“I will be a politician in my future. I want to change the future of my country and I want to make education compulsory,” says Malala Yosufzai.

In Malala's home town in Pakistan, school friends hope to see her win the Nobel Peace Prize this week -- but they dream in secret, under pressure from a society deeply ambivalent about the teenage activist. Malala, who survived being shot by the Taliban on October 9 last year, has become a global ambassador for education, feted by celebrities and politicians around the Western world.

Opinion

Editorial

Missing in action
17 Mar, 2026

Missing in action

NOT exactly known for playing a proactive role in protecting the interests of Muslim nations and populations...
Risk to stability
Updated 17 Mar, 2026

Risk to stability

THE risks to Pakistan’s fragile economic recovery from the US-Israel war on Iran cannot be dismissed. Yet the...
Enrolment push
17 Mar, 2026

Enrolment push

THE federal government has embarked upon the welcome initiative to enrol 25,000 out-of-school children in Islamabad...
Holding the line
16 Mar, 2026

Holding the line

PAKISTAN’S long battle against polio has recently produced encouraging signs. Data from the national eradication...
Power self-reliance
Updated 16 Mar, 2026

Power self-reliance

PAKISTAN’S transition to domestic sources of electricity is a welcome development for a country that has long been...
Looking for safety
16 Mar, 2026

Looking for safety

AS the Middle East conflict enters its third week, the war’s most enduring victims are not those who wage it....