Opinion
Pakistan's Vanishing Scholars: The Crisis of Declining University Enrollment Last month, over a steaming cup of chai in Swat, my friend’s cousin—a bright 18-year-old fresh from intermediate college—shared a decision that stunned me. “I’m skipping university,” he said, eyes glued to his
Opinion
A quiet revolution took root in a small conference room in Islamabad as the city baked under the hot July 2024 sun, with Pakistan grappling with post-budget economic stress. Former PML-N prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, now a reformist, was joined by Miftah Ismail and a group of
Opinion
In the gilded corridors of Riyadh's Al Yamamah Palace, where the air hums with the weight of history, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman clasped hands on September 17, 2025, forging a bond that could redefine alliances across continents. It wasn't just
Opinion
Last week, as news of Israel's strikes on Qatar reverberated, I recalled a late-night chat with a retired Pakistani diplomat in Islamabad, who warned that economic desperation often drives nations into risky alliances. On September 17, 2025, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Opinion
A quiet revolution took root in a small conference room in Islamabad as the city baked under the hot July 2024 sun, with Pakistan grappling with post-budget economic stress. Former PML-N prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, now a reformist, was joined by Miftah Ismail and a group of
Opinion
As torrential rains battered Buner, Swat, and Punjab this August, I couldn't help but recall a conversation with a colleague in Lahore last year, who described how the 2022 floods turned vibrant communities into breeding grounds for disease overnight. Watching the recent footage—rivers raging like unleashed beasts,
Opinion
Just last week, as I scrolled through harrowing images from Buner district in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, I couldn't shake the memory of a conversation with a local aid worker during the 2022 floods. "Nature strikes, but neglect kills," he had said. His voice
Opinion
As I scrolled through social media feeds on August 17, 2025, a video from Buner stopped me cold—a mother, knee-deep in mud, clutching a sodden photo of her lost child, wailing, "The sky betrayed us; it poured our future away." This wasn't hyperbole; it
Opinion
Last week, I overheard a heated argument at a local market in my town, where a man’s reputation was shredded by rumors of dishonesty, spreading faster than the dust kicked up by passing rickshaws. It struck a personal chord, reminding me of my own battle against Gulzaman (Jamal Din)
Opinion
In a modest Multan home, the ceiling fan sputters to a halt—another bijli ka katkhara. Amna, a seamstress, counts her dwindling rupees, her Rs18,000 electricity bill mocking her family’s budget. Outside, her kids squint over textbooks by candlelight, dreams dimmed by Pakistan’s endless energy crisis. Power
Opinion
Pakistan’s political landscape in July 2025 is a volatile arena, akin to a cricket match played on a rain-soaked pitch—unpredictable and charged with tension. Last month, while navigating Islamabad’s bustling streets, I overheard a fruit vendor declare, “Imran Khan is our last hope; they can’t
Opinion
In a cramped Faisalabad café, Usman, a 24-year-old computer science graduate, scrolls through visa ads on his phone. “Yahan kuch nahi banta,” he sighs, his degree gathering dust as he drives a Careem to pay rent. Pakistan’s youth, 65% of its 240 million souls, should be its