February 21, 2021
Dr Ajaz Anwar argues against the proposed shutting down of Walton Airport, a place that has long served the aviation enthusiasts besides playing host to countless mature trees and many nurseries on its periphery Photo by Rahat Dar
Not many would remember that the Lahore Omnibus, which plied its Leyland double-deckers, once comparable to any urban transport service in the world, was closed down primarily to grab the land of its depots. The yard along the Garden Town on Ferozepur Road too had been eyed by the entrepreneurs for long.
The project for a 500+-foot high block, to be funded by a party from the Middle East, had begun with deep excavations for its basement floors. The aviation authorities had their reservations and had refused to accord an NOC for it because of its planned height. For many years the abandoned site lay shuttered with warning signs. The motorists and other commuters had to avoid banging against its corrugated steel fencing and plunging
The hole left in the Cricket South Africa calendar by Australia’s decision to abandon their scheduled March tour of South Africa has strained relationships between the countries, but it’s time to move on.
February 14, 2021
Experience shows that political movements struggle to be effective at the later stages if the initial phases lack clarity about goals and approaches. This is the biggest challenge the PDM is facing
Photo by Rahat Dar
The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) has staged another power show in Hyderabad, Sindh. Leaders of the PDM have again criticised the leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) for “dragging the establishment into power politics” and vowed to get rid of the incumbent government soon. Nevertheless, political analysts have started arguing that the first phase of the PDM’s show of power has been “politically unproductive” on account of its “confused political strategy”.
February 14, 2021
A sculpture of Allama Iqbal in Gulshan-i-Iqbal Park sparked an outrage on social media that poured out into the real world. What does the chain of events teach us about ourselves, and what’s the way forward?
Our reaction to this piece of public art has been as problematic as the reaction by the government to instantaneously remove it. Photo by Rahat Dar
There is much to learn from last week’s events concerning the viral image of a sculpture of Allama Iqbal in Gulshan-i-Iqbal Park, Lahore. It brewed up quite a storm on social media. The images were accompanied by varying types of commentary as they did the rounds on Facebook, Whatsapp and Twitter. Much of the criticism seemed to have been aimed at the government or whichever administration was responsible. But if one endeavours to venture beyond the surface-level reading of the comments, multi-layered, often witty and deeper commentary on society itself can be seen.