Study Kit

The higher education sector has been under serious crisis for the last several years. Over the last decade, the procedures introduced by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) have become overly bureaucratic and overly intrusive in university affairs. The HEC Ordinance clearly lays down what the commission can or cannot do. Universities must remain autonomous, governed by their own statutory bodies …

ISLAMABAD: At present, political parties are defining and refining their agendas or manifestoes. Normally before elections, they are more attentive and keen to listen and later too busy or content to listen. Hence, we would like to identify some of the most required issues and priorities for their consideration. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government accomplished a number of things …

In its 1993 report on what it called East Asia’s “miracle economies,” the World Bank identified two reasons for the remarkable economic success of these countries. The state played an important role by guiding private enterprise into the areas of manufacturing in which there was a growing global demand. The second reason was the opening of the world trade system. …

We often hear the term mainstreaming in contemporary public discourse in Pakistan. Most often the term mainstreaming is used for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), Balochistan and other remote regions of the country and their residents. The idea and motive behind using the term mainstreaming in public discourse is to bring the above-mentioned regions and their inhabitants on a …

Good governance is commonly understood to embody the characteristics of accountable, transparent, participatory, responsive, effective, and efficient; to minimize corruption; to take into account the views of minorities; and finally, and perhaps most importantly, to follow the rule of law. This paper presents and examines governance issues related to the privatization of state-owned enterprises (SOEs). JUDICIAL RESTRAINT: ACTIVISM OR ADVENTURISM? …

At the 37th session of the Human Rights Council, held in Geneva on March 6, 2018, the United Nations Environ­mental Program (UN Environment) launched the “Environmental Rights Initiative” to underscore the primacy of the environment for a sustainable future. The initiative aims at recognising citizens’ environmental rights as part of what constitutes ‘human rights’. And it aims at improving environmental …

A WEEK ago, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights issued the first-ever report on human rights in Kashmir. “This is not a conflict frozen in time,” said the UNHCHR head. “It is a conflict that has robbed millions of their basic human rights and continues to inflict untold suffering.” The report has urged the UN Human Rights Council “to …

Fata’s merger with KP might face a lot of hardship in the face of uncooperative tribal elders and weak strategies The merger of the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (Fata) with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has changed the geography of the province, making it more important strategically in the regional context. The merger adds 27200 sqkm to the current 101741 sqkm of …

The recent ceasefire in Afghanistan rekindles hopes for peace, thanks to the convergence of interests among the US, the Afghan government and Pakistan It was endearing for many to see the vivid images of Afghans hugging, embracing and posing for photos with Taliban insurgents in the wake of a three-day ceasefire, as announced by the Taliban, which went into effect …

China’s role in Afghanistan is undoubtedly growing. What does that mean for the peace process? On June 9, the Taliban ordered its fighters to “stop offensive operations against Afghan forces for the first three days of Eid-al-Fitr” this week. Its announcement came just days after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani declared a ceasefire against the insurgent group. The ceasefires are for …