Deadline for appointing new CEC passes with no sign of action by govt – Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The constitutional deadline for the appointment of new chief election commis­sioner and two Election Com­mission of Pakistan members exp­ired on Wednesday, with no action from the government in sight. The five-year terms of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja, Sin­dh Member Nisar Durrani and Baloch­istan Member Shah Muhammad Jatoi ended on Jan 26,…

Read More

Afghan opium prices soar after poppy ban – World

VIENNA: Opium prices in Afghanistan are soaring and handing “massive profits” to criminal groups following a poppy cultivation ban imposed by the Taliban authorities, the United Nations’ drugs watchdog said on Wednesday. In 2024, opium prices reached $750 per kilogram, a tenfold growth from $75 per kilogram in 2022 when the Taliban government banned poppy…

Read More

Eroding bases of power – Newspaper

THIS is not how it works. The biggest folly that any wielder of power can fall prey to is to take their own power for granted. It does not work that way. The world is not made of Lego blocks that it can be made, disassembled and remade into whatever shape one fancies. Trying to…

Read More