Daily Articles

By Faisal Kutty Over sixty-eight years after the universal declaration of human rights was adopted by the UN, the debate continues as to whether the document truly reflects universal values. Upon its adoption on December 10, 1948, former US First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, chair of the commission on human rights, expressed her hope it would become “the Magna Carta of …

By Dr Hasan Askari Rizvi The outgoing year of 2016 can be described as the year of confrontation and political status quo. The confrontation focused on the Panama Leaks (April onwards) between the PML-N government at the federal level and in Punjab on the one hand and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on the other. Despite the persistent efforts of the …

BY Malik Muhammad Ashraf Water, water everywhere  Pakistan and India have been involved in intractable discussions to resolve the dispute regarding construction of two hydro electric power plants namely Kishenganga and Ralte being built by the latter in violation of the provisions of the Indus Water Treaty. So in view of the stalemate on the issue Pakistan requested the World …

BY Tariq Mushtaq A synonym for hell The Russian military warned the US against striking the Syrian army, stressing that Russian air defense weapons in Syria stand ready to fend off any attack. The range of Russian S-300 and S-400 air defense missile systems would “surprise” any country operating its aircraft over Syria The United States, since long, is involved …

BY Tariq Mushtaq Superpower chess board The United States, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement, has “done all it could to destroy the atmosphere encouraging cooperation.” From day one, there was apprehension: how could Washington cooperate with Russia to form a common front against rebels when they are backed by Washington itself? As the month started, U.S.-Russia relations …

BY Imran Malik China hopes to engage, dominate and rule the Heartland The Cold War era saw the US and its allies deploying their militaries to circumscribe, dominate and contain the Soviets and now the Chinese to within the Heartland CPEC, in the light of Mackinder’s Heartland Theory, makes for an interesting study. He had divided the world into three …

BY Monem Farooqi With expectations of holding the momentum Inflation hit a 13-year low in 2016, supported by falling international oil prices despite the high aggregate demand and low interest rates, which was contained due to a stable currency and, again, falling international oil prices Pakistan economic growth witnessed an acceleration in fiscal 2016 and started catching up with its …

BY Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad There are lessons for Pakistan There is a need to note that the ISIS and other extremists who are on the run in the Middle East are likely to start their activities in other countries, particularly Pakistan The recently formed Russia-Iran-Turkey troika has a significance first and foremost for the Middle East. It has also implications for …

Shahzad Tahir RECENTLY, two open tabs on the internet browser left me puzzled. One showed a Twitter quote: ‘no one is above the law’. The other opened on a news headline: ‘PM takes back powers to sack heads of public entities.’ The quote and the news item appear to be at ideological odds with each other.

Nearly 600 people died in police custody in India between 2010 and 2015, yet not one police official was convicted during this period. A report released by Human Rights Watch last week examines 17 cases in which families have sought accountability. Their stories reveal, in searing detail, why there have been so many deaths, starting with police contempt for proper …