No cheer in the Holy Land

No cheer in the Holy Land

For the first time in living memory, there was no tree, no celebration and very few worshippers. The streets of...
Published 01 Jan, 2024 09:02am

Constitution at 50

The most violated government document in Pakistan — the Constitution — celebrated its first 50 years on April ...
Published 01 Jan, 2024 09:01am
A Jiyala Mayor

A Jiyala Mayor

Murtaza Wahab, the mayoral candidate of the Pakistan Peoples Party, was elected Mayor of Karachi in June. This was...
Published 01 Jan, 2024 09:00am
The women in green

The women in green

While the men’s cricket team couldn’t really achieve much in 2023, it was left to the women sporting the green...
Published 01 Jan, 2024 08:59am
A time for despair?

A time for despair?

While 2023 saw great excesses and polarisation, little will change unless the general elections bring about a more stable order.
Updated 01 Jan, 2024 10:30am

Shown the door

With the repatriation of illegal immigrants, Pakistan has faced questions about balancing humanitarian responsibilities with national security concerns.
Updated 01 Jan, 2024 10:19am
Back from the brink

Back from the brink

While default was staved off in 2023, inflationary pressure remained high.
Published 01 Jan, 2024 08:52am

Books galore

IT was encouraging to see a huge number of people turn up at the recently held five-day international book fair in...
Published 01 Jan, 2024 07:39am
Tv Hits, Cinematic Flops

Tv Hits, Cinematic Flops

The last 12 months will be remembered as the year of TV hits, flop films, and the departure of showbiz legends.
Published 01 Jan, 2024 07:39am

Success — and snafu

ON the very day they met for their crucial summit meeting where the two agreed to “re-engage and de-escalate...
Published 01 Jan, 2024 07:39am
The Gaza inferno

The Gaza inferno

The Israeli assault on the besieged Strip eclipsed all other geopolitical events of 2023.
Published 01 Jan, 2024 07:39am

The privatisation mantra

STATE-owned enterprises (SOEs) frequently dominated the news cycle throughout the year 2023, mostly for all the ...
Published 01 Jan, 2024 07:39am
Newsmakers

Newsmakers

FARAH Gogi, whose real name is Farhat Shahzadi, is the one reason why former prime minister Imran Khan’s shiny personal record is
Updated 16 Feb, 2023 01:39pm

The great deluge

UNTIL September, Manchhar Lake was brimming with floodwaters from Balochistan and upper Sindh. Raging water flows...
Updated 16 Feb, 2023 01:39pm

The disappearing dollar

EVEN by Pakistan’s own standards, the year 2022 was the toughest one in 75 years for its wobbly economy as it...
Updated 16 Feb, 2023 01:38pm
Ukraine bog, Bali bonhomie

Ukraine bog, Bali bonhomie

THUCYDIDES, the Greek philosopher, predicated more than two millennia ago that a rising power was destined to clash...
Updated 16 Feb, 2023 01:38pm

Israeli hegemony, tumult in Iran

THERE was more to the Middle East than the 2022 football World Cup in gas-rich Qatar — the first Arab state to host the mega event
Updated 16 Feb, 2023 01:38pm
Trouble on Olympus

Trouble on Olympus

That is where the year ended — in stalemate, and with each side determined to out-manoeuvre the other.
Updated 16 Feb, 2023 01:38pm
Averting default

Averting default

The whole year Pakistan spent trying desperately to avert default and manage crippling shortages of foreign exchange.
Updated 13 Feb, 2023 04:19pm
Streaming time!

Streaming time!

STREAMING services, like Netflix, continued to prosper as Covid-induced restrictions kept people away from theatres...
Published 01 Jan, 2022 08:06am
Running Away from covid?

Running Away from covid?

