Ahad Nazir, Fazal Bukhari, Shujaat Ahmed, Vaqar Ahmed Development plans should focus on inclusive economic growth, social justice, and protection of environment and natural resources Nations have been called narrations by humanists. Benedict Anderson famously called nation, “an imagined community.” Derek Walcott called “imagination” his nation. The idea of Pakistan, too, is an imagination and a narration. The Pakistani state …

By Shahid Mehmood Welfare and welfare states have been constants in the socio-economic affairs of modern-day nation states, at least from the time of Otto Von Bismarck’s Germany (formerly Prussia). Since then, there has been a gradual move towards establishing a welfare-oriented state. One of the major attractions of the industrialised West – for those who migrate to these regions …

By Imtiaz Rafi Butt “Higher than the mountains, deeper than the oceans, stronger than steel, dearer than eyesight and sweeter than honey”, these are the words that have been spoken time and again, commemorating the prestigious alliance between the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Peoples Republic of China. As unusual as it sounds, today, it is a reality that …

By Tehreem Husain NORTHAMPTON: Recent news of China’s rail-freight service to Britain has caught global attention and brought railways as a source of transportation back into the limelight. The train will cover more than 12,000 km (7,500 miles) and pass through 14 European cities before reaching London in a passage of 18 days. The freight train not only offers a cheaper …

By IKRAM HOTI ISLAMABAD: Exports are going down whereas stocks are repeatedly breaking all-time high records on the KSE 100-share Index. Does this contrasting situation worrisome for the observers of Pakistan’s economy? Many wonder how this is happening simultaneously. The factors that leave an impact on exports and stocks differ from each other. Exports mostly bank on the demand and supply …

By Shahid Javed Burki Ever since it gained independence, Pakistan has relied on foreign savings to fuel domestic economic development. This came mostly in the form of assistance from the US and from the international financial institutions under the influence of Washington. In the 2000s, Pakistan became a partner in President George W Bush’s “war on terrorism.” Now in the …

Sikander Ahmed Shah MANY in the West view Pakistan as a safe haven for transnational terrorist organisations, and India is attempting very hard to exploit this global opinion. In reality, however, terrorist violence kills more innocent civilians and security personnel in Pakistan compared to all of Europe in any given year. Regrettably, Western societies ignore the causalities of terrorism inside …

By Waqar Ahmed The US Foreign Policy magazine had recently reported that India had built two top-secret facilities in Karnataka to enrich uranium in pursuit of its hydrogen bomb plans. Ostensibly, at Challakere, Karnataka, South Asia’s largest military-run complex of nuclear centrifuges, atomic-research laboratories and weapons and aircraft-testing facilities, the stated aims of the project are to “expand the government’s …

Syed Zeeshan Haider The solution to religious extremism in Pakistan “If we keep fighting like this, it will be very hard,” says petrified Sher Murad in a feeble voice, who is one of the thousands of Pakistan army soldiers injured in the war against Taliban. He recuperates in bed donned with white sheets while his body is covered in a …

BY Kuldip Nayar Press pause and think  Islamabad has asked the World Bank to honour the Indus Water Treaty executed between India and Pakistan in 1960. This is in response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remark that India is free to use the water which flows into the sea. This is not correct because according to the treaty India cannot …