WOMEN IN DISTRESS: The act of heroism by a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) officer in an attempt to save a woman in distress reflects the upright training of our armed forces. While the officially announced investigation is said to have caught the person involved in the killing, the background of the accused’s involvement in harassment cases has not been focused upon by the national media. To control crimes in our urban centres, it seems we have to learn from ancient Chinese who used to register all outsiders when they entered a city. Our main cities now need some sort of a resident permit system to ensure the safety of citizens.

M. Shaikh
Islamabad

IT IS A PINK DRAIN: The accelerating emigration of highly educated and financially independent urban women remains unaddressed by policymakers. Middle-class families allocate their scarce resources to the higher education of their daughters. Yet, upon entering the national workforce, these women encounter deep-seated systemic friction, unsafe public infrastructure and the persistent lack of workspace integration. Unlike traditional migrant labour, high-skilled female professionals tend to relocate permanently, taking their future generational wealth with them. Until our economic planners realise that the ultimate metric of a nation’s stability is the safety that it guarantees to its daughters, this ‘pink drain’ will continue, and Pakistan will continue to bleed its own future one suitcase at a time.

Aroon Rassani
Chelhar

DEATH OF AN ICON: Qamar Ahmed left this world recently at the age of 88. He was a great cricket journalist who covered about a thousand international matches, a record that may never be broken. He was a master storyteller, a fantastic friend and a widely travelled person. His calibre in cricket journalism could be equated with that of Sir Gary Sobers in cricket. With his death, a golden era in cricket journalism has come to an end. He will always be remembered for his candid views.

Zulfikar Ali Nizamani
Karachi

Published in Dawn, July 22nd, 2026