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Jan 13, 2025 | 
thefridaytimes.com | Zalmay Azad
Terrorism is once again on the rise in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, with alarming frequency. Reports of attacks targeting security personnel, particularly in the southern districts, dominate the news daily. These troubling developments compel one to question why this province remains a persistent victim of terrorism and what underlying factors are fueling the resurgence of militancy.
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Oct 7, 2024 | 
thefridaytimes.com | Zalmay Azad
As unfortunate as it is, Pakistan's "democracy" is stuck. It has not evolved or adjusted itself to the needs of the body politic. Our democracy is an illusion that makes us tolerate a system that is not truly democratic, and may never become so. The kind of superficial democracy that we have is part of the problem, that lacks substance and provides legitimacy to a weak political culture.
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Sep 19, 2024 | 
thefridaytimes.com | Zalmay Azad
When Ali Amin Gandapur was elected as the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), many political commentators criticised this decision of Imran Khan. They questioned his leadership capabilities, especially when discussions arose about his potential to lead a province as complex and diverse as KP. A narrative emerged early on that Gandapur was more aligned with the military establishment than his political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and its vision.
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Jul 11, 2024 | 
thefridaytimes.com | Mohammad Nafees |Sanchita Bhattacharya |Zalmay Azad |Sabih Ul Hussnain
The title of this article might seem odd and irrelevant at first, but as you delve deeper, you will see that certain indicators within our country suggest otherwise. To relate this title to our current situation, let me first take you back in history and highlight key events that plunged post-World War I Germany into a political crisis, eventually leading to the rise of Adolf Hitler.
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Jun 25, 2024 | 
thefridaytimes.com | Zalmay Azad |Meher Rana |Hasan Zafar |Saad Hafiz
In recent months, the southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) have seen a dramatic and alarming rise in militant activity. The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a formidable insurgent group, has reasserted its presence, effectively undermining the state's control in these regions. This resurgence has coincided with the tenure of the Ali Amin Gandapur-led provincial government, raising critical questions about the government's ability and willingness to counter this growing threat.
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Jun 25, 2024 | 
thefridaytimes.com | Zalmay Azad |Sabih Ul Hussnain |Asif Mohmand |Raza Rumi
In recent months, the southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) have seen a dramatic and alarming rise in militant activity. The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a formidable insurgent group, has reasserted its presence, effectively undermining the state's control in these regions. This resurgence has coincided with the tenure of the Ali Amin Gandapur-led provincial government, raising critical questions about the government's ability and willingness to counter this growing threat.
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May 20, 2024 | 
thefridaytimes.com | Zalmay Azad |Shakil Durrani |Mohammad Ali Mahar |Adeel Daniel
In South Waziristan, a district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that borders Afghanistan, suspected militants recently targeted a girls' school in the village of Karikot, near Wana City. This marks the second such attack this month. The overnight explosion damaged a newly constructed schoolroom, but fortunately, no casualties were reported.
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May 6, 2024 | 
thefridaytimes.com | Hasan Zafar |Zalmay Azad |Junaid Jahangir |Ejaz Haider
Michel Foucault, the 20th-century French philosopher, once said that absolute freedom of speech was never available at any given time. The post-Cold War era witnessed the emergence of notions such as equality, human rights, and free speech, alongside other principles. These ideals found resonance within the purportedly free societies of the West, with their democratic ethos and free-market economies.
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May 6, 2024 | 
thefridaytimes.com | Asif Mohmand |Zalmay Azad |Yousuf Nazar |Shahzad Naveed
As winter wound up in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) this year, it had one last sting to deliver. Torrential rains and hailstorms in March and April, usually witnessed during peak winter, damaged crops, houses, and civil infrastructure and cost as many as 73 lives. For some, the damage from the rains and the hail reminded them of the rains and super floods of 2022, which wiped away large swathes of crops and infrastructure across KP.
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May 3, 2024 | 
thefridaytimes.com | Zalmay Azad |Raza Rumi |Tahir Imran Mian |Agha Ghazanfar
Reduced tolerance for online dissent, shutting down mobile networks on election day, throttling of internet access, forced suspension of social media platforms, attacks and harassment of journalists and bloggers, including the murder of four journalists, significantly eroded the parameters of general free speech and dissent in Pakistan over the past 12 months while enhancing the risks for media freedoms.
