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By Atiq Raja David Baldacci’s The Nash Falls reads at first glance like a conventional political thriller: swift pacing, concealed motives, institutional intrigue and characters navigating a landscape thick with suspicion. Yet beneath the mechanics of suspense lies a more deliberate meditation on power, moral compromise and the personal cost of defending truth. Baldacci has long excelled at constructing tightly wound plots, but here he pairs narrative propulsion with a sustained inquiry into the ethical tensions that define contemporary leadership. At its core, the novel examines the architecture of power. Authority in The Nash Falls is neither abstract nor benign;…

By Moin Ullah Shah KARACHI: The Sindh government has decided to seal high-risk buildings found in violation of fire safety regulations, following a high-level meeting chaired by the provincial chief secretary. The meeting, held to review fire safety measures across the province, was attended by the secretary for rehabilitation, the director general of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority, commissioners and deputy commissioners. Officials were told that 3,633 buildings had been inspected province-wide. Notices were issued to 3,319 of them over fire safety deficiencies, according to Asif Hyder Shah. A total of 889 buildings were declared high risk, Shah said. The…

Forty-seven years after crowds surged through the streets of Tehran and the Pahlavi monarchy fell with astonishing speed, the Iranian revolution remains one of the most misunderstood events of the late 20th century. It is invoked, too often lazily, as shorthand for intransigence, for clerical rigidity, for a nation locked in permanent defiance. Yet history is rarely so simple. The upheaval of 1979 was born not in abstraction but in grievance: a memory of humiliation, of foreign interference, of a political order that appeared modern in its façade yet brittle at its core. To revisit that history is not to…

By S.M. Inam At the World Defence Show in Riyadh, Pakistan has made clear that it no longer wishes to be viewed as a passive or peripheral participant in the global security marketplace. Among nearly 900 exhibitors from 80 countries, the country’s defence manufacturers have presented themselves not merely as suppliers to a domestic army, but as confident actors with ambitions that extend well beyond national borders. The displays are assertive, technically detailed, and carefully curated to signal that Pakistan is conscious of both the strategic and commercial stakes in a region increasingly defined by complex rivalries, emerging technologies, and…

By Syed Shamim Akhtar In the wake of the recent suicide attack that shook Islamabad, Pakistan finds itself once again grappling with a familiar yet evolving threat: violent extremism that exploits both local vulnerabilities and international indifference. Addressing the nation and the world via the social platform X, President Asif Ali Zardari expressed gratitude for the outpouring of solidarity from governments and international organizations. Yet his message went beyond thanks, carrying a stark reminder that terrorism is not a challenge any single country can face in isolation. The tragedy in Pakistan’s capital, he insisted, underscores a fundamental truth: when extremist…

By Atiq Raja For more than seventy years, Kashmir has remained one of the world’s most emotionally charged and politically complex disputes. It is often reduced to lines on a map, strategic calculations, or the ambitions of distant capitals. Yet at its heart, the conflict is profoundly human: it is the story of people struggling for identity, dignity, and the right to determine their own future. The question that resonates across valleys and mountain passes is simple, yet deeply unsettling for those who wield power beyond the region’s borders: can Kashmir ever be free to exist as an independent, peaceful…

By Abdul Qadir Mahesar DADU: A one-day training workshop on “Sexual Exploitation, Sexual Abuse, Harassment and Gender-Based Violence (GBV)” was held in Dadu on Wednesday, bringing together a large number of local journalists in an effort to promote responsible reporting and raise awareness on sensitive issues. The workshop was organized by Islamic Relief Pakistan and aimed to equip media professionals with the knowledge and tools needed to report GBV cases ethically, protect victims, and prevent further psychological harm. Experts at the session emphasized the critical need to safeguard victims’ identities, respect their dignity, and adhere to legal frameworks when covering…

By Muhammad Arshad KARACHI: The third edition of the Made in Pakistan Conference & Awards took place on Wednesday, drawing a wide spectrum of business leaders, policymakers and industrialists to the city’s most prestigious address for corporate gatherings. The event was designed to celebrate and advance the cause of domestic manufacturing, promote the strengths of home‑grown products and articulate a strategy for Pakistani businesses to compete more effectively on the global stage. It was the latest in a series of initiatives aimed at strengthening the country’s industrial base and enhancing export performance, a goal repeatedly emphasized by organizers and speakers…