Dhaka election crisis
Bangladesh

Dhaka’s Election Crisis

Over the years, the political landscape of Bangladesh, much like so many other developing countries, has been inhabited by turbulence, mainly due to the contentions between the two major political parties – the Awami League (AL) headed by Sheikh Hasina, and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chaired by Khaleda Zia.
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Emerging technologies

Inside the Shadows of AI & Need for Transparency

In Artificial Intelligence, the inability to fully comprehend the inner workings of a Deep Neural Network (DNN) or deep learning systems is called the ‘Black Box Problem.’ Being impenetrable and opaque, the AI Black Box does not explain how exactly artificial neurons transmit signals to transform
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Kashmir

Village Defence Guards: Local Militias in IIOJK

The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Hindu nationalist government in India has recently taken another step towards the suppression of Muslims in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK). The Indian government has revived the Village Defence Guards – hereinafter referred to as VDGs.” views

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Economic Affairs & National Development

Cost-of-Living Crisis: Here to Stay for a While!

With inflation hitting record-high levels, millions of low- and middle-income Pakistanis are reeling from a cost-of-living crisis. Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine in late February last year and the subsequent global commodity price hikes, costs of
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Madrassah Reforms

Pakistan’s Madrassah Conundrum

The madrassah sector in Pakistan constitutes a large segment of students seeking religious education. These madrassahs are often regarded as pursuing specific political and ideological agendas.​ Religious seminaries, especially unregistered and unregulated, usually enroll students from low-income, rural
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National Security

Pitfalls & Promises of a Pakistani Passport

Traveling is undoubtedly one of the most enriching experiences for people worldwide, as beautifully captured in a widely used adage, ‘Of all the books in the world, the best stories are found between the pages of a passport.’
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CVE report
National Security

Advancing Resilience: Unleashing the Potential of CVE in Pakistan

Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) involves a broad range of non-combative measures taken by governments and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) focused on curbing the various multifaceted drivers and causes of violent extremism. Over the years, the concept of CVE has gained significant traction in the global realm.
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Economic Affairs & National Development

Accelerating Enrolment in Conditional Cash Transfer Schemes?

Today, millions of Pakistanis find themselves struggling to make ends meet as Pakistan grapples with a challenging economic landscape. Against this backdrop, the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) recent report on Pakistan, while acknowledging the
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Economic Affairs & National Development

Our Sovereign Wealth

Sovereign wealth funds (SWF) are one of the most potent financial forces of the modern era, and having carefully studied SWFs through the prism of public value, I have come to see considerable merits in creating such institutions, but only in specific contexts.
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