery business in Multan, had every reason to feel cheerful last week when the sun finally came out. For a good three weeks, the city of Sufi shrines had been...
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Dawn Investigations: Building sandcastles in Karachi’s waters
The sea trees are best seen from space — for only the satellite’s eye can do justice to their fields of emerald (viridian) green florets. At eye level, that is, from an earthly vantage point, however,...
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Renegotiation of IPP contracts: bad medicine or just what the doctor ordered?
In a bid to save the country’s foreign exchange and conserve scarce economic resources, Pakistan recently terminated the power purchase agreements (PPAs) of five independent power producers (IPPs),...
View ArticleWhat makes Bushra Bibi such a polarising figure in Pakistani politics?
Few figures in Pakistan’s political landscape pique as much interest or controversy as Bushra Bibi — the third wife of former prime minister Imran Khan. Over the last few years, her prominence in...
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The climate paradox: AI’s role in both saving and sabotaging the planet
In a world racing to combat climate change, the newest weapon in our arsenal comes with an ironic twist. Artificial Intelligence, our digital saviour in the fight against global warming, has developed...
View ArticleSC’s order green lights military courts, detrimental to civilian rights,...
In a landmark move fraught with legal and political implications,the Supreme Court (SC) has conditionally greenlit military courts to announce verdicts for 85 civilians who were still in custody for...
View ArticleFertility woes — the hidden cost of rising air pollution
Climate-induced illnesses have been mounting globally with poorer nations being particularly vulnerable as they bear the brunt of greenhouse gas emissions more than anyone. Among the most alarming...
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How Pakistan’s climate crisis is fueling violence against women
Zainab saw her world turn upside down in 2022, when catastrophic floods wreaked havoc across Pakistan. She was among the hundreds and thousands of people who lost their homes, land, and even loved ones...
View ArticleWhat Jinnah thought of civil liberties and the right to a fair trial
It’s a fickle thing, the public memory — in what it chooses to remember, and what it wishes to forget. It’s worse still on days like these, where everyone invokes the founder’s name and cites his...
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2024: The year of the (mostly angry) citizen
2024 was the year of elections, change, and upheaval. Where citizens could, they voiced their dissatisfaction through the ballot box, bringing change by exercising their democratic rights. While the...
View ArticleBalochistan in 2024: The year of the women
As we bid adieu to 2024, Balochistan finds itself at a critical juncture — grappling with a year shaped by political turmoil, devastating floods, spiralling violence, and the rise of grassroots rights...
View ArticleWelcoming 2025 in Pakistan: The satire edition
This is a satire piece and any eventual accuracy in its predictions will be completely coincidental. We’re now officially a quarter of a century into the third millennium, which is just a more...
View ArticleFive for 2025 — The key challenges Pakistan must tackle head on in the new year
2024 was an eventful year for Pakistan. We have seen a few successes — including an IMF deal and the return of macroeconomic stability, for now — and perhaps a greater number of setbacks, including...
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The year they came for the internet
So there we have it. Pakistan has topped the world in terms of financial losses suffered as a result of outages and shutdowns of internet and social media apps in 2024, according to Top10VPN.com, an...
View ArticlePakistan’s economy needs a boost in 2025. Here’s what we must do to achieve it
It is a no-brainer that sustained and inclusive economic growth — one that creates jobs, avoids fuelling the current account deficit, and uplifts every segment of society — is Pakistan’s only viable...
View ArticleFrom smog to solutions: Can Pakistan turn the tide on air pollution?
This year, Pakistan’s battle with air pollution has reached harrowing new heights. A shroud of smog — so dense it was captured from space — engulfed vast swathes of the country, catapulting the crisis...
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If we don’t save the Indus River dolphins, we also risk losing the river they...
“Bhulan toh humari saheliyan hain (dolphins are our friends),” said Mai Soomeri, hailing from Guddu town in Sindh. “When we are out here fishing or washing dishes, they are always there”. She insisted...
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100 days of solitude: Hunger, strife and despair in Parachinar
On November 28, just a few days after over 40 people including women and children were killed in Lower Kurram, Mahir Hussain’s house in the Zeran village was lit up. He had just become a father to...
View ArticleCan the courts save us from the war we’ve waged against our own planet?
Since the Industrial Revolution, man-made greenhouse gas emissions have driven global temperatures to unprecedented levels. By 2023, Earth recorded its hottest year since systematic weather tracking...
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‘What about the others?’: Legal eagles weigh in on Al-Qadir Trust case verdict
Former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were sentenced on Friday to 14 and seven years in prison, respectively, in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust case. The verdict, announced by...
View ArticleTrump 2.0: What the Donald’s second term means for US-Pakistan relations
Let me start by saying that US-Pakistan relations are normal. What isn’t normal, however, is Pakistan’s perception of this relationship. Having said that, how we view and understand this important but...
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Karachi: the city without a plan
If you speak to an urban planner, they will tell you that the Karachi you see today is far from what was envisioned. They will reminisce about a city with trams gliding through bustling streets,...
View ArticleTrade, tariffs and threats: Canada’s Trump problem
Donald Trump is back in the White House, and with him, a renewed sense of foreboding hangs over Canada’s most vital relationship. His recent salvos — reviving the spectre of tariffs, calling Prime...
View ArticleWhy the latest proposal to amend Peca is an attempt to further strangle free...
Ten years ago, in 2015, the first draft of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca) 2016, surfaced. But not because the government — then too the PML-N — felt the need to be transparent, share...
View ArticleGreed over care: Decoding the unholy doctor-pharma alliance
At 55, Naseem* was in good health. Her joints ached occasionally, but everything else looked good, and she exercised regularly. Then, one day, she had a scare. During a brisk walk on a cool winter...
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Tharparkar’s Rann: A destination that should be on every traveller’s radar...
Piyaro Shavani, a 47-year-old local activist and tourism promoter, knows the Gadroo Rann like the back of his hand. He has spent seven nights in this vast, salt-encrusted wilderness — two in November...
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