Afghanistan: Takeaways from the Kunduz Offensive

On 28 September 2015 the Taliban launched an elaborate offensive on Kunduz city, capital of the Kunduz Province.  By 29 September 2015 – the Afghan National Unity Government’s (NUG) first anniversary – Kunduz city was overrun by the Taliban. The insurgents stormed the city from three different directions in a surprise attack, plans for which […]

The Plight of Pilgrims

The Hajj is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Makkah, and a compulsory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime. This year, a record 2 million people embarked on the journey of a lifetime; several Pakistanis people in the mix as well. For too many, this would be their last. The Pakistani Government has always had […]

Pakistan’s Energy Crisis

Pakistan is experiencing one of the worst energy crises in history. The country’s electricity network is struggling to fulfill its power requirements, wreaking havoc on people’s lives, destroying jobs and even affecting the children attempting to receive an education. Since 2011, electricity scarcities have exceeded 7,000 megawatts. These energy shortages cost around 2 percent of […]

Homeless: Please Help

home·less adjective (of a person) without a home, and therefore typically living on the streets.   I have a house. Not a home; a house. You see, one resides in a house. One lives in a home. One feels “at home” in a home. My house is in New York. But I’ve yet to find […]

Pakistan’s Struggle with Pediatric Heart Care

Pakistan is a nation of more than 200 million people. One of the problems associated with this number is the lack of attention given by the government to public healthcare; specifically focusing on the issue of pediatric heart care.   According to BBC news, Pakistan has unfortunately one of the highest rates of children born […]

On Corruption

You all may have heard of the phrase, “the rich just get richer and the poor just get poorer.” This is more than just a saying in the case of Pakistan. The situation in Pakistan and endless list of problems do not originate from the people at the lower part of the pyramid, but rather, […]

Wanted:Fiscal Change

If you’re reading this, you probably have a frame of reference when it comes to social issues. You bask in the glory of your culture, Pakistani or not. You can name the prime minister of your country, list some of the problems its government faces and you might even be passionate about using a justice-oriented […]

Drug Abuse in Pakistan

One of the largest yet often overlooked issues in the country of Pakistan is its drug abuse. The booming drug trade within the country has left areas that were once a comfortable marketplace for citizens to a violence-ridden wasteland. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reported in 2013 that 6.7 million Pakistanis […]

At the Heart of Healthcare

One of the most often overlooked issues in society is the well-established, direct link between poverty and health. This relationship can indeed be observed in the South Asian country of Pakistan, the sixth most populous country in the world. In Pakistan, the cycle of individual health status on the basis individual work is a vicious […]

India-Pakistan Relations in 2015: Through a Looking Glass

The year is about to end, and keeping true to tradition, it is time for reflection and recollection. However bad the situation may become, the end of year holds an optimism that the coming year would prove better than the previous. 2014 began on a positive note despite the cross-border firings, as India headed for […]