Editorials

  There you have it. The significant-most agenda on Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar’s list, these days, is purging of social media and journalism from ‘trash.’ If any initiative can rival the issue of the JIT, it is this. What comes as a surprise is that despite the decades of social media and independent electronic journalism …

The issue of the Dawn Leaks has been ‘settled,’ leaving quite a bitter aftertaste in the political broth. The sitting government has dealt with the Dawn Leaks commission report through the subsequent rolling of the heads as necessary measures to appease the growing suspense and tension arising from within the cadres of power. Notwithstanding the …

“Journalists should ensure that they are not perceived as trying to influence the outcomes of a political conflict,” writes Professor Julianne Schultz, describing the role and duties of journalists in democratic states. Professor Schultz, founding editor of Griffith Review, an Australian journal for current affairs, describes in her book ‘Reviving the Fourth Estate: Democracy, Accountability …

Mashal Khan, a 23-year-old student of Bacha Khan University, Mardan, was brutally lynched on April 15 by a violent mob of educated people -including some of the teachers of the same university – on suspicion of posting blasphemous material on social media. The issue was highlighted by local and international media after which the state …

For the past decade, Pakistan has been waiting for freedom – the freedom for the people to see records that belong to them. The worn-out Freedom of Information Ordinance of 2002 still controls access to federal-level government information. This law fails to establish broad access to government records, a detailed procedure for requesting them and …

Data security is the most significant concern for individuals and organisations around the world today. International governments and organisations are devoting considerable financial and human resources to ward off cyber crime. Simultaneously, some governments pour funds to gather data from the world in an effort to create the surveillance hegemony. This information is shared, sold …

Recent days have seen a debate about the code of conduct for social media users in the country. Strict action has been demanded by leaders against blasphemous content and that threatening terror or the state. The ruling of Islamabad High Court’s Judge Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, the Punjab government directives and the interior minister, Chaudhry Nisar …

An important question about the 39-country Islamic Military Alliance has been resolved – recently retired Pakistan Army Chief Raheel Sharif will lead it, at the request of Saudi Arabia. Many other crucial questions about the alliance remain, however. Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif confirmed Gen Raheel’s appointment in a recent TV interview, and said it …

The show of aggression among politicians is no news in Pakistan. In the history of national politics there is rarely any moment when we saw politicians following an ethical code of conduct and practicing the politics of coexistence while agreeing to disagree. World over, the democratic tradition has allowed politicians and their followers to compete …

Pakistan’s governing system is degenerating rapidly and threatens to cave in, because the state’s pillars are leaning the wrong way. Each one is needed to support a democratic society, but none are holding up their share of the weight. The parliament that is supposed to make laws for the betterment of people has become a …