PESHAWAR BUSES: There is a severe shortage of BRT buses on the Ring Road route in Peshawar. The bus frequency is extremely low during morning hours, causing massive rush and long waiting times. Commuters are unable to board overcrowded buses and often miss their schools and jobs. This is a recurring problem being faced by the passengers. Recently, my daughter waited for half-an-hour at the stop, but could not board any bus due to the rush. The BRT administration needs to increase the number of buses on the Ring Road route.

Muhammad Shoaib
Peshawar

RAGGING CULTURE: The long-standing culture of ragging in universities has degenerated into harassment, bullying and psychological abuse of fresh students. Abusive ragging forces many students to discontinue their studies or abandon campuses altogether, resulting in a silent but serious loss of academic potential. Ragging undermines intellectual growth. A university should be a secure space where students can learn, grow and build their identities without fear. Senior students are expected to guide and support newcomers, not to assert dominance. Addressing the issue requires firm administrative enforcement and a resolve to restoring dignity, empathy and respect within our academic institutions.

Ghulam Hayder Bhatti
Jacobabad

FIRE INCIDENTS: Since the start of the new year, Karachi has been ‘burning’. The tragic Gul Plaza blaze finally drew government attention; officials showed up, ‘apologised’, and ‘grieved’ publicly. But since then, tens of other fires have erupted in old and sprawling shopping centres, drawing scant notice. News reports claim each one was ‘contained’, with firefighters arriving ‘on time’. Yet, the pattern feels too coincidental to be taken on face value. Almost all such reports have been backed by evidence-based photographs. Is no one addressing this surge? How many more fires will it take before the government ends these serial blazes terrorising Pakistan’s megacity and its residents?

Aamna Khan
Karachi

Published in Dawn, March 10th, 2026