Is Decline of the Fourth-Estate Here and Happening?

Distinguished Editor and Author of our times M J Akbar is removed from the Chairmanship of 'The Asian Age' and 'Deccan Chronicle'.

Media: The more things change...

Where only one Najam Sethi was picked up under the Sharif regime, over the past eight years, dozens have been picked up and tortured by Pakistan’s secret agencies.

Freedom of Expression

Was the media really free in Pakistan prior to November 3 2007? Is the media right to claim that it was being responsible and professional.

Musharraf and The Media

With the imposition of martial law, all TV channels suddenly disappeared. BBC and CNN and Fox all were gone.

The Press Ordinance and Its Repercussions

Did the dictator really shut down GEO News for the better 'interests' of Pakistan?

Magic of metaphors : Op-Ed Journey of Thomas Friedman

What is common between Detroit, Toyota, Jack Kevorkian, Mileage Standards and Assisted Suicide? Who would see such disparate elements as connected? Thomas Friedman!

Living Through a Revolution

An account of my personal experiences in Iran as it went through a transition from a monarchy to an Islamic Republic

Encounters With Depression

Depression, like love, is probably one of the most misunderstood words of English language. It has been a mystery for lay people and professionals as it means different things to different people.

Media under siege in Pakistan

At least 30 people were killed and more than 100 injured in clashes when suspended chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry arrived in Karachi to address a bar council ceremony.

Monar Jomban (part 3 of 4)

I have started distinguishing the girls now – all in their late teens and two of them obviously sisters. The two sisters are also the most vocal in gestures and words, very beautiful but in a loud sort of way – blood red glossy lips, mascaraed

Why Have This Train At All?

The complete Samjhauta Express scenario as it operates now, with a full night for the bad guys and their cohorts to create havoc between Delhi and Attari, as well as on the way back, is all about smuggling between India and Pakistan

Terrorists Strike Samjhota Express

Both India and Pakistan have condemned this act which appeas to have been timed to disrupt a high level meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries.

Have Muslims Become Caricatures?
Another point of view

Omar Marzauk, a Danish comedian, used to joke that he should have born a poodle, not a Muslim [in Denmark] “Dogs in this nation have their own burial grounds, and Muslims don’t,' he would say

The Minute After the Demise

Most people get casual headaches or heartburn, I suffer from random depression

A Certain Age

Everything one reads seems so dire. Endless implications for the fate of civilization and the way the world turns and is going to go in the next ten, twenty, fifty years.

How Free is ’free?’

The Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah's August 11, 1947 speech to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, in which he talked about freedom of religion, is no longer censored, as it was for years.

anti-depressant

come give me little deaths
stroke my pain
silence will come
encore

The State Strikes Back

Many expected this to take a bit of time but the State pulled a surprise this past Saturday. The Rangers moved in to occupy all PTCL installations in the country and the Army signals core moved in to take over operations so that the workers could no long

Conflict over Foreign Investment in Indian Press

Is it a threat of further invasion of our values, culture and life by foreign opinion makers or would it simply bring in financial investment, editorial quality and transparency. A heated debate amongst editors, publishers, and politicians in India.

Sughraa

Sitting in the faded lamplight, Sughraa mends her soul, the imaginary needle piercing in and out of the tarnished fabric.

• Communalism
• Arranged Marriage
• Gender Divide
• Racism
• Illiteracy
• Poverty
• Honor Killings
• Sexual Exploitation
• Child Labor
• Social Activism
• AIDS-HIV Awareness
• Drug Addiction

• Pakistan's Struggle for Democracy
• The Indian Story
• Indo-Pak Relations
• Personal Narratives
• Religion Today
• War on Terror
• Role of Media
• Call for Social Change
• Hold Them Accountable
• Environment and Us
• Way of Life

• Swat Calls For Civil Society to Act
• In Search of Political Will: Fight Against Militants in Swat
• In memory of the Swat valley
• The Nightmare Must End
• In Honor of the Heroes of Swat