2015

Times come in life when the barbarity we witness is so heart-wrenching and horrific that we are dreaded. We feel grief to such an extent that we do not have any words to describe our feelings. The appalling as well as horrendous, to say the least, Peshawar Carnage has left everyone of us weeping and mourning the brutal killing of …

The unprecedented two-week visit to the US by Chief of Army Staff, General Raheel Sharif, during which he held parleys with the US military authorities, security establishment and Secretary of State John Kerry has been in the limelight with regard to its purpose as well as the outcome. In his interaction with the top military and civil officials, the COAS …

William Dalrymple’s “deadly triangle” that comprises India, Pakistan and Afghanistan is going through a number of important events these days and the developments might give regional peace and stability some trying times ahead. But, the question arises here that whether the region would continue to face the same old challenges when the new leadership is at the helm in these …

While Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Republican Party candidate in US Presidential Election 2012, observed that Shariah was a mortal threat to the survival of freedom in the United States, some academics have tried to take a more objective and serious look at Shariah. Two researchers have jointly published a research paper in …

Not long after the Iranian Revolution of 1979, in which Ayatollah Ruhollah Kho­meini became supreme leader, a US official was heard to exclaim: “Who ever took religion seriously?” The official was baffled at the interruption of what he assumed was an overwhelmingly powerful historical trend. Pretty well everyone at the time took it for granted that religion was on the …

President Obama surprised many recently when he diagnosed the crisis gripping Iraq as partly an economic one, noting that Iraqi Sunnis were “detached from the global economy” and thus frustrated in achieving their aspirations. While Iraq’s chaos has many sources, Mr Obama is nevertheless on to something; and it’s not just Iraqi Sunnis, but the entire Middle East that is …

Causes, Repercussions and Solutions Good governance flourishes in a situation that is necessarily corruption-free. Pakistan is unfortunately way down on the ladder on this account. Our society is facing a very grave problem of corruption since long and it is rampant to such an extent that the very basic foundations of our society have been shaken. It’s a cancer that …

Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is a universal phenomenon that affects all societies one way or the other. Almost every woman faces discrimination or fear because of her gender. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that at least one in every five of the world’s females has been physically or sexually abused. GBV affects both physical and emotional health of women and …

In Pakistan, the situation of women is quite alarming as they have to deal with immense pressure and face a seemingly insurmountable array of obstacles, which are preventing them from becoming productive and empowered citizens within our society. No doubt, steps are being taken by the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for improving their condition. Same is the case with home-based workers …

There is no denying the fact that income inequality within as well as across the countries has increased significantly especially after the second wave of globalization. The rich-poor gap, which has widened in the past few decades, speaks volumes about the gravity of the problem of unequal income distribution in the world. It is, therefore, pertinent to analyze the issue …