IF the world was not being too nice to its inhabitants, with Covid and everything else signifying misery, private...
Published 01 Jan, 2022 08:02am
The Newsmakers

The Newsmakers

PAKISTAN’S struggle with technology continued in 2021. And it was personified by nothing more than did TikTok, the popular video
Published 01 Jan, 2022 08:02am
Itching For A Fight

Itching For A Fight

THE PTI government has been constantly itching for a fight over the years, throwing punches at anybody and everybody...
Published 01 Jan, 2022 07:52am
Tough going tougher

Tough going tougher

IT was a rather tough year for households across Pakistan. And it kept getting tougher all the time. Putting their...
Published 01 Jan, 2022 07:49am
Mideast: Massacre And Détente

Mideast: Massacre And Détente

THE low-level talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran in Baghdad were perhaps the only positive development in the ...
Published 01 Jan, 2022 07:42am

The year of the pandemic

IF there was ever a moment in modern history when life as we know it came to a halt, it was the beginning of the ...
Published 01 Jan, 2021 08:40am

A year of two halves in Pakistan

IN March, when China and Europe were hit hard by the virus, Pakistan reported its first coronavirus death; at an...
Published 01 Jan, 2021 08:38am
Newsmakers

Newsmakers

ZINDAGI TAMASHA: Though cleared by the censor boards, the movie never got an official release in the country. Winner of the Busan
Updated 10 Jan, 2021 12:30pm
PTI versus PTI

PTI versus PTI

The ruling party was more under pressure owing to its own shortcomings rather than anything done by any other entity.
Updated 03 Jan, 2021 01:59am

Transparency at stake

THE accountability juggernaut continued to roll on in 2020. Its path was uneven, for even as it bore down...
Published 01 Jan, 2021 08:05am
A Motley Alliance

A Motley Alliance

While there were visible signs of anxiety among the rulers, not many see the PDM achieving much success in its stated targets.
Updated 03 Jan, 2021 02:00am
Not an ‘exceptional’ year

Not an ‘exceptional’ year

WHEN it comes to Sindh, just about everything is seen through a particular political lens by the rest of the ...
Published 01 Jan, 2021 07:48am
A fluctuating graph

A fluctuating graph

Coming in the middle of an improving situation, the crisis of 2020 was different from anything seen in national history.
Updated 03 Jan, 2021 02:02am
Recognition Blitz

Recognition Blitz

For most part of the year, the Saudi silence on the growing ties between the Arabs and Israel was deafening until IT came out with
Published 01 Jan, 2021 07:32am
Back to a bipolar world?

Back to a bipolar world?

The China-US relationship is like a bad marriage that must continue due to the vested – and common – interests.
Updated 03 Jan, 2021 02:01am
Newsmakers: When India went bonkers

Newsmakers: When India went bonkers

IT was a year when India, by its own standards, went bonkers. From revocation of Article 370 to Citizenship (Amendment)
Published 01 Jan, 2020 08:34am
Triumph of Greed

Triumph of Greed

Bahria's modus operandi has been the elephant in the room for a long time even though its activities were no secret.
Updated 02 Jan, 2020 08:14am
National: Cornered but not quite

National: Cornered but not quite

COURTS, parliament, hospitals, tentative agreements, accusations of last-minute betrayal – yet it is moot if 2019...
Published 01 Jan, 2020 08:14am
A Dysfunctional ECP

A Dysfunctional ECP

THIS was a happening year. Indeed, it was. But under the debris of all the important economic and political...
Published 01 Jan, 2020 08:12am
Judiciary: Treason now accountable

Judiciary: Treason now accountable

AT last a conviction for high treason has been recorded and, hopefully, Article 6 of the Constitution can no longer...
Updated 01 Jan, 2020 10:59pm
It was More of the same at NAB

It was More of the same at NAB

DURING his first press conference after being appointed the chief of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in ...
Updated 27 Jan, 2019 03:16am
Year of the fog

Year of the fog

The year will be remembered as the year Dar’s growth rates unravelled.
Updated 21 Jan, 2019 11:08pm
In search of a legacy

In search of a legacy

Justice Nisar created headlines not just in courtrooms but by visits all across the country.
Updated 06 Feb, 2019 03:50pm