The Friday Times

The Slow Death of Pakistan’s Test Cricket

In May 2026, Bangladesh whitewashed Pakistan 2-0 in a two-Test series on home soil.

#TestCricket

The Friday Times

Pakistan’s Electricity Tariffs Need A Redesign, Not Another Surcharge

Pakistan’s electricity sector debate has become a debate about trust in the public sector.

#ElectricityTariff #Economy

The Friday Times

The Theatre Of Viral Governance

There is a peculiar arithmetic to governance in contemporary Pakistan, one that defies every textbook on public administration and reduces the grand edifice of the state to a crude calculus of views, shares, and retweets.

#ViralGovernance #Editorial

The Friday Times

BISP Is Not Welfare, It Is Pakistan’s Social Contract

For millions of families across Pakistan, the Benazir Income Support Programme is not a policy debate.

#BISP #SocialWelfare

The Friday Times

When A Question Becomes A Threat: What India’s Media Panic Reveals About Its Democracy

One question – just one – posed by a Norwegian journalist to India’s visiting prime minister has triggered a political and media meltdown that says far more about the state of Indian democracy than any official government statement ever could.

#India #Democracy #HumanRights

The Friday Times

Ismaili Imam Prince Rahim Aga Khan Arrives In Islamabad On Maiden Visit To Pakistan

Prince Rahim Aga Khan, the 50th Spiritual Leader of the Shia Ismaili Muslim community, arrived in Islamabad on Wednesday on his first visit to Pakistan since succeeding his late father, Prince Karim Aga Khan, last year.

#PrinceRahimAgaKhan #Islamabad

The Friday Times

Rethinking Institutional Care For Children In Pakistan

There is a growing realisation in Pakistan’s child protection and child rights sector that institutional care is not the best environment for children.

#ChildCare #SocialWelfare

The Friday Times

Pakistan’s Middle Power Aspirations Are A Balancing Act Between Diplomacy And Domestic Crisis

The month of May brought significant military and diplomatic gains for Pakistan this year, as well as the last.

#ForeignPolicy #Diplomacy

The Friday Times

The Culture Of Silence Around Violence Against Women

A policeman is putting a headscarf on the head of a woman, her hair dishevelled, face bruised, and eyes solemn.

#ViolenceAgainstWomen #WomenRights

The Friday Times

Reading Rasool Bakhsh Palijo As Progressive Literary Critic

The path of the critic is no straight road, but a spiral ascent forged through a lifelong devotion to the word.

#RasoolBakhshPalijo #LiteraryCritic