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By Naz Solanki KHAIRPUR: Students at The Academy of Excellence, Pir Jo Goth Campus, marked Independence Day on August 14 with a colourful ceremony featuring speeches, tableaus and poetry celebrating Pakistan. The event brought together students, teachers and guests in a patriotic atmosphere. Students presented tableaus depicting different aspects of Pakistan’s history and national life. They also delivered speeches highlighting the importance of independence and the responsibilities that come with it. Students expressed their love for the country through patriotic poetry and performances. Their presentations were warmly appreciated by teachers and guests, who encouraged them to remain committed to the…
The growing unease among Washington’s Gulf allies over the handling of the Iran war points to a problem that goes well beyond disagreement over military tactics or the pace of negotiations. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain are reportedly becoming increasingly frustrated with the Trump administration’s inability to turn military pressure into a credible diplomatic process capable of bringing the conflict to an end. For countries living on the immediate edge of the confrontation, the consequences of failure are neither theoretical nor distant. They involve the security of their territory, the safety of their energy infrastructure,…
By Atiq Raja The first step towards self-mastery may be simpler than most of us imagine: learning to distinguish between what the mind produces and who we are. Thoughts are so closely woven into daily life that we rarely question their authority. They follow us to work, enter our conversations, disturb our sleep and sometimes wake us before dawn. We call them our fears, opinions, memories and judgments, as though everything that appears in the mind must necessarily represent the self. But if we can observe a thought, can we really be identical to it? The question is more practical…
By Muhammad Mohsin Iqbal The United Nations Security Council was created in 1945 for a world emerging from the devastation of the second world war. Its five permanent members were given veto powers to keep the major powers within the international system and prevent disputes between them from turning into wider conflict. That arrangement may have reflected the realities of the time. Eight decades later, however, the world has changed dramatically while the Council has barely done so. The United Nations now has 193 member states and represents a global population of more than eight billion. Yet the structure of…
By Alia Zarar Khan First of all, a happy Independence Day to all our readers and to every patriotic Pakistani. Yet this year, amid the flags, ceremonies and familiar songs, there is an uncomfortable feeling that the meaning of Independence Day is gradually being lost. What should be a day of pride, reflection and national belonging has increasingly become an occasion for political mockery and social-media ridicule. Across platforms, memes targeting Pakistan have become almost routine. This year, however, some of the material circulating online crossed a line that should concern us all. Among the most disturbing examples were videos…
By Akhlaque Ahmad Chandio QAMBAR: More than 40 IBA-qualified PST and JEST waiting candidates staged a candlelight protest and observed a hunger strike outside the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Press Club in Qambar for the eighth consecutive day, demanding the issuance of their appointment orders. Speaking during the protest, Abdul Ghaffar Mughairi, Asif Maitlo, Sajjad Lakho, Sahib Khan Chandio, Pervez Gopang and others said they had been waiting for their offer orders for the past four years but had still not been given their due right. They said candidates who had passed the IBA tests for Primary School Teacher (PST) and…
India’s Independence Day was observed as a Black Day in occupied Kashmir, with protests held on both sides of the Line of Control and in cities around the world. The protests were a stark reminder that the celebration of Indian nationalism cannot erase the unresolved political and human tragedy of Kashmir. For many Kashmiris, 15 August is not simply a day of flags, parades and official speeches. It is a day that brings into sharper focus their long-standing demand for political rights and an end to what they regard as India’s occupation and coercive rule. The call for the Black…
By Pir Ghulam Nabi Shah Jillani Pakistan’s warnings about the use of Afghan territory by militant groups are increasingly being heard beyond its immediate neighborhood. Islamabad has sought to draw international attention to what it describes as the growing use of Afghanistan as a base for attacks against Pakistan, alleging that hostile actors, including India and Israel, are exploiting the country’s instability and that anti-Pakistan militants operating from Afghan soil are receiving shelter and strategic support. These allegations demand serious international scrutiny because terrorism originating from Afghan territory is not simply a bilateral Pakistani-Afghan problem. If armed groups can train,…
By Dr. Zawwar Hussain Pakistan’s environmental crisis is no longer confined to water shortages. Drought, soil erosion, declining fertility, desertification and shrinking forest cover are steadily weakening the country’s ability to absorb and retain water. The problem is made worse by the way rainfall is lost. Much of the rain that falls during short, intense storms runs rapidly across exposed land and disappears before it can penetrate the soil. For an increasingly water-stressed country, allowing this water to escape is a costly failure of land management. One relatively simple technique deserves far greater attention: the Half-Moon Bund, also known as…