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Op-Ed
Sugar, water, and national security: How policy failure entrenched Pakistan’s cartel economy
Last year, Pakistan’s sugar industry quietly extracted around Rs 300 billion in windfall profits.
Not through efficiency.
Not through innovation.
But through manipulation enabled by policy.
This figure was not speculative. The Auditor…
Protecting dignity of minorities !
Since the landmark judgement of the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 2014 on minority rights and protections, Islamabad High Court in its recent judgement protected dignity of sanitary workers by ending discrimination in jobs advertisements and…
“Our education system is destroying entire generation—And no one to stop it”
Looking at education data across South Asia. Nothing will prepare us for what Pakistan's numbers reveal: a country systematically failing its children at catastrophic scale, with consequences that will define whether it survives this…
Pakistan’s Rs 6.6 trillion textile catastrophe
Pakistan’s textile industry appears to have delivered good news. Export earnings rose from Rs 3.28 trillion in 2021-22 to Rs 5.01 trillion in 2024-25. Policymakers cite this as proof that currency depreciation revived export…
Checkpoint Charlie, Islamabad Style
Islamabad is a beautiful city. Wide roads, green belts, silent sectors, and an air of importance that suggests something very serious is always happening somewhere nearby. And to make sure this seriousness is fully felt by ordinary…
A free puppet
He was searching for a sociology book for his research when a small brown diary captured his attention. It was placed between the books in a way that made it seem like its owner wanted to hide it from others’ eyes. The cover had a unique…
Islamabad’s green betrayal : From green capital to barren city… and debate losing Its way
Sara Ali Syed
Islamabad was designed to be Pakistan’s ecological and aesthetic jewel; a capital woven into forests, hills, and green corridors. For decades, Margalla Hills, Shakarparian, Fatima Jinnah Park (F-9), and the city’s green…
What France teaches us about living with differences — And what Pakistan can learn without losing…
As I walk through Paris — whether on a busy metro platform, inside a small café, or through a quiet neighborhood park — one reality becomes clear very quickly: France is not one single culture or religion. It is made up of many identities,…
From Paris to Peshawar
I spent two weeks in Paris. Two weeks walking through a city that behaves as if it has signed a lifelong contract with order, beauty, and self-respect. And then, almost immediately after, I went to Peshawar. The distance between the two…
