The cost of petty politics – Business
Pakistan’s challenges to political stability and economic revival are enormous and not very dissimilar. The repeated use of protests as a tool by the PTI to achieve its political goals over the last couple of years has hardly helped the cause of the economy. The political tumult has compounded these economic challenges as the country […]
Year of unmet challenges – Newspaper
2024 saw intensifying political tensions and turmoil in Pakistan, which sharpened polarisation in the country and made political stability elusive. The year was marked by democratic regression and increasing autocratisation as the government resorted to repressive measures to suppress the opposition and stifle criticism. Public optimism remained in short supply. An Ipsos poll at year-end […]
Remembering APS – Newspaper – DAWN.COM
IT was a day of infamy — unfortunately one of many in this country’s turbulent history. On this day in 2014, the brutal nature of the militant threat in Pakistan painfully manifested itself as terrorists attacked the Army Public School in Peshawar, massacring nearly 150 students and teachers. While terrorists had shed innocent blood in […]
Economic cost of disruptions – Newspaper
THE finance minister’s recent statement, attributing daily financial losses of Rs190 billion to the political protests sparked by PTI, offers an important but incomplete picture of Pakistan’s ongoing economic and political turmoil. While it’s valuable to quantify the financial impact of these disruptions, the minister has conveniently ignored two material facts. First, the economic fallout […]
Centre now wants talks with Kabul, says KP CM – Pakistan
• Gandapur criticises federal govt for rejecting his earlier proposal to negotiate• Says PTI will implement Imran’s call for civil disobedience ‘once they have clarity’ PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur on Sunday criticised the federal government for rejecting his earlier proposal to engage in talks with the Afghan interim government, only to […]
Diesel cut by Rs3, petrol price stays unchanged – Business
ISLAMABAD: The government on Friday reduced the price of high speed diesel (HSD) and kept unchanged that of petrol for the next fortnight, ending December 31, in line with international prices. The finance ministry said Ogra had worked out the consumer prices of petroleum products, based on the price variations in the international market during […]
Shah Mahmood Qureshi sees turbulent times ahead due to spat over seminaries bill – Pakistan
LAHORE: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) vice-chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi says that the discord over the bill seeking changes to the process of registration of seminaries may further escalate and serve as an additional factor for political instability in the country. Mr Qureshi, who is incarcerated in Kot Lakhpat Jail, has expressed these concerns in a […]
Civil society, trade union activists rally for climate justice, clean air in Lahore – Pakistan
LAHORE: Hundreds of people, including activists of trade unions and civil society organisations marched in the Punjab capital on Sunday to demand climate justice and clean air on the call of the Pakistan Kisan Rabita Committee (PKRC) and Labour Education Foundation (LEF). The participants carrying banners and placards as well as red flags marched from […]
Haphazard dumping of solid waste causing environmental hazards in Sahiwal – Pakistan
SAHIWAL: For the past two decades, the metropolitan corporation has been dumping the city’s solid waste near Jhal Road overhead bridge on the banks of the Lower Bari Doab Canal (LBDC). Sahiwal lacks a dedicated solid waste dumping site and Jhal Road area was selected randomly without any legal procedures. Reports indicate that a total […]