By Faisal Siddiqi “Pity the nation that is led by those who laugh at the law little realising that the law shall have the last laugh.” — Justice Asif Saeed Khosa The vote of no-confidence against Prime Minister Imran Khan was not voted upon, and in effect, was subverted and made redundant on the pretext of a so-called ruling given …

By Kamran Asdar Ali This morning (April 3rd) Maureen Dowd in her column in the NYT, on the by now infamous slap by Will Smith, writes how the actor, Denzel Washington cautioned Smith, “at your highest moment, be careful. That is when the devil comes to you.” She goes on to analyze the entire episode as a Shakespearean tragedy, the …

The nation is stunned. Ahead of the vote of no-confidence, the prime minister had repeatedly hinted that he had a ‘trump card’ up his sleeve. There were indications all along that something might be amiss: even as political pundits and the media confidently predicted Mr Imran Khan’s defeat in the vote of no-confidence, he seemed unperturbed. No one could have …

The Deputy Speaker’s actions in the National Assembly on Sunday may have put a damper on the opposition’s attempts to oust Prime Minister Imran Khan for now, but they have immersed the country into yet another Constitutional crisis — one that is symptomatic of the complete breakdown of dialogue and communication between parliamentary forces — the treasury and the opposition. …

By Huma Yusuf Two hundred and thirteen. That’s the number of times that Imran Khan referred to himself in his address to the nation last Thursday. His opponents shared this tally as evidence of his narcissism. The self-promotion laid bare that his key motivation has been to preserve his power, rather than serve his country. He is not alone. As …

By Inayat Amir In a swift rejoinder to the government’s move to dissolve National Assembly in a bid to evade a pending no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan, democratic and progressive voices on Sunday vehemently condemned the move calling it an attempt at abrogating the constitution – tantamount to high treason.   They urged the Supreme Court to intervene in …

The Awami Workers Party (AWP) has strongly condemned the ‘arbitrary and entirely unconstitutional’ decision by Prime Minister Imran Khan to dissolve the National Assembly so as to avoid being voted out of office after the PTI government lost a majority in the lower house of parliament. ‘The AWP has always stood firmly in support of constitutional rule and parliamentary democracy. …

The decisive victory reflects Chileans’ revolt against a threadbare welfare system and a society systematically stacked in the favour of the rich Santiago streets burst into jubilation on the victory of Gabriel Boric as President-elect of Chile on Sunday. Gabriel Boric’s election as president of Chile on Sunday has put winds in the sails of the resurgent Left in Latin …

Herald Report Islamabad: The Asma Jahangir conference organisers have rejected claims that the event furthered any partisan agenda or violated the media-related laws by inviting a former prime minister to speak at the conference. Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmad addressed the opening day of the third Asma Jahangir Conference in Lahore on Nov 20, 2021. HAH Photo “The AJ …

By Rizwan Qalandar The people of Gilgit-Baltistan, especially youth are lately seemed to be engaged in discussions on social media around the recent elections for Gilgit-Baltistan Council. Some are concerned with the transparency aspect of the electoral processes such as partisan-based lobbying, seat adjustment and even allegations of horse-trading (allegedly involving money) whereas others are outrightly disappointed with the voting …

Leaders of lawyers' and media bodies, human rights defenders, and parliamentarians Thursday vowed to resist increasing assault on judiciary and media.

Political parties and lawyers have expressed their resolve to fight for the freedom of the press, expression guaranteed in the Constitution. They called for an end to muffling of the freedom of media and expression, repressive censorship, press advice, retrenchments of journalists and media workers, payment of salaries, the abolition of the unjust and discriminatory advertisement policy of the federal government and implementation of the 8th Wage Board Award.

Senator Raza Rabbani says, dictatorships of Ayub Khan and Ziaul Haq had deliberately isolated key ingredients of the democratic struggle, including students, labour and intellectuals. Although Benazir Bhutto had attempted to restore student unions in 1988, ‘the overarching state structure to which all political governments were, and continue to be, held hostage’ had prevented these efforts from materialising.

By Ghulam Amin Beg The old Indian narrative on Jammu and Kashmir of a democratic dispensation, constitutionally guaranteed local autonomy and unique status has disappeared overnight. Thanks to the fascist actions of Prime Minister Modi and the BJP government last year. The new status quo in Kashmir has created a new narrative for both pro-Indian and nationalist Kashmiris as well …

By Wajidul Islam The National Finance Commission (NFC) is a resource-sharing mechanism between the federal government and federating units. It was constituted under Article 160(1) of the 1973 Constitution. It is mandatory to constitute and hold the NFC meeting every five consecutive years. The purpose of the award is to review the collection of revenues by the Centre from provinces …