BREWING CONFLICT: It has been several days since the residents of Kurram have avoided using the Thall-Parachinar road for any kind of transportation due to security reasons. One reason behind it is the expiration of the temporary peace settlement that was reached last year after a serious conflict. Now, troublemakers on both sides are getting ready to disturb the already fragile situation. Another reason is the misuse of social media apps. Warmongers from both the sectarian communities engage in hateful content online to test each other’s patience. Last year’s conflict, which took several lives, was triggered by the same conditions. The authorities should look into these matters.
Maryam Batool
Kurram
ILLEGAL TRADING ACTIVITIES: In pre-Partition days, the Shishi Bhushan Street (Babu Bazar) used to be an ideal residential locality housing the famed Calcutta Office babus. Today, the residential locality and its environs have become a throbbing commercial den. Ground floors of several houses serve as showrooms for materials, including inflammable foam mattresses. The authorities remain oblivious to intermittent outbreaks of fire in illegal residential godowns in the area. An illegal food factory runs in a house adjacent to the playground between Street Nos 4 and 5. The authorities should seal off all illegal shops and godowns after a door-to-door survey of the area.
Zahida Parveen
Rawalpindi
SUMMER VACATION FEE: Decades ago, my parents bemoaned their total powerlessness when forced to pay our full school fee during summer vacations. In 2026, this exploitation continues unabated. There was a glimmer of hope in 2017-18 when the Peshawar High Court and the Supreme Court had attempted to restrict summer vacation fee to 50 per cent. Sadly, this relief was swiftly neutralised by legal loopholes engineered by the private-sector school lobby. It is highly unjust that families are made to pay full tuition fee for a shuttered campus. The private school industry must be strictly regulated.
Osman Mazhar
Karachi
Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2026
