Writing on the Wall

Indus delta is also known as the vertebra of Pakistan’s ecosystem and economy, Indus delta is 5 th largest in the world and home to the 7 th largest mangrove forest. It forms where the mighty Indus River flows into the Arabian Sea, creating a complex system of swamps, streams and mangrove forests. A triangular piece of fertile land is created when the fast-flowing river deposits rich sediment as it empties into the sea. However, dam construction and mismanagement of water by the government have significantly reduced river flows, causing the delta to shrink, and threatening both human life and its ecology. The absence of flowing freshwater allows seawater into the delta, destroying the soil and the aquifers, making it unfit for humans, animals, or crops. Last year, The Third Pole reported that around 1.2 million people from the delta have already migrated to Karachi. For years, the communities in the delta have reported the loss of livelihood, an increase in disease, and forced migrat

It has become a routine matter in our lives every year that we literally sweat for Eid moon sighting. Every year Ramadan starts and ends with confusion. Its actually quite ironic that in this digital age in which there are countries trying to explore the darker areas of space and we the muslims of India and pakistan still depend on a 70 year old feeble cleric to resolve this obligatory matter for us . The matter is daunting and distressing now as this year we witnessed a feud here in pakistan between the govt minister and clerics. The science ministry lead by ‘not so popular’ Fawad Chaudry declared Eid few hours before the route hilal committee who gets salaries for the only job they almost fail every year to do so. This year it was more baffling for them as they took almost 5 hours to announce the Eid in a perplexing manner as the cleric leading the committee looked fragile and unclear while announcing the festive day. And if that wasn’t enough , a sectarian rift started immediate

The entire world is fighting against coronavirus while we the people of Pakistan are still trying to overwhelm the bedlam which has been widely observed in the country. The situation looks very grave as the total number of cases has reached up to 43158 with 923 deaths.   So far, the only death cases media news channel reports are related to the novel coronavirus and this has literally pissed the people off. They are being forced to question/ponder as if nothing else is happening in Pakistan; no accidents, no robberies, no murders , or general cardiac-related deaths, suddenly everything just vanished. Meanwhile, the government claims that we are dangerously heading towards an emergency but instead of taking stringent measures it has removed the lockdown which is very disturbing for the people. On the other side, people are alleging of being cheated regarding their coronavirus tests. Several videos have surfaced on the social media in which people can be seen claiming that private

Be careful, you are not immune!  The federal cabinet has approved the most-wanted decision of easing restrictions in the lockdown after May 11. The ease in lockdown brings good news for small business owners like garment/cloth sellers, shoe shop owners, mechanics, and spare parts shop owners. Earlier, we also witnessed that the lockdown was not truly being observed by the general public as they can be seen on the roads and in the grocery shops without following the SoP’s recommended by the government. It was rumored that the government will be forced to open the markets and transport in the coming week. But, unfortunately, the government’s policy of ease in restrictions has been misinterpreted by people as complete removal of lockdown. While the cabinet has only allowed a few, specific industries to reopen to prevent an economic collapse, but many people have taken it as a green signal to return to their pre-lockdown routines. The traffic has returned to the streets, busin

The corona virus has caused ample damage around the world leaving almost every country distraught economically and socially. Ironically, the health sector was on the front line facing brunt of the situation. With all its worrying effects, the virus has steered the governments around the world to commence damage-assessment in various circles. Taking stock of the situation, Unicef has pointed out the alarming number of missed vaccination targets as a result of the lockdowns. In Pakistan, an already suffering vaccination campaign against the polio disease has been further debilitated. Unicef has reported sporadic outbreaks of preventable diseases such as measles and diphtheria in Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Pakistan is a large country with high childhood mortality and low immunization coverage rates as every year, more than one million children miss out a full course of the most basic vaccines here hinting that it is difficult to find children missing out during the anti-

Nobody knew that a time will come upon this generation which will force the people to quit all the things they were once addicted to.   The advent of Ramadan 2020 fetched concerns, anxieties and reminiscences from the past.   Ramadan in Muslim countries is like the biggest festival time which is full of colors, cuisines, rituals and joys. It has a different sense and significance for people of different age groups. The old fellows find this holy month an opportunity to seek clemency and salvation with a series of sacraments.   The month of Ramadan literally lure people towards the mosques for daily prayers, they keep fasts throughout the month, offer congregational Quranic recitations and sit in the Aitkaf (people sit in isolation for 10 days and pray). The children, on the other hand, perceive this as the month of festivities.   As they hear that Ramadan is here, they start compelling their parents for shopping and toys and obviously the scrumptious cuisines are a perfect d