Pakistan

Dawn was founded by Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. In a run-up to his birthday celebrations this year, tell us, and the Quaid, in one sentence how you think Jinnah would have viewed his and our Pakistan today. Please give your name, age, profession and location at the end of your message. For example, “Pakistan is indeed your dream come true.” —Shehla Mirza, 27, physician, Peshawar A selection of these comments will be published in the Quaid-i-Azam...

Two bills were passed in the Senate today, which will aim to protect women against customs and traditions that mistreat women. The bills will also call for punishment for the people involved in implementing customs such as kari, wani or swara. Such customs, which are in open violation of basic human rights, have been a part of the Pakistani culture for several decades and many a life has been lost to these traditions. By introducing these bills, the...

According to the Defence Department press secretary George Little, Pakistan has refused to be part of a joint investigation into the November 26 Nato attack on Pakistani check post in Mohmand. The decision is one of the several that Pakistan has taken in its protest against the attack that killed 24 army personnel. It has been reported that in his November 29 briefing to the media, Director General Military Operations Major General Ashfaq Nadeem had...

Five days after the deadly Nato attack on a check-post in Mohmand, Pakistan has changed its stance on relations with the United States. With the Nato supplies already blocked and Shamsi air base shut down, Pakistan has also decided to boycott the Bonn conference on Afghanistan. The government and its Defence Committee of the Cabinet responded swiftly to the attack, easing down the pressure from various corners (political and otherwise) to show its...

An early morning Nato attack on Pakistan’s security forces has left at least 28 soldiers dead the Mohmand tribal region. In an immediate reaction to the attack, Pakistan blocked supplies to the allied forces based in Afghanistan. Additionally, Pakistan’s acting ambassador to the United States registered a protest against the attack with the US State Department. The attack came a day after Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani met with...

Husain Haqqani has resigned from his position as Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States following his meeting with the top leadership of the country. Haqqani has said he is ready to face inquiries regarding his alleged involvement in the memo-gate scandal. While the diplomat’s three-year tenure in the key position has come to an end, the scandal is not likely to be buried in the near future. The government was brought under pressure by opposition...

In a wave of self-immolation cases that have recently swept around the world in the past year, a 35-year-old, father of two set himself on fire outside the parliament today. The jobless Raja Khan from Naushero Feroz resigned to this act of desperation in his fight against poverty. Reports stated he said: “I am fed up of poverty.” One can barely imagine how oppressed and desperate he was to escape his situation that he actually attempted to burn...

Pakistan’s fiscal standing has been at a crucial stand-point ever since the current democratic government came into power. Even though foreign reserves have increased stably, partly due to record remittances, the rupee still fights a depreciating trend and the country faces a huge fiscal deficit, largely on the back of excessive government borrowing. The government’s domestic debt has jumped by 67 per cent to 5.462 trillion rupees since the PPP...

First it was the Sitara-e-Imtiaz awards that our government gave out so generously to numerous people that barely deserved them. Now, we are faced with the reality of knowing that our very own Interior Minister Rehman Malik has received an honourary degree of Doctorate from the Karachi University. What’s more shocking than the fact that Malik is now Dr. Malik, is the reason given to explain why he was chosen: The degree has been awarded in recognition...

It is heartening to see a tiny school running in the streets of Heera Mandi; the promise of an education for the children of commercial sex workers. These children are ostracised by society; rejected by default even before they develop personalities and relationships. The “Apni Taleem” project by SHEED, an NGO working in the locality for the uplift of sex workers and their children, offers a one-year foundation course that allows students to read...