Reform beyond hierarchy
Pakistan’s ambition to evolve into a modern, responsive state will remain elusive so long as its bureaucracy continues to be structured around hierarchy, seniority, and generalist recruitment. The…
The Public Purview
Blog
The Meticulously Crafted Trap
The situation in the Gulf has grown steadily clearer of late, and with it the realisation that neither Israel nor its principal patron, the…
THE TAX IN EVERY LITRE
Today, September 22, 2026, petrol in Pakistan costs Rs393.75 per litre and high speed diesel costs Rs422.08. Petrol has risen by Rs4.61 in the…
Global turmoil & local relief: A decision in favour of the poor
By Ihsan Narejo At a time when the entire world is caught in the grip of an economic crisis, tensions between the United States…
Dialogue over conflict
In today’s turbulent global environment, where established geopolitical norms are being rapidly reshaped, the importance of maturity and rationality in statecraft cannot be overstated.…
The Court of Time, the Bystander, and the Anatomy of Complicity
Human civilization has spent millennia perfecting the architecture of accountability. We build our courts behind walls of dressed stone and marble, framing them with…
Strengthening counterterror resolve
The brutal assault in Kohat on Friday represents yet another escalation by Pakistan’s enemies, underscoring the evolving nature of the terrorist threat. The attackers…
THE NOWHERE GENERATION
Pakistan’s young people are facing a future with opportunities shrinking at both ends. There is not enough space for them to build a life…
The Algorithm Loop
We have entered an era where the importance of a piece of news is decided not by its truth, but by how many people…
THE ENDURING BOND – WHY PAKISTAN-CHINA ‘IRON BROTHERHOOD’ REMAINS A MODEL FOR REGIONAL STABILITY
Before entering Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, I saw Jamia Masjid Salahuddin Ayubi on my right. I turned the steering wheel right and stopped near the masjid.…
Role of Chinese assistance in Pakistan’s Pharma Industry
Chinese continuous investment in pharmaceutical industries’ innovation, research, bioengineering, successful vaccine development especially during Covid-19 pandemic, and latest manufacturing has resulted the China in…
Death of Deep Reading and the Rise of Pseudo-intellectuals
By Prof. Dr. Umer Farooq I remember the days when people of our generation- Gen X, generally defined as those born between 1965 to…
New Maps, Old Masters
There’s an old trick governments in poor countries never seem to tire of: when you can’t afford to fix a problem, you open an…
New provinces, a strong Pakistan
Pakistan is a federal state where different regions, languages, cultures, and geographical features hold their own importance. At the time of Pakistan’s creation, the…
Courts in conflict
What began as a straightforward Supreme Court directive to transfer former prime minister Imran Khan to a hospital for medical tests and treatment has…
“Bombs of inflation on the public”
Whenever a major epidemic spreads in the world, a war begins somewhere, there are fluctuations in the global market, or sanctions are imposed on…
Targeted energy conservation
Pakistan is once again grappling with the consequences of a global energy shock, and the urgency of demand management cannot be overstated. Houthi attacks…