February 2016

National Dec 16: The ruling PPP got passed a resolution in the Sindh Assembly ratifying the stay of the paramilitary force in the province for one year. Dec 16: President Mamnoon Hussain and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping met in Wuzhen on the sidelines of the Second World Internet Conference and discussed  bilateral relations. Dec 18: Pakistan nullified an Indian …

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”, said Martin Luther King Jr. The assertion goes parallel to the emerging global momentum on protecting and promoting human rights the world over. Greater emphasis on values and ideas based on justice, freedom and wider choices and opportunities available to people, hold key to the dynamics of contemporary global political and security …

“People seem to forget that Kashmir is not a commodity for sale or to be bartered. It has an individual existence and its people must be the final arbiters of their future.”   — Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (July 6, 1951) The mountainous region of Kashmir has been a flashpoint between India and Pakistan for more than 60 years. The dispute …

The people of Pakistan and Turkey enjoy brotherly relations that are not only deep rooted  in history but also are based  on shared values and common national interests. The history of this rewarding relationship can be traced back to even before the formation of   Republic of Turkey in 1923 and Islamic Republic of Pakistan in 1947. Since the establishment of …

“Good governance” is a term that has become a part of the vernacular of a large range of development institutions and other actors within the international arena. Almost all major development institutions today promote good governance as an important part of their agendas. In a well-cited quote, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan noted that “good governance is perhaps the single …

No state can survive or live with dignity in the comity of nations without raising sufficient revenues required for financing productive and non-productive expenditures. Pakistan’s public debt, by March 2015, was recorded at Rs16.936 billion or around 62pc of the GDP. The primary source of increase in public debt is the domestic borrowings to finance fiscal deficit. Thus the foremost …

The sacrifices offered by Pakistanis before and after independence are almost unprecedented in human history. Although a state requires sacrifices during the times of crisis, natural calamities or war, the case of Pakistan is entirely different from any other as the Pakistanis, invariably and relentlessly, have been made to sacrifice. Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah was triumphant in creating a new …

JWT was immensely helpful for me as it provided me access to relevant topics with up-to-date information on them. Jahangir’s World Times (JWT): First of all, please tell us about your educational background? Hafiz Karim Dad Chughtai (HKDC): I belong to a Chughtai family of Rahim Yar Khan. First of all, I became a Hafiz-e-Quran at the age of seven. …

Rural development is elevating the living standard of the farmers, miners and the poor and all those living in the areas where basic amenities like education and developed physical infrastructure are not easily available. In rural areas, a dominant majority of population is engaged in primary sectors rather than the industrial or services sectors. Pakistan consists of vast rural areas …

The contemporary world is shifting its focus from hard power to soft power. All developed countries are now paying special attention towards building their soft power. Britain, USA, China and Russia; all big states are concentrating on soft power, along with hard power, since long. Pakistan also needs to spot on its soft power seriously. Since 9/11, Pakistan’s image has …