In accordance with Supreme Court (SC) judgements, PM Imran Khan ordered the release of women that were arrested or are under trial for petty crimes like the failure to pay fines. Considering the magnitude of crimes, prison sentences of three years seem highly disproportionate. As such, the directive to move towards releasing these prisoners is being celebrated throughout...
The matter of an opposition alliance to pressure the government into stepping down has been in andout of the headlines for a while now. It seemed that whatever energy all the the participants were ableto build up dissipated once JUI-F’s so called dharna fizzled out, mainly because of lukewarm supportfrom the main opposition parties PML-N and PPP. Now, if sources quoted...
Pakistan and Afghanistan have reiterated their commitment to optimally utilize Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS) to deliberate on all key issues, effectively address common challenges, and pursue new opportunities. The Foreign Office statement was related to a visit to Kabul by Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood who headed Pakistan’s delegation...
There seems no end to Karachi’ troubles. When it’s not ethnic strife, gang warfare, street crime and kidnapping, it’s the city’s infrastructure collapsing beyond comprehension because of excessive rainwater. And that has been pretty much the theme this monsoon season. Since at least early July the skies have opened periodically on the port city with devastating...
Another day has passed, and the floods in Karachi due to rainfall continue to wreak havoc on the city and its residents. The issue is beyond that of drainage and sewage now; the survival of residents trapped without electricity, food, water and even mobile signals is constantly under threat. 23 people have lost their lives so far, mostly due to building collapses and...
The recent rains have inundated some parts of Sindh completely. Roads have caved in some areas; the rain has affected over a dozen villages near Hyderabad. While relief efforts are being carried out through boats, imagining the scale of damage left behind by the continuous downpour caused is not hard to guess. To be fair to the federal and provincial governments, it...
Despite ending its lockdown earlier, while Pakistan managed to flatten the Covid-19 curve, many international organisations and publications had termed it a pleasant surprise. Acknowledging Pakistan’s strategy against Corona Al Jazeera reported, “Pakistan wins rare, fragile success against novel coronavirus. South Asian nation of 200 million seems to have won the...
Recent monsoon system has broken the previous 89 years record of maximum rainfall in the month of august in Karachi. At Faisal Base 345mm of rainfall has been recorded in August this year, the previous record of Faisal Base was 298.4mm. This year 272mm of rainfall has been recorded at Masroor Base, while the previous record of the observatory at the airport was 262.5mm....
The Afghan negotiation process is one that stops and starts, and has several wrinkles that need to be smoothened before the fighting finally ends after nearly two decades of conflict. The meeting between the Afghan Taliban and Pakistan here at home will hopefully help in the efforts to find more common ground. The situation as it stands is this; 8600 US troops remain...