Category: Columns

In an environment where fear governs speech, even the mind learns to hesitate. “They are Young – Youth is impulsive” And with that, an entire generation is dismissed. At first, standing up for truth became intolerable. Then speaking openly was no longer tolerated. Now, even thinking critically feels unacceptable. In this atmosphere, young people are...

Human history is not merely a record of events; it is a continuous search for order. From the earliest moments of conscious thought, human beings have attempted to understand the universe, society, and their own existence through systems of meaning and structure. In its earliest form, this order was articulated through religion, where the universe...

On 8 December 2025, the Asian Development Bank’s Asian Water Development Outlook 2025 stripped away any remaining ambiguity. More than 80% of Pakistanis lack access to safe drinking water. Per-capita availability has fallen to around 1,100 cubic metres, well into scarcity territory. Unregulated groundwater extraction is not only depleting aquifers but spreading arsenic contamination across...

Shahzad Manzar, whose real name was Ibrahim Abdul Rahman Arif, is known as a respected short story writer and critic in Urdu literature. He was born on January 1, 1933, in Calcutta, India. His father’s name was Abdul Rahman Ahmed Arif, from whom his full name was derived. After the creation of Pakistan, he moved...

Bullying, neglect and violence leave marks that linger well into adulthood. Childhood is described as a formative period. The entire span of childhood carries deep vulnerability. These years do not merely shape a person but they can make or break them. With the brain at its most malleable, childhood is when experiences, environments and relationships...

More than five decades after 1971, a community of Pakistanis remains largely erased from Pakistan’s collective media memory: the Urdu-speaking, non-Bengali Pakistanis commonly referred to as Biharis who were left behind in Bangladesh after the fall of Pakistan (fall of Dhaka). As a journalist, I am trained to observe dispassionately. But this subject is not...

(Acknowledgment: Mr. Mirza Hamid Baig) Shabnam Minarvi, whose real name was Malik Muhammad Hussain, is counted among those Urdu poets who managed to bring together literature and professional responsibility at different stages of their lives. On one hand, he held a respected position in the field of engineering; on the other, he is remembered in...

The escalation in South Asia’s hydro-politics has reached a fever pitch, signaling a shift that could fundamentally alter the region’s stability. When New Delhi issued a formal notice to modify the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) earlier this year, the diplomatic alarms rang loudest in Islamabad and Lahore. The ensuing discourse has predictably centered on the...