Another gaffe by PTA

Different departments of the government, it seems, cannot stay out of controversy for long. The past week was rife with news about the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and its directive to all mobile companies to implement a system to censor messages. The idea was for the service providers to block all text messages which contained any obscene word. The whopping 1695 words which the PTA considered obscene were part of the list which was leaked online along with the directive.

The fall of Haqqani

Ambassador Husain Haqqani's resignation on Tuesday, amidst allegations of a secret memo seeking the US' help to avert a coup in return for a string of promises, may have helped temporarily control the whirlwind crises developing over the last few weeks in Pakistan. Yet by the looks of the political climate in the country, the scandal is far from over and may haunt the corridors of power till the next elections.

Murder of Hindu doctors

Eid-ul-Azha is an occasion of generosity and sacrifice. It is a day to commemorate Hazrat Ibrahim AS' unconditional obedience to Allah as he showed willingness to sacrifice his son in His name. This occasion serves as a reminder to all Muslims that Islam's spirit encapsulates the ideals of sharing one's blessings.

Another day of shame

From that fateful Sunday at Lords' on August 29 last year, when shocks jolted the entire cricket fraternity as the spot-fixing reports appeared in the now defunct News of the World, the four accused finally met their fate.

Going for the militants' jugular

During a recent press briefing in Islamabad, the Capital City Police Officer Malik Ahmed Raza Tahir claimed that they had important leads on the gang responsible for the kidnappings of Shahbaz Taseer and American national Warren Weinstein. CCPO Tahir also revealed that this group was planning on abducting the children of the affluent class for high ransom.

Dragging Pakistan Railways to oblivion

It is tragic to witness that one of the giants of public sector entities (PSEs), Pakistan Railways, is on the brink of demise owing to the mismanagement and corruption that have brought it to this critical juncture. However, some hope now appears on the horizon as the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) has taken up this matter.

The plight of lady health workers

Recent news reports highlighting ongoing protests by Lady Health Workers (LHWs) due to non-payment of salaries, as the government initiated the 106th Polio Drive, are bad news for all the stakeholders. Pakistan, unfortunately still fighting to eradicate the menace of polio, needs as many resources it can possibly gather to fight not only polio but all its plethora of public health-related issues.

Legislators' suspension

Transparency and accountability are cornerstones of any democracy. But it appears the current nascent democratic setup has yet to catch up on such ideals. Recently, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) suspended membership of 231 legislators of the National Assembly, Senate and provincial assemblies for not submitting the details of their assets and liabilities by the deadline as prescribed by the law.

Lights out for miners in Mastung

On Thursday, October 13, we were reminded yet again of the hazards attached to the coal mining industry in Pakistan. At least five people were killed and several injured due to a gas explosion in a coal mine in Mastung district of Balochistan.

Barbarism in the name of tradition

Not a week goes by without news of another young girl being married off to an older man as compensation for a family feud. Most recently, according to press reports, a panchayat in Vehari, Punjab, decided to give a five-year-old girl to a 40-year-old man as punishment for her father eloping with the man's sister. Ironically, the father had already left with the woman, and the girl and her mother, who was grieving her husband's infidelity, were left behind to bear the consequences.

Overhauling the Anti-Terrorism Act

Ten years since Pakistan came in the grip of ever-increasing terrorism, the longstanding issue of amendments to the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) of 1997 is far from resolved. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, last Tuesday, directed the Law and Interior ministries to go back to the drawing board and report back with a fresh proposal to amend the ATA.

Senior citizens' rights

The International Day of Older Persons was observed on Saturday, October 1st, by over 10 million aging citizens in Pakistan. Yet as the day was marked with the usual seminars, aging Pakistanis were still unsure whether they'll be given their due rights or not since currently there is no legislative arrangement ensuring their rights and providing concessions.

Justice for Salman Taseer

The verdict is in. Almost nine months after the assassination of former Governor Salmaan Taseer, an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) has awarded former Police Commando Mumtaz Qadri, his self-confessed killer, the death penalty on two counts of murder and terrorism.

Wake-up call on road safety

For more than 30 families, the date September 26th will forever be etched in their minds as the parents' worst nightmare came true. A bus full of young students and a few faculty members from a private school in Faisalabad catapulted out of control when its brakes failed. The crash, which happened at the Kallar Kahar salt mines on M2 motorway, took the lives of at least 37 people, including more than 30 children, teachers, the vice principal, the bus driver and the conductor.

Guilty as charged

Pakistan's cricket continues in its topsy-turvy ways as two instances of good news were offset with one long-expected confession. Merely days after Pakistan whipped the Zimbabwe cricket team in the ODI series, the news of Aleem Dar's hat-trick of David Shepherd Trophy for Umpire of the Year award at the ICC Awards ceremony sent a wave of positivity among the cricketing fraternity in the country.

'Export' of heritage

A recent incident involving sale of a fasting Buddha statue at the prestigious Christie's fine arts auction house in the UK has brought focus on the illegal artefacts export from Pakistan. As reported by newspapers, a Unesco employee noticed a Christie's advertisement for the sale of this Gandhara relic, believed to be excavated from Pakistan in the early 1980s.

Carnage in Mastung

The spate of sectarian violence, continuing in Balochistan for over a decade, has recently increased in frequency of attacks and their intensity. A most brutal example of this was seen on Tuesday, when unidentified gunmen intercepted a bus near Mastung, which was carrying Hazara Shia men to Iran on a pilgrimage. Operating in a most ruthless and calculated manner, the assailants told the pilgrims to disembark, identified them through their identity cards, segregated the Hazaras and mercilessly gunned them down.

PIA: safety lapses

Year 2011, thus far, has turned out to be quite a nightmare for the national carrier. Bad news has followed the state-run airline like a plague. Whereas earlier this year stories circulated about union politics and passenger inconvenience vis-a-vis flight delays, the current round of news can cause grave consequences for the unsuspecting passengers who choose to fly PIA.

Bridging the trust gap

In what seems like an alarmingly oft-repeated scenario, the doctors at Sobhraj Maternity Hospital were assaulted by attendants of a patient who had just delivered a stillborn child. According to various media reports, the relatives of the lady, after attending the baby's funeral, came back to the hospital and physically attacked the women doctors on duty.

Punjab government’s populist vision

Multiple stories, published in various newspapers, about Punjab government’s much-touted yellow cab scheme cast dark shadows on its success. According to latest reports, the provincial government has once again lowered the criteria for eligibility of applicants for the scheme. The decision was reportedly made after it was discovered that most of the applicants did not meet the current criteria. The government has now waived the requirement of having a valid driving license for one year prior to applying for a Public Service Vehicle (PSV) license.