Debate of the week

Tomorrow marks the 65th independence day of Pakistan. The country has witnessed many conflicts, victories, triumphing moments and political dilemmas, however, many people across the globe still believe that the country is far from achieving the ‘paradise’ that Jinnah and his team aimed to establish. With a history of coups and constant battle of power amongst different state institutions, coupled with anarchy and militancy, Pakistan has failed...

Pakistan hockey team’s Olympic campaign all but ended on Tuesday, when they were handed a 7-0 thrashing at the hands of World and Olympic defending champions Australia. They play South Korea for a seventh-position classification match on Thursday after failing to make it to the semi-finals. Besides hockey, Pakistan had representation in athletics (men’s 100m and women’s 800m) as well as shooting (skeet) and swimming (men’s 100m freestyle and...

After the disqualification of Pakistan’s former premier Yousuf Raza Gilani, the National Assembly drafted and passed the contempt of court bill. Amongst many other clauses, the bill stated that “A true averment made in good faith and temperate language for initiation of action or in the course of disciplinary proceedings against a judge, before the chief justices of the Supreme Court and high courts, the Supreme Judicial Council and the federal...

Pakistan’s deepening energy crisis shows little signs of abating, with recent power breakdowns and loadshedding causing riots in several parts of the country. The government has failed to deliver on its promises of cut-down on loadshedding during Ramazan, especially during Sehr, Iftar and Taraweeh hours and angry mobs have taken to the streets in protest. On Monday, the Lahore High Court chief justice directed the government to ensure equal load-shedding...

The 2012 Olympics are set to get underway in London on Friday. A grand opening ceremony is expected to set the tone for the world’s biggest sporting event. The Games, however, have been marred by controversies and scandals well before they get underway. The biggest problem being faced by the organisers is that of security, after the security firm handed the task for the Games was unable to provide the required number of personnel in time. Following...

On a bloody day for the people of Pakistan, at least 20 people were killed in three separate attacks across two provinces and a tribal region of the country. The attacks targeted security officials in the coastal town of Gawadar in Balochistan, the office of an anti-TTP commander in the tribal region of North Waziristan and a vehicle in the Upper Dir district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The attacks in Dir and N. Waziristan have been blamed on militants...

Bollywood legend Rajesh Khanna passed away in Mumbai on Wednesday, following prolonged illness. Khanna rose to fame in the late 1960s and would go on to play leading roles in Hindi cinema for the coming decades. He is survived by his film-star wife Dimple Khanna and two daughters, Rinke and Twinkle Khanna. Dawn.com invites its readers to share their memories of Rajesh Khanna… What are your favourite Rajesh Khanna movies? Which of the innumerable...

Pakistan and India are set to resume their cricketing ties after a five-year break later this year. According to statements issued by the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the neighbouring countries will play one-day international and twenty20 matches between December 23 and January 10. India was due to tour Pakistan early 2009 but the tour was called off following the November 2008 attacks in Mumbai....

Seeking to put a stop to the disqualification of its prime ministers, as well as avoiding ‘contempt of court’ charges against politicians in general, the PPP-led coalition government passed the Contempt of court bill through the National Assembly late Monday. While members of the opposition raised concerns and protested against the bill, it swiftly made its way through and into the Senate, which must also pass it before the president signs it...

It has been three days since the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued an apology to her Pakistani counterpart for the November 26, 2011 Nato attack on a Pakistani military check-post in the tribal regions, which led to the death of 24 Pakistani soldiers. While the apology has led to the reopening of Nato supply routes to Afghanistan, it has also raised a plethora of questions and issues over Pakistan’s relationship with the US and how it...