2020

5 Themes of Geography The five themes of geography that help answer these questions are: (1) Location; (2) Place; (3) Human-Environment Interaction; (4) Movement; and (5) Region. Here is a brief introduction to these themes. Location Location is defined as a particular place or position. Most studies of geography begin with the mention of this theme of geography. Location can …

Projecting Pakistan’s Soft Power  in this anarchical world, the states continuously interact with each other in one way or another. Power is considered the lifeblood in international politics but in this globalized world, the concept and nature of power are in transition. According to Joseph S. Nye, the use of power today has shifted from an emphasis on hard power …

India’s Citizenship Law  ignoring national and international furore, both houses of Indian parliament, i.e. Lok Sabha (House of the People) and Rajya Sabha (Council of States), passed a controversial amendment to the country’s 1955 citizenship law. The controversial as well as highly discriminating against the Muslims, the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) 2019, which received presidential assent on December 13 to …

Exploring the Radical Notion of Feminism  The 21st century has seen various worldwide movements gain momentum, with feminism being a prominent one. Women have faced countless cruel forms of institutionalized discrimination, in different cultural settings since time immemorial. This is an undeniable truth, making feminism — a movement seeking to create equality for women in the social, political, economic and …

A New International World Order  At the present time, it seems outrageous to speak out on behalf of a new multilateral institution. The current trend is moving in the opposite direction, with so-called “strong men” around the world propagating a return to the rule of the strong over the weak. To these populists, this means that international rules-based agreements, as …

The Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery Act, 2020 Introduction A new law is in the making. On 10th of January 2020, the National Assembly passed ‘The Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery Act, 2020’. It is likely to be passed from the Senate, and will ultimately get its assent from the President before it becomes the law check. The said law …

Policy to bridge the Sales TAX Gap  Sales tax is the most significant source of Pakistan’s budgetary revenue. In 2017-18, total sales tax collection on goods and services was Rs. 1,715 billion. However, the sales tax gap, which is the difference between the actual tax collection and the amount that would have been collected if every taxpayer was fully compliant, …

Reflections on Pakistan’s Economy  in the middle of the last year, Pakistan entered into a $6bn bailout arrangement with International Monetary Fund (IMF) under a 39-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF). This was the twenty-first loan that Pakistan sought from IMF to shore up its dwindling reserves, and to avoid an economic crunch. The state of Pakistan’s economy has been in …

Importance and future prospects of Gwadar port  The pragmatic facets like geography and history have always imprinted the demographic mosaic and development of a civilisation. The civilisations have always developed along the waters. The waters have been used as trade route since long, and the modern trade has further enhanced the need of trade through waters. Pakistan being a gateway …

Merger of FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa  On May 31, 2018, Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas, or FATA, formally ceased to exist. Home to five million people, and covering more than 27,000 square kilometres, these tribal districts have attracted enormous international attention in the last two decades due to their shared border with war-torn Afghanistan. The Government of Pakistan has now …