Every year when the calendar reads 14th August, we celebrate the Independence of Pakistan from the British Raj. For the past couple of years my fervour for this day has died down and that is not a result of a lack of patriotism but a heightened sense of hypocrisy. Are we celebrating an event, an […]
Commentary / Insight
Miyawaki Urban Forest spreading over 100 kanals to be inaugurated on 4th of August in Saggian, Lahore
Dear Pakistanis: While it makes me happy that Prime Minister Imran Khan and PTI are thinking long term and have some – let me stress the word ‘some’ – vision in terms of the environment while inaugurating a 100 kanal forest, sadly, this is not the only change needed to save ‘Our Planet’ as David […]
Eidul Azha – let’s learn to stop the rot
Every year after the observance of the auspicious occasion of Eidul Azha, it is impossible to save one’s sense of sight and smell from the agonizing experience of witnessing huge piles of sacrificial animals’ entrails and waste in every nook and corner. They ooze out an extremely obnoxious smell after being left unattended for many […]
Irfan Ullah Jan – a legend
A while ago, I came across an unconventional legend, Irfan Ullah Jan. He lost both of his legs during an IED blast back in 2011. During that IED blast, several people got injured whilst 3 people passed away on the spot. His uncle, Ahmed Jan Siddiqui, who himself was severely injured took him to the […]
Burgeoning population: An existential crisis
Way back in 1985, S.L. Richman rightly said about the consequences of over-population, “If unprecedented population growth continues, future generations of children will not have adequate food, housing, medical care, education, earth resources and employment opportunities.” The current era has proved the outcome of negligence in this regard. The development and survival of nations depend […]
Environmental crimes: An emerging challenge
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), as an inter-governmental and international watchdog body, is playing an important role to protect our financial system from those who intend to pollute it. The organization works with an objective to identify the jurisdictions which pose higher risk to the global financial system and work with them to strengthen […]
Dilip Kumar, the son of Peshawar
Dilip Kumar, the Yousaf Khan, of Peshawar, but the ruler of millions of hearts across South Asia, has walked away with angels to his Maker. But the superstar of the Indian cinema is such a star, who will never fall and will keep on shining in the times to come. The way the death of […]
Artists need our assistance!
Art serves as a vehicle for the expression of inner feelings and emotions. It is through art that man gives voice and shape to things that cannot be explained otherwise. Thus art helps man explore new aspects of life. Although art is such an important field, we have unfortunately lost its value. It’s significance has […]
Is Pakistan committed to bringing all its girls to schools?
Despite encouraging improvements observed during the last ten years or so, Pakistan remains one of the worst performing countries in terms of its education indicators. Girls, across all regions and educational levels remain the worst affected. Nationwide, the net enrolment rate for girls is 53% at the primary level, 21% at middle and only 14% […]
Muslims’ contributions to scientific thinking
Islam contributed enormously to humanity through advancements in all fields of learning. In addition to original intellectual breakthroughs, Islamic scholars preserved most of the important scientific and philosophical texts of ancient Greece in Arabic translations. Within the framework of Greek knowledge, Muslims intellectuals made several important contributions that continued into the Roman Era. The translation […]