Daily Articles

By: Waseem Shaukat Always the hotbed of terror Considering the turmoil our country is going through at present, we need to show solidarity and national integration. Yet it is heart-rending to note that some people in the country are following agendas of those who want to break Pakistan May it be the historic war fought against Russia (Afghan Jihad), the …

by Hasan Mansoor Situated just a few minutes away from Karachi`s wholesale pharmaceuticals market is the old-city locality of Lyari. The people living there mostly come from humble backgrounds but pharmacy owners in the area notice a jarring trend: clients hesitate to buy cheaper medicines in favour of branded, expensive medicines with the same molecular formula. `I try my level …

by Sarwat Yasmeen Azeem My first encounter with the practice of using first names irrespective of age occurred at a meet-and-greet at a university in the UK. Fresh off the boat from Pakistan and 22 years old, I introduced myself to the 50-something lecturer who cheerily responded, `Call me David! Very much taken aback, I blurted, `I can`t do that. …

By Elaine Ou IT`S fun to imagine a world without cash. Liberated from the burden of physical currency, consumers could make purchases from the convenience of a mobile device. Every transaction would come equipped with fraud protection, reward points and a digital record of its time and location. Comprehensive tracking could help the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of the United …

By: Afshan Subohi The going is expected to get tougher for economic managers as political shocks become a norm, armed conflicts intensify in volatile Middle East and hopes of global economic recovery anytime soon wanes, world leaders in the grand congregation at the annual meetings of the World Bank and IMF warned last week. Global economic prospects appear uncertain and …

By: Khaleeq Kiani Amidst the domestic debate of a political nature over the route and benefits of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the International Monetary Fund has come up with its analysis of the pros and cons of the landmark initiative, with a word of caution. This is perhaps the first independent scrutiny by a multilateral agency of the $51.5bn project …

By: Ashraf Jehangir Qazi The writer is a former ambassador to the US, India and China and head of UN missions in Iraq and Sudan. MR António Guterres is the perfect pick for the “most impossible job in the world”. I had the pleasure of meeting him when I headed UNAMI in Baghdad and was much impressed by the ability, …

By Ali Sarwar Naqvi The issue of the membership of non-NPT signatory states in the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group has been hanging fire since the last annual plenary of the cartel in Seoul in June this year. Since both India and Pakistan had applied for membership earlier in May, the plenary reportedly considered the matter but reached no conclusion as some …

By M Ziauddin By early 2000 Pakistan had become perhaps the most sanctioned country after Libya. In October 1990 the US had imposed sanctions against Pakistan under the Pressler Amendment for having crossed the nuclear red-line.  Next, new sanctions were imposed under Glenn and Symington amendments in May 1998 when we tested our basement bombs. The October 12 military take-over …

By: A.G. Noorani The writer is an author and lawyer based in Mumbai. “The upstream users of an international river are no longer entitled to the unrestricted use of (the waters) of such a river, and are bound, when taking decisions concerning its use, to take reasonable account of the interests of other users in downstream areas.” On Sept 25, …