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.The writer is a Lahore-based academic currently associated with Forman Christian College, a chartered university Dear Noorjehan Bilgrami, I am writing to express my profound admiration for your lifelong commitment to the preservation and revival of crafts, with block printing using natural dyes being one notable example. In a contemporary landscape often dominated by the “cult of the new”, your work serves as a critical intervention – a masterclass in what we might term the “Aesthetics of Continuity”. The history of block printing in South Asia is an intricate tapestry of ethnobotany and chemistry. Unlike synthetic dyes that coat the…

. That twenty people perished in Karachi on Tuesday and Wednesday as a result of rain that lasted barely fifteen minutes in most parts of the city is, by now, a familiar kind of tragedy — and that familiarity is itself the indictment. The westerly wave sent winds howling at 97 kilometres per hour through Mauripur and 90 along Sharea Faisal. It is not as though the storm arrived without warning. PMD had issued a forecast well in advance, and the government acted on it. Electricity supply was suspended across large parts of the city as a precaution and the chief…

The Asian Development Bank's announcement of a $10 billion financing strategy for Pakistan over five years arrives as welcome news for an economy showing tentative signs of recovery. With inflation dropping to 4.5% in FY25 and foreign reserves exceeding $21 billion, the government deserves credit for hard-won stabilisation. But this latest infusion of multilateral support — provided under Country Partnership Strategy featuring $20 billion funding over 10 years — also underscores Pakistan's dependence on external funding, with total external debt now exceeding $130 billion, nearly one-third of which is owed to multilateral institutions. The country has entered 23 IMF programmes since independence…

. The pause in fighting between Afghanistan and Pakistan on the eve of Eid is a promising development, and must graduate into a permanent ceasefire. The cessation of hostilities has apparently come under the good offices of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkiye, underscoring the need for tranquility in the region. The discord between Kabul and Islamabad is rooted in the audacity of the former to ignore the menace of terrorism. Thus came Ghazab Lil Haq. But the military operation is meant only to exterminate the terror nexus operating from the Afghan soil, and is in no way against the people…

.The writer is an academic and researcher. He is also the author of Development, Poverty, and Power in Pakistan, available from Routledge When assessing the costs of war, attention is typically directed toward human suffering, economic loss and geopolitical instability. Yet another major cost often goes unnoticed: the massive environmental destruction that conflicts unleash. War degrades ecosystems, accelerates climate change and leaves toxic legacies that continue damaging both nature and the people who depend on it. From nuclear devastation in Japan to the use of Agent Orange in Vietnam, the ecological toll of wars can be catastrophic and long lasting.…

Ryan Sutter reveals darkest moment of Lyme disease struggle Ryan Sutter has finally learned how to cope with his ongoing Lyme disease. The former “Bachelorette” star, who was diagnosed with the tick-borne infection in 2020, revealed that he is now “at a pretty good place.” Back in 2022, Ryan confessed that he was struggling with the condition, writing on his social media, “I’ve been made aware of conditions I’d never knew existed and of suffering in numbers that don’t seem possible.” Now, he told the outlet that the majority of his days are “good” with “a few bad ones sprinkled…

.The writer is a political, security and defence analyst. He tweets @shazchy09 and can be contacted at shhzdchdhry@yahoo.com The Iran war has stagnated. The two sides are in a state of pervasive attack and defence without causing a change in position, physically, politically or diplomatically, or what would constitute altering behaviour. Iran and Israel attack each other in situ and defend against it to the best of their remaining capability. True, people lose lives and businesses, and infrastructure will be rebuilt, but there is no substantive change in how these nations are constituted or think. Welcome to the ‘trench warfare’…

Photo: ‘Lord of the Rings’ star Elijah Wood makes major revelation about book trilogy Elijah Wood has finally given J.R.R. Tolkien classics a chance. As fans will be aware, nearly 27 years ago, the acting sensation starred in the spin-off Lord of the Rings movies. During an appearance on the Late Show, Elijah was asked by host Stephen Colbert, “I have this other rumour I need to get into with you. And I don’t want to put you on the spot here, okay? Is it true that you still haven’t finished reading The Lord of the Rings?” He admitted that he…

QatarEnergy will have to ​declare force majeure on long-term contracts for up to five years for LNG suppliesA hydrocarbon facility in Qatar. PHOTO: oilandgasmiddleeast.com Iranian attacks ‌have knocked out 17% of Qatar’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capacity, causing an estimated $20 billion in lost annual revenue and threatening supplies to Europe and Asia, QatarEnergy’s CEO and state minister for energy affairs told Reuters on Thursday. Saad al-Kaabi said two of Qatar’s 14 LNG trains and one of its two gas-to-liquids (GTL) facilities were damaged in ​the unprecedented strikes. The repairs will sideline 12.8 million tonnes per year of LNG…

Photo: Zach Braff looks back on ‘ego crushing’ experience with Michael Fassbander Zach Braff has recalled an embarassing experience with Michael Fassbander. Speaking to Dax on his Armchair Expert podcast, Zach shared that during a night out in Las Vegas with Scrubs co-star Donald Faison when he ran into Michael Fassbander, who gushed about his work and even expressed a desire to work together. “I was grabbed by the shoulders by Michael Fassbender.” “He grabs me, and before I can say anything, he says, ‘I love you.’ I go, ‘Oh my God.’ He goes, ‘I love your work. I love everything…