Covid-19 has exposed the myth of neoliberal free-market economic model Herald Report The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that the world is at breaking point, and the coronavirus pandemic has exposed the free market and deep divisions in society, calling for a new global deal to combat climate change, forced migration, diseases, patriarchy and racism. Inequality, an issue …

Amid geopolitical concerns, a changing climate and the increasing intrusion of the modern world, young nomads are abandoning their traditional way of life, writes Tsering Ngodup Lama in The Kathmandu Post Dorje Rithen, 61, has lived his entire life as a nomad, and he fears that this lifestyle will end with him. Tsering Ngodup Lama/TKP Where Kunga Sangpo and Yangchen …

We must look at the roots of capitalism, white supremacy, heteropatriarchy, and anti-Blackness to leave settler colonialism in the past.   by LEANNE BETASAMOSAKE SIMPSON I understand settler colonialism’s present structure as one that is formed and maintained by a series of processes for the purposes of dispossessing, that create scaffolding within which my relationship to the state is contained. I certainly do …

Pakistan needs a radical strategic shift on multiple fronts – ranging from improving outreach to the quality of learning outcomes Amir Hussain Primary education is the first stage of free and compulsory education in Pakistan that entails the initial five grades of formal education for children of 5 to 9 years of age. There are four types of primary schools …

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 in every five consecutive years. The purpose of the award is to review the collection of revenues by the Centre …

‘We squandered a decade’ says UN’s outgoing special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights. Goal to eradicate poverty by 2030 ‘completely off track’,  with Covid-19 likely to impoverish millions more, Australian academic Philip Alston says in his report published in the Guardians International institutions are losing the fight against global poverty despite “self-congratulatory” messages to the contrary, according to the UN’s …

blob:https://www.rferl.org/f0105167-7ca9-4487-9108-c8abda861a2b Afghanistan lost $1 million in international funding this year making the drive to halt heroin production in Badakhshan even more challenging Herald Report Afghanistan’s security forces have stepped up their crackdown on heroin labs and poppy farms in Taliban-controlled regions of the country’s northeastern Badakhshan province. Its long border with Tajikistan makes the province one of the main heroin production …

The government seems more interested in keeping the military content than providing support for struggling citizens by Ayesha Siddiqa The Pakistani government does not seem willing to shift its spending priorities despite the burgeoning COVID-19 challenges.  Pakistan has emerged as one of the countries with the fastest rate of coronavirus infections in recent weeks, according to the World Health Organization …

A conversation with Aasim Sajjad Akhtar, a Professor of Political Economy at the National Institute of Pakistan Studies, Quaid-i-Azam University and Juvaria Jafri, a Lecturer in International Political Economy at City University on the impact of coronavirus pandemic on Pakistan’s middle classes, rescue packages and government’s response.  by Farwa Sial The full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on developing countries is still unfolding. While …

Agricultural village in Badakhshan, Afghanistan. Photo by Christopher Wilton-Steer/UCA Herald Report In Pamir mountains of High Asia region with limited agricultural lands, rugged topography, and large gradients, the preservation of agrobiodiversity and an appreciation of traditional knowledge about food systems are essential ingredients of a sustainable future. Hence the University of Central Asia’s Mountain Societies Research Institute (MSRI) has begun …