SEXUAL harassment in our educational institutions is an ugly reality that thrives on a culture of silence. On Wednesday, that silence was broken loudly and assertively, that too in a conservative part of the country. Islamia College University in Peshawar was the scene of a large protest demonstration by female students, several from other universities in the city as well, demanding action against faculty members and male students who subjected them to harassment. The students…
Posts published in “Pak Media comment”
by Faisal Bari in Dawn, November 13th, 2020The writer is a senior research fellow at the Institute of Development and Economic Alternatives, and an associate professor of economics at Lums.‘DEEP state’, ‘establishment’, ‘agencies’, ‘namaaloom afraad’ — whatever they are called, there is little doubt military-controlled personnel and agencies do interfere in all sort of processes and spaces in Pakistan. This much is just fact. This presence/ interference has been identified and recorded in many instances.…
edit in Daily Times, NOV 13, 2020It is not really surprising, though still a matter of grave concern, that the country’s total outstanding debt and liabilities reached a historic level of $113.8 billion by the end of September 2020. This subject has been beaten to death so strongly in this space that it is no longer necessary to get into the specifics of just which government borrowed how much and for what unproductive purpose. But…
In a much welcome decision the Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to Editor–in-Chief of the Jang Group of Newspapers, Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman, after eight long months of incarceration by the National Accountably Bureau (NAB). He was arrested last March in a more than three-decade-old case of illegal acquisition of residential plots. The move was widely seen as an attempt to muzzle independent media rather than some wrong committed by an influential media figure. His freedom,…
The writer is a Lahore based political economist, writer and Urdu columnist.‘This is an election of Gilgit Baltistan but nobody is talking about its issues, pains and miseries emanating from a disputed identity. Political parties are having a series of election rallies only to amplify their rhetoric as if rallies are being held in the rest of Pakistan. Crowds are chanting to voice party slogans but, believe me sir, people and issues of GB remain…
The court of inquiry ordered by COAS General Qamar Javed Bajwa after a telephone conversation with Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari following the so-called ‘Karachi incident’ has found the officers of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the Rangers responsible and ordered their removal. The inquiry stated that despite being experienced officers, they acted ‘overzealously’ in forcing the Inspector General (IG) Police Sindh to file an FIR against Captain Safdar (retd) in the wake…
by Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor in the Guardian, Nov 13, 2020 at 04.37 GMTBeijing’s imposition of new rules disqualifying opposition legislators in Hong Kong constitutes a breach of legally binding international commitments, the UK foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, has said. Raab said the move represented a “clear breach” of the Sino-British joint declaration, which was supposed to guarantee Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy under Chinese rule. In a statement, Raab said the UK…
During his visit of Pakistan, Iran’s Foreign Minister Dr. Mohammad Jawad Zarif first met with Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa. The two sides discussed the changing geopolitical situation and matters pertaining to regional peace and stability. Pak-Iran border management also came up for discussion. Militants sneak in into Baluchistan from the bordering Iran’s province for terrorist activities and targeting security forces. While addressing the meeting, the COAS emphasied that enhanced cooperation between…
There are complaints of maltreatment of women prisoners in violation of jail manual and other relevant laws. Federal Ombudsman had submitted a report to the Supreme Court in April that highlighted pathetic conditions of women prisoners that are languishing in jails. A three member bench of the apex court headed by the Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmad and comprising Justice Ijaz Ul Hasan and Justice Munib Akhtar directe the concerned authorities to implement the Ombudsman report…
That an Army court of enquiry has completed the investigation into the alleged kidnapping of the IGP Sindh to register an FIR against ousted PM Mian Nawaz Sharif’s son-in-law on October 18, and has not tried to cover up the actions of those responsible, leading to the removal of the officers who ‘acted overzealously’ from their posts, and ordered to hold themselves at the disposal of GHQ, is welcome. That should mean that the next…
The PTI government versus PDM: Editorial in Pakistan Today, N0v 13, 2020
Will the alliance remain united? The attempts by the government to break up the opposition alliance have failed so far. The PDM comprises 11 parties. Two of these are moderate mainstream parties who happen to be traditional rivals. Unlike them, the JUI(F) draws support from religious seminaries as does JAH, another alliance component. Nationalist parties are secular outfits drawing support from their respective ethnic groups. Some of the alliance components have at times aligned themselves…