Europe Solidaire Sans Frontières
It has been a year since Pakistan was shaken by an unprecedented upheaval of university students across the country. Organized under the banner of the Students Solidarity March, students took out rallies in over 50 districts to express their anger against a broken education system and the (...)
This year the activities around “Students’ Union Restoration March” are expected on Friday the 27th November.
On 23rd November the federal education minister announced the closure of educational institutions for one month due to the increasing cases of Covid-19. The recent activities around (...)
The indicators of a severe debt crisis were already present in Pakistan long before the Covid-19 crisis hit. Coordinated efforts by CSOs all round the world are needed to ensure that countries like Pakistan are not left alone dealing with its impact.
The indicators of a severe debt crisis were (...)
Recent political developments remind us that locating the power centre is often harder than holding it accountable. The bravado shown by the opposition parties during the All Parties Conference lost much of its steam as news began circulating of ‘secret meetings’. Various narratives emerged, (...)
NO country likes to be told what is wrong with it but responsible states do not dismiss criticism without assessing the element of truth contained in adverse comments on their performance. Pakistan is not among such countries. It either ignores whatever is said about its performance by friend (...)
IT is official now: Cambridge O-A levels and International Baccalaureate will not be touched by the PTI’s Single National Curriculum (SNC). This is fantastic news for those who once feared privileged education for the rich was in danger. Parents paying monthly fees between Rs15,000 and Rs45,000 (...)
Journalism is starting to flourish online in Pakistan through alternative and independent platforms
Never the freest in the world in terms of media for most of this century or the past one, Pakistan is now a dismal case study in eroding freedom of expression and right to information – two (...)
Medical workers are falling ill in Pakistan at alarming rates as the country registers at least 100,000 new coronavirus cases since the lockdown was lifted.
KARACHI — Pakistanis stricken by the coronavirus are being turned away from hospitals that have simply closed their gates and put up signs (...)
Before Jamshed Eric plunges deep below Karachi’s streets to clean out clogged sewers with his bare hands, he says a little prayer to Jesus to keep him safe.
The work is grueling, and he wears no mask or gloves to protect him from the stinking sludge and toxic plumes of gas that lurk deep (...)
“If you do not condemn colonialism, if you do not side with the colonized people, what kind of revolution are you waging?”
Ho Che Minh
For all of the outrage that many rightly feel, it is not surprising that the Pakistan state’s inherently authoritarian streak has come to the fore in the midst (...)
In the grand scheme of things in Pakistan, the PTM is a breath of fresh air, yet a drop in the bucket.
“In February, Arman Luni, a PTM activist from Balochistan, died after being beaten by police officers following his participation in a peaceful protest in the Lorelai district”, records a (...)
An energetic national student movement re-emerges in Pakistan
November 2019 marked the 51st anniversary of the student revolts which led to the overthrow of Pakistan’s first military dictator, Ayub Khan, in 1968. Beginning in Rawalpindi’s Gordon College, the uprising soon spread across the (...)
The student mobilization on 29 November 2019 had a deep echo across Pakistan . Affirming solidarity with all the discriminated and exploited sectors of society, it became a rallying point for a wide range of social and progressive movements in a country and a state undermined by numerous (...)
A week later, it appears that the purpose of the Students Solidarity March is served. The concerns raised by the students and organisers have forced everyone to sit up and take notice; a debate has started at several forums
Photos by Rahat Dar
It was a sunny, expectation-laden, afternoon at (...)
The Student Solidarity March called for justice, not only on campuses but for all marginalised segments of society
In early November, a video clip of student activists at the Faiz Festival in Lahore went viral. In the video, the students chanted a revolutionary poem and played the bongo drums, (...)
Why have we spent the last four years, presumably the most crucial time of our lives, organising at various campuses across the country and its administered areas on issues pertaining to student life, gender, education, class, ethnicity, race, etc.?
Why have we wasted our time in searching for (...)
I recently met a student of mine who is from Fata. He was awarded a scholarship by the HEC that was abruptly discontinued this semester due to budget cuts. Forced to freeze his semester, he is now desperately looking for jobs in Lahore.
So many bright and enthusiastic students having to fight (...)
A year ago, Imran Khan was sworn in as the newly elected prime minister of Pakistan. It appeared Khan had cemented his legacy as someone who could achieve the impossible, fitting into the carefully cultivated narrative around his cricketing and philanthropic achievements. The headlines were (...)
“There is no alternative to a constitutional, civilian, democratic and peoples’ rule.”
New Delhi: More than 100 members of the Pakistani civil society – intellectuals, writers, journalists, lawyers, activists and trade union members – have released a statement expressing concern at the direction (...)
Reportage from Pakistan on how a civil-rights movement is challenging Pakistan’s status quo. The article was nominated for True Story Award 2019.
What kind of freedom is this? You are deaf to our voices. What KIND of freedom IS this? Our young men keep getting killed. What KIND of freedom IS (...)
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