By Dr Aasim Sajjad Akhtar It is all so predictable. The raids on homes of opposition leaders and workers. Heavy-handed baton charges and tear-gas shelling. The same opposition workers who decried state repression then engaged in wanton destruction of public property — and burning trees for good measure! We have been here many times before. A few months ago, it …

Like Sri Lanka, Kyrgyzstan also has a swelling state debt and took on billions worth of loans over the last decade from China’s Export-Import Bank for a series of infrastructure plans under the Belt and Road Initiative.

Concerns as glaciers melt in Gilgit-Baltistan. Pakistan is home to more than 7,000 glaciers, but rising global temperatures are causing them to melt rapidly.

Unprecedented flash floods, water scarcity, dying glaciers, abruptly changing weather patterns, rising cases of rare diseases, and climate-change-induced loss of natural habitat are some of the discernible symptoms that are already on display in Pakistan.

The 50-minute documentary titled “Islam’s Battle Within” gives a rare insight into the Jamia Haqqania Akora Khattak aka the “University of Jihad”, an ideological nerve centre of the Taliban and other splinter groups in Southeast Asia i.e. Jemaah Islamiyah

global warming causes glaciers to start melting earlier in the year, just when crops are being sown. This is favourable, but later in the year, when crops need the most water, there is less meltwater.

Considered to be the icons of High Asia, the elusive snow leopards have evolved to live in some of the world’s highest and harshest habitats in 12 countries.

Raza Naeem’s tribute to Pakistan’s best-known Marxist, scholar, author and activist on his birth centenary marked on April 10. Stop all the clocks … let the mourners come.— W.H. Auden by Raza Naeem While the world-renowned Marxist sociologist does not need an introduction here in South Asia, my reflections here will chiefly consist of my memories of my lone meeting …

By Tariq Siyal ISLAMABAD: Writers, academics and intellectuals of the twin cities praised the contribution of Khadim Hussain Soomro in promoting the message of love and harmony of mystics of Sindh. They described him an embodiment of Sufism. Renowned human rights defender and social worker Tahira Abdullah speaking at a literary event at the Pakistan Academy of Letters on Wednesday, …

I lost my brother but not the courage we shared, says the award-winning documentary ‘Unsung Heroes’ Pakistan Shero fame climber Shakela Nazar By Raheem Sherazi Shakeela and Nadeema during the climb of Yazghel Sar Peak in Shimshal. Photo: Qudrat Ali “Look! I did what I could not in your life without you.” These are the words of Shakila Numa, one …

The $75m-project will facilitate trade, and travel between the two countries. The key infrastructure was started in 2007 with Iranian assistance. Iran and Afghanistan on Thursday inaugurated the first railway link between the two countries. Presidents of the two countries expressed hope it would enhance trade links across the region. The 140-kilometre (90-mile) line running from Khaft, eastern Iran, into …

Raza Gillani Why have we spent the last four years, presumably the most crucial time of our lives, organising at various campuses across the country and its administered areas on issues pertaining to student life, gender, education, class, ethnicity, race, etc.? Why have we wasted our time in searching for those who share our principles, dreams, and resolve? Why have …

by Dr Ishtiaq Ahmed Contemporary states are territorial entities whom international law invests with sovereign rights over their recognized territory within well-defined and demarcated borders. International law outlaws the violation of the territorial integrity of a state. The state enjoys the exclusive prerogative to exercise the monopoly of power over its territories and population. It means the right of states …

A comparative study of farming sectors of China and Pakistan   By Samiullah Najeeb   Agriculture is the most sensitive sector to climate change. The impacts of climate change and abnormal events such as rise in temperatures, extreme weather, drought, levels of carbon dioxide and sea result in a decrease in the quantity and the quality of food supplies. Climate …

The pandemic causes a 22% decline in tourist arrivals in Q1, or $80bn loss, says UNWTO reports   Herald Report The coronavirus pandemic has caused 22% fall in international tourist arrivals in the first quarter (Q1) of the financial year 2020 and could further drop by 60-80% over the whole year, says a report. The UN tourism watchdog says 67 …