October 2019

Learn to Say “No” Laiba Muhammad Aamir Humans are social animals and they cannot help themselves without interaction with one another. In their communications, an easy ‘yes’ always wins over the difficult ‘no’ creating a lot of problems. Living in a ‘yes’ culture, we think more about the comfort of the other person, even though we may have to face …

Imran Khan’s Historic UNGA Speech Key Takeaways “Supposing a country 7 times smaller than its neighbour; faced with a question. Either you surrender, or you fight till the end. I ask myself this question. And my belief is “La ilaha illAllah,” [There is no God but one]. We will FIGHT!” On September 27, Prime Minister Imran Khan delivered his maiden, …

An Interview with Prof Dr Seemi Naghmana Tahir Chairperson Mass Communication Department, University of Karachi Atif Sheikh With an aim to promote newspaper reading in Pakistan, All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) observed 25th September as the National Newspaper Reading Day. The selection of September 25th is related to the publication of the first multi-page newspaper “Publick Occurrences” from the United …

Capital Change A look at some countries that have moved their capitals Muhammad Bilal Butt Indonesia’s president, Joko Widodo has announced the national capital will move from Jakarta, on the island of Java, to the province of East Kalimantan, on Borneo. He has several reasons: Jakarta, the current capital, is sinking, polluted and suffering from chronic congestion; Kalimantan is relatively …

Book Review The Anarchy The Relentless Rise of the East India Company Reviewed by: Maya Jasanoff About a century ago, a series of giant murals was unveiled in the Palace of Westminster depicting the “Building of Britain”, which bounded in eight set-pieces from King Alfred’s long-ships beating back the Danes in 877 to bewigged parliamentarians presenting Queen Anne with the …

15 Amazing and Beautiful Mosques in Pakistan Mosques all over the world possess a rich history and are central to the Islamic faith. With the spread of Islam, mosques too have evolved, and with fusions in architectural styles from different cultures the effects of globalisation are evident. Although mosques are a place where worshippers come together to pray, they are …

Banning the Use of Plastic Bags Though belated, the policy requires full implementation Hassaan Bin Zubair Plastic bags are one of the main causes of marine pollution, and the focus on plastic bag reduction is ongoing. Currently, the worldwide annual production of plastic is reported to have escalated to almost 300 million tones and it will keep increasing swiftly if …

INTERNATIONAL Aug. 16: Indian defence minister Rajnath Singh said that New Delhi might change its “no first use” policy on nuclear weapons. Aug. 16: Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat confirmed that the punishment of dismissal has been awarded to a Major General from service in connection with a sexual harassment case. Aug. 16: The boss of Hong Kong carrier …

Secretary-General of the United Nations Roles and responsibilities Magazine Desk “The United Nations cannot prosper, nor can its aims be realised without the active and steadfast support of the people of the world. The aims and activities of the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council will, no doubt, be represented before the public primarily by the …

The Unfortunate Afghan Peace Process Deadlock, Mistrust and Predicaments Mairaj ul Hamid Nasri It seems that an already suffering Afghanistan is destined to suffer more from violence, regardless of numerous steps taken for restoration of peace in this war-torn country. Many factors, including mistrust between the negotiating parties, forces of status quo in Afghanistan, questionable role of some unseen forces, …