Ailia Zehra
India Today
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Past articles by Ailia:
Pakistan Army chief Bajwa's US visit: Are Islamabad-Washington ties in the middle of a reset?
Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa is in the US weeks before his retirement. Here's how his visit is being seen in the context of US-Pakistan relations. → Read More
Illegal funding: Imran Khan's hypocrisy stands exposed
Election Commission of Pakistan's unanimous ruling saying that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) received illegal funding from abroad is a damning indictment of the party's hypocrisy. → Read More
Debate on no-confidence motion on March 31. What next for Imran Khan?
After much ado, the no-confidence motion against Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was finally tabled in the National Assembly on Monday. What will be Khan’s fate? → Read More
Censorship at Faiz Festival: MNA Ali Wazir among 4 panelists barred from speaking at last minute
In a last minute change, four speakers who were scheduled to speak at the Faiz International Festival in Lahore on Saturday and Sunday were prohibited from speaking. MNA Ali Wazir, academic Ammar Ali Jan, singer and activist Taimur Rahman and former editor Rashed Rahman were informed by the organisers hours before the event that their … → Read More
‘Party politics not the only route to express progressive ideas’
a session titled “Is alternative possible?” was held at Faiz International Festival on Saturday to discuss the future of Left-wing politics in Pakistan. Panelists stressed on the need for unity among progressive quarters in order to challenge the status quo. Leftist politician and columnist Aasim Sajjad Akhtar said alternative systems, whether good or bad, have … → Read More
Punjab governor vows support to Russian companies wanting to invest in Pakistan
American firm Global Group One’s Marketing Director Yawar Syed, who is also representing various Russian companies for their ongoing and upcoming investment projects in Pakistan, met Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar at Governor House on Monday. The governor welcomed the Russian companies’ plans to invest in Pakistan and said that the Punjab government would extend … → Read More
Building dams not the only solution to water crisis
A general rhetoric about Pakistan’s water crises circulating in the mainstream media for the past few months is that the country will go dry by 2025 if something is not done at the earliest. This expression is followed by calls to build dams and other sources of water conservation. The biggest advocate for the construction … → Read More
Fixing the faulty justice system
Pakistan’s criminal justice system has long been blamed for failing to deliver justice to the weaker groups and lacking the capacity to ensure fair trials. Last month, Supreme Court ordered the release of 21-year-old man named Muhammad Adnan who was arrested 11 years ago when he was charged with trafficking drugs — at the age … → Read More
Stand up for the victims of blasphemy law
Supreme Court reserved its judgement on blasphemy convict Aasia Bibi’s appeal against her death sentence last week and the verdict is likely to be announced in the coming days. Extremist group Tehreek-e-Labbaik, which evidently enjoys impunity across the country, has not only warned of launching country-wide protests but also threatened the judges of consequences if … → Read More
Govt urged to act on threats to ANP veteran Mian Iftikhar
Awami National Party (ANP) leader and former provincial minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain, who has been receiving threat alerts from the security agencies for the past few weeks, has urged the federal government to act against militants. Talking to Daily Times, he said he was informed by the provincial Home Department as well as representatives of … → Read More
Criticism of the military is not treason
The dawn of “Naya Pakistan” has set in, but some things in this country remain unchanged. Censorship on media and crushing of dissent is in full swing and there does not seem to be an end to it (not anytime soon at least) because the new government appears to be close to the usual suspects … → Read More
After change of government in Punjab, fate of pro-women projects uncertain
With the end of Pakistan Muslim League- N (PML-N) government in the Punjab, the future of a number of projects initiated by former Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif has become uncertain. Among these are the Chief Minister’s Special Monitoring Unit (SMU) and a Strategic Reforms Unit (SRU), a think tank formed in 2014 to introduce reforms … → Read More
Art student depicts Pakistan’s cultural diversity by reimagining currency notes
Twenty-two-year-old art student from Fatima Jinnah Women University (FJWU), Rida Mushtaq redesigned Pakistan’s currency as her final year thesis project. It was displayed at FJWU during the second week of August. The idea was to showcase Pakistan’s cultural diversity and the artist researched about Pakistan’s existing currency and some foreign currencies for the purpose. Pictures … → Read More
‘Expansion of new media in Pakistan has empowered the youth’
Journalist and Daily Times Editor Raza Rumi said the Pakistani society is moving in the right direction and the youth today is more politically and socially aware than ever before. He expressed these views while addressing the launch ceremony of his book ‘Being Pakistani’ at Books n Beans Café in Lahore on Monday. “Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad … → Read More
Reclaiming Jinnah's vision of civilian supremacy
As the nation celebrates its 71st independence day today, politicians and generals will be seen addressing ceremonies and speaking at great length about what kind of Pakistan Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah had envisioned. Each political leader will term himself the true representative of the country’s forefathers and reiterate that the nation needs to carry forward … → Read More
Despite political awareness, women voters not free to make independent decisions
Although political participation of women in Pakistan has increased in the past few years, presence of women in public spaces during political activities remains limited even in the provincial capital of Punjab. A survey conducted by Daily Times in Lahore’s NA 131 constituency, prior to the general elections held on July 25, found that female … → Read More
Jawad Ahmad vows to empower middle class by standing up to status-quo
Singer and Barabari Party Pakistan Chairman Jawad Ahmad says he aims to fight the status quo by ‘giving voice to the middle class’. The singer-turned politician is contesting today’s general elections from three constituencies against mainstream political leaders Shehbaz Sharif, Imran Khan and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. from NA 132, NA 131 in Lahore and NA … → Read More
After CJ’s statement, Sindhi activists pessimistic about recovery of missing persons
Lahore: Since August last year, there has been a sharp increase in enforced disappearances in Sindh, but the issue remains under-discussed. When civil society held protests against the mysterious abductions across the country, the protesters were allegedly intimidated by security personnel. A hunger strike camp set up in Islamabad as part of the same protests … → Read More
AWP candidate Ammar Rashid vows to work on revival of the Left
Awami Workers Party (AWP)’s Ammar Rashid, who will contest the general election from Islamabad’s NA 53, vows to revive leftist politics in the country by bringing back ideological strength to politics. With no alternative to the right wing forces that have monopolised the electoral arena for long, the participation of left-leaning youth activists in the … → Read More
Khadija hopeful for justice as CJ takes notice of convict's acquittal
Chief Justice Saqib Nisar took suo moto notice of convict’s acquittal in stabbing case of 23-year-old law student Khadija Siddiqui. According to a press release issued by the Supreme Court on Tuesday, Justice Nisar summoned the case’s record at the apex court’s Lahore registry on June 10. The development comes a day after Shah Hussain, … → Read More