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.

Channelling the power of sports

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the tribal agencies of Fata have become a regular feature of daily news for all the wrong reasons. Crumbling under massive militancy, good news from the region are far and few. With such a gloomy scenario, the announcement that 50 sports academies will be established in Fata and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa by Malik Saad Memorial Sports Trust, in collaboration with the provincial government and USAID, is much welcomed.

Jail reforms: need of the hour

According to a recent news report, inmates at the Karachi women's prison are now learning the art of yoga as part of their daily routine. The project was initiated almost two years ago. Women prisoners have gradually shown interest and credited it with providing a calming influence in their lives while they remain confined behind the bars. This is not the only innovative initiative undergoing in the cells.

More provinces: tread this path carefully

Former Federal Minister Senator Raza Rabbani has urged Pakistan People's Party Co-Chairperson Asif Ali Zardari to be more cautious in his decision to pursue a demand for another province carved out of Punjab. At a time when the debate for new provinces has gained momentum, Rabbani's advice to President Zardari is sound and reflects the senator's decades of political experience.

The cost of oil drilling

On a planet primarily covered by water, marine life and polar ice caps are essential to maintaining our fragile ecological balance. However, unchecked and unregulated industrialisation has started tipping the balance against us. Deep-sea oil exploration is yet another industry, which has greatly damaged the native ecology. Latest reports of an underwater oil pipeline rupture in UK's North Sea has again raised the debate on the cost we are paying for offshore drilling.