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By Atiq Raja The face of our planet has not always looked the way it does today. The continents that now seem immovable and distant were once parts of a single, massive supercontinent — a landmass that slowly broke apart and drifted across the surface of the Earth over millions of years. This fascinating process is known as continental drift, one of the most transformative ideas in the history of Earth science. The theory of continental drift was first proposed in 1912 by Alfred Wegener, a German meteorologist and geophysicist. At a time when most scientists believed that continents were…

By Erum Noor Muzaffar Natural gas has long played a major role in Pakistan’s energy mix but domestic production has been declining since 2008. Instead of transitioning toward sustainable energy resources, the country increasingly turned to imported Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from 2015 onwards to cover the widening gap between demand and supply. This shift was heavily influenced by multilateral development banks, such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank (WB) by providing technical assistance and financing for infrastructure, including regasification terminals and the associated legal and regulatory frameworks. While the original intent was to address the…

By S.M. Inam Beneath the sun-baked earth of Balochistan, deep within the formidable mountains of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and under the vast deserts of Sindh, lies a silence that speaks of immense potential. It is the quiet of minerals formed over millennia, a subterranean world of copper, gold, and lithium that has, for decades, been more a subject of hopeful speculation than tangible national gain. Now, as detailed in a recent report by the American journal “Foreign Policy”, this hidden geography of wealth is being mapped with a new urgency, prompting a profound and pressing question: can Pakistan, a nation perennially…

There is a particular hum to a society in motion, a frequency felt not in the ears but in the rhythm of daily life. It is the pulse of a nation’s ambition, the quiet vibration of a collective will. For a group of journalists from Pakistan, arriving in China as guest students of Zhejiang Normal University for a twenty-day media-training program, this hum was the first and most persistent observation. It is a sound, begins before the dawn and lingers long after the sunset. While the soundtrack to a story of transformation so vast it defies easy comprehension. Our invitation…

The story of Chinese television is more than a chronicle of technological adoption; it is a meticulous dance between ideological duty, commercial ambition, and a resurgent cultural confidence. From its birth as a state mouthpiece to its current status as a global format player and cultural exporter, the evolution of its program design offers a masterclass in navigating the era of pan-entertainment. This journey, from 1958 to the present day, reveals a strategic pivot from passive reception to active cultural projection. The Prologue: A Didactic Medium (1958-1970s) Chinese television flickered to life on May 1, 1958, with the launch of…

By Atiq Raja We speak of life so easily, this common condition we all share, yet the word itself can feel both too small and too vast to hold its true meaning. To be alive is one thing; to understand how to live is another entirely. It is the oldest of human puzzles, one that has kept the lamps of philosophers, poets, and mystics burning through the centuries. They have left us not a single answer, but a rich and varied map of the territory, each landmark offering a different perspective on the journey we are all making. Consider Socrates,…

By S.M. Inam There exists a parallel universe to the one most Pakistanis inhabit, a realm of air-conditioned conference rooms and carefully managed press releases. In this world, often headquartered in Washington D.C. or London, the language of economics is one of percentages, stable outlooks, and reaffirmed ratings. It is here that Pakistan’s Finance Minister, Muhammad Aurangzeb, can recently meet with the World Bank’s Ajay Banga, speaking of strengthened partnerships and fiscal discipline. It is here that the affirmation of a ‘B-’ credit rating from an agency like Fitch is not just a technical notation but a cause for quiet…