Opinion

A few decades back, with the aspiration to change the living standards of the rural poor, particularly women and the marginalized, the community development sector seemed exceptionally kind. Very soon, international donor(s) emerged with a variety of pledges and commitments towards bringing tangible changes to the rural communities of developing countries, such as Pakistan. People […]

The narrative of those who so zealously deliver the ‘peace talks with extremists’ mantra, now stands as a rather questionable proposition. Vicious terrorist attacks against civilians and military personnel have witnessed a rude and sudden rise in the last few months especially, as compared to episodes of extremist violence before the May 2013 general election.

Official circles are optimistic that they can successfully channel the youth’s entrepreneurial energies into productive ventures, whereas critics of the loan programme have pointed to a number of potential flaws, including the inability of a large number of applicants to find a suitable guarantor. As the proof of the pudding is in the eating, we will

Ours is the country where the 15-year old Aitezaz Hussain was left to engage the suicide bomber heading to blow up a school full of students. He sacrificed his life in the process. There is need to honour his courage and his memory. But that is not enough. We need to ask ourselves how this