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Balochistan is the largest of the four provinces of Pakistan and is spread over an area of 347,190 Sq. Kms, forming 43.6 per cent of country’s total area. Though it’s the largest province In terms of area, it has clustered population and is smallest in terms of population. Geography Quetta is the capital city of Balochistan. The province is divided …

Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery, and involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to exploit human beings for some type of labor or commercial sex purpose. Every year, millions of men, women, and children worldwide’ including in Pakistan’ become victims of human trafficking. Today remittances of Pakistani expatriates hover around US$ 13-14 billion which accounts for …

2013 Elections have brought to light many firsts in Pakistan. Firstly, there was an independent and impartial Election Commission that conducted the general elections. Secondly, a caretaker setup, to ensure free, fair and transparent elections, was installed through a constitutional process. We are also heading towards a first-ever civilian transition. Since the general elections 1970, seven general elections ‘1985, 1988, …

Exclusive Interview with Noam Chomsky on Pakistan Elections Professor Emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Noam Chomsky, is without doubt the most widely heard and read public intellectual alive today. Although trained in linguistics, he has written on and extensively critiqued a wide range of topics, including US foreign policy, mainstream media discourses and anarchist philosophy. Professor Chomsky, …

As the election dust settles and political landscape becomes clearer, allegations and counter allegations of rigging are cropping up. Some parties are demanding recount of votes in certain constituencies while some want fresh polls to be held in Karachi and some other parts of the country. Media spotlight on instances of rigging has further intensified the debate whether elections were …

In the United States, the dominant narrative about the use of drones in Pakistan is of a surgically precise and effective tool that makes the US safer by enabling ‘targeted killing’ of terrorists, with minimal downsides or collateral impacts. This narrative is false. Real threats to US security and to Pakistani civilians exist in the Pakistani border areas now targeted …

The latest book entitled ‘Lee Kuan Yew’, based on the interviews with the legendary Singapore leader, Lee Kuan Yew, is being widely acclaimed the world over. In this book, Lee Kuan Yew expresses his views about the law and order in Pakistan in the chapter ‘On Islamic Extremism’ in the following words: ‘We should learn to live with the Pakistan …

May 11 Elections were held in Pakistan amidst fears, apprehensions and widespread scepticism. With a hope for ‘change’ and a better future people flocked to the polling stations and exercised their democratic right. Although the election fervour attached to campaigning was lacking, especially in Karachi and Khyber Pk, Pakistan witnessed the highest voting turnout in nearly four decades. For the …

Javid Hussain (Former Ambassador) Jahangir’s World Times (JWT): How would you elaborate the foreign policy of outgoing PPPP- led regime? Javid Hussain (JH): I think the foreign policy of the previous regime, despite some variations and nuances, was, in essence, the continuation of the foreign policy pursued by Musharraf. Even a cursory glance at the PPPP policy, in its overall …

Nearly 15 years after he was ousted in a bloodless coup, business tycoon Nawaz Sharif and his center-right party are poised to regain control over Pakistan’s government, according to early returns from the historic May 11 vote — the first transfer of power from one elected government to another in the country’s history. Like the last two times he won …