Growing polio challenge

The Tank district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has reported yet another case of the wild poliovirus, bringing the total tally of cases this year to 24. But the recorded number on paper does not always reflect reality within communities. According to the WHO, up to 90% of people infected with the virus remain asymptomatic, meaning they experience […]

Climate resilience starts with accountability

Northern Pakistan has witnessed a troubling surge in climate induced disasters over the past few years. From flash floods in Gilgit-Baltistan to landslides in Chitral, the region’s fragile infrastructure is repeatedly overwhelmed. Roads are blocked, bridges swept away, and water channels disrupted, leaving communities isolated and vulnerable. Hundreds of precious lives have been lost to […]

Pakistan, Russia vow to strengthen ties in key sectors

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Russian President Vladimir Putin held an important meeting on Tuesday in Beijing ahead of upcoming events in China. The two leaders pledged to strengthen bilateral relations across trade, energy and regional connectivity. Shehbaz praised Putin’s role in fostering closer relations, saying, “Relations between the two countries have improved during the […]

881 dead as Pakistan reels in devastating floods

Torrential monsoon rains and surging rivers have unleashed widespread flooding across Pakistan, leaving 881 people dead, over 1,000 injured and around a million displaced, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). “The crisis deepened after India released large volumes of water into the Sutlej without formal notification,” officials said. The move triggered high alerts […]

Danish artist’s a-peeling take on gender sells for $12,869

Banana artwork by Danish artist Thyra Hilden, resembling a vulva, was sold for $12,869 at the Enter Art Fair in Copenhagen, it emerged on Tuesday. The piece, deliberately priced at a fraction of its so-called male counterpart — Maurizio Cattelan’s $120,000 “Comedian” banana — has raised not just eyebrows, but has prompted conversation about gender equality in the […]

Pakistan’s Economic Census: Progress, blind spots and contradictions

For the first time in more than two decades, Pakistan has produced a national economic census. It counted over 7.1 million establishments and geo-tagged nearly 40 million structures, making it the largest digitisation exercise in South Asia. Government officials have presented it as a landmark step toward building a reliable statistical frame of the economy. […]