Daily Current Affairs

Now once again China is reaching out to the world but this time in a different way. Compared to its opening to the West after the visit by President Richard Nixon in 1972, China’s ‘new opening’ has a different geographic orientation. Then Pakistan played an important role. It is once again involved as Beijing is opening itself to the West …

General Bajwa is increasingly playing a key role in setting right the direction of Pakistan’s relations with neighbouring countries. His recent visit to estranged Iran has been termed historic by certain analysts In April 2017, sections of the Pakistani media started speculating that Chief of the Army Staff, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, may undertake a visit to Iran “in the …

The federal cabinet at its last meeting directed the establishment division to review the quota system in Pakistan and present its recommendations. It is imperative to have a clear understanding as to why so many countries have institutionalised political and administrative representation of ascriptive identity groups before reviewing the system. Equity and diversity in all state institutions have become a …

The ecosystem is the quintessential essence of life on our planet, and this crucial life system is showing signs of breaking down. It is likely a more pressing problem than climate change. Time will tell but time is short. The ecosystem consists of all living organisms that interact with nonliving components like air, water, and soil contained within the biosphere, …

RIYADH: King Salman has overseen some important changes in Saudi Arabia since he inherited the throne from his elderly half-brother King Abdullah nearly three years ago. Following the arrest of dozens of figures including princes, ministers and a top business tycoon, here is a look back at some developments during his reign. Changes at the top On Jan 23, 2015 …

Politics at its best is founded on extraordinary hope. The utopian impulse is the hope that things can get better. Politics today, however, doesn’t exactly feel enchanted. As populism surges, the inspiring words seem to have gone missing, and so has utopian hope. It is vital for the good health of liberal democracies that their politicians do not descend into …

Currently, Pakistan-US relations are at their lowest ever over the past 70 years. The most obvious reason for this is the divergence between the two sides over the Afghan endgame. But the underlying reason is the global systemic transformation marked by the efforts of a declining US to contain the emergence of a rising China as a strategic competitor. By …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is witnessing a movement of business incubators and startups. It is encouraging that youth is responding to such opportunities. The analysis of this tide reveals that nascent efforts are yielding positive benefits, but a lot is still needed to take our startups to the next level. We share here an account of our recent visit to a business …

Facebook, Google and Twitter were supposed to save politics as good information drove out prejudice and falsehood. Something has gone very wrong IN 1962 a British political scientist, Bernard Crick, published “In Defence of Politics”. He argued that the art of political horse-trading, far from being shabby, lets people of different beliefs live together in a peaceful, thriving society. In …

In the last couple of months, Pakistan taxation system has been under the microscope and has stirred much debate due to its loopholes and limited tax network. Repeatedly, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has failed to generate sufficient funds to finance the federal expenses. Very conveniently this failure blame is put on the FBR’s inefficiency and corruption by seasoned …