Pakistan

The next so called pro-people budget is going to be presented on June 5. Do you think this could really provide some relief to the common people? In light of the stern conditions in the shape of value-added tax, elimination of subsidies and a considerable power tariff increase asked by the IMF and World Bank, how could this be of assistance to the masses? Who will bear the brunt of the overall price increase in the daily commodities in the consequence...

Pakistan has blocked two popular websites due to a controversial competition being held on Facebook on May 20. How has the ban on Facebook and YouTube affected you? Has the block on our accessibility to these sites highlighted the fact that how addicted and dependent we are on social networking websites and forums? How do you plan to pass your time instead now that browsing videos and random profiles is not an option? The views expressed by the reader...

The call for a nationwide strike on Friday, January 1, 2010, given by several religious and political parties and councils to protest the Ashura carnage and arson in Karachi could have hardly come at a worse time. Dozens lost their lives and limbs in the suicide bombing (?) claimed by the Pakistani Taliban (?) – there are question marks on both accounts because the police have not confirmed either. Moreover, thousands of families were deprived...

Dawn.com invites its readers to share eye-witness accounts and photographs from the incident.  An explosion occurred on Karachi’s M.A. Jinnah road on Monday during a Shia procession commemorating Ashura. For the city of lights, it’s the third blast in three days and the latest in a series of blasts that have taken place during the holy month of Muharram. Photographs can be sent at photos@dawn.com *In response to Dawn.com’s forum,...

After much deliberation and debate inside the courts, in the media and among the general public, the Supreme Court of Pakistan has given its decision on the controversial National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) that paved the way for the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) to come into power. The Supreme Court declared the NRO null and void in a short order which was passed unanimously by a 17-member bench. The landmark decision is set to create ripples...

This week, news managers from Pakistan’s eight major private television channels voluntarily met to generate guidelines to govern media coverage of terrorism. The initiative was in response to public criticism of the independent media, which has been broadcasting increasingly graphic and disturbing images live from the scenes of terror attacks. The representatives of the media outlets have agreed to show less gory images and to utilise a time-delay...

A new book warns that Pakistan is expected to become water-scarce by 2035, though some experts say this may happen as soon as 2020, if not earlier. In addition to global warming, which has affected the volume of the Indus River, Pakistan’s water shortages are caused by a long history of intensive irrigation regimes and poor drainage practices that have caused waterlogging and soil salinity throughout the countryside. And after dedicating most...

On Friday, Pakistan celebrates the sixty-second anniversary of its independence. Recently, the country has seen its fair share of ups and downs. Terrorism, communal violence and the economic and energy crises dominate headlines. But the resilience of the nation and its people has been expressed again and again – through a nationwide consensus against militancy, a national movement in favour of a free judiciary, a much-needed Twenty20 win, the...

On Monday, Christians across Pakistan mourned the Gojra tragedy, which led to the death of seven people over the weekend. Hundreds of Muslims, apparently spurred by a banned militant group, stormed a Christian neighbourhood, burning dozens of houses after reports surfaced that some Christians had desecrated a Quran. In response to the attack, the Christian community held protests and insisted that charges of negligence be registered against the Gojra...

On Tuesday, President Asif Ali Zardari asked leading businessmen and industrialists to work with the government to find a permanent solution to nationwide power shortages. He asked private sector entrepreneurs to brainstorm ‘out-of-box’ solutions to the ongoing power crisis, admitting that rental power projects contracted by the government could only address immediate energy needs. President Zardari invited the businessmen to weigh in...