The Karachi Paradox
According to the latest Global Liveability Index published by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Karachi has secured an enviable 170th place out of 173 cities, comfortably ahead of only a few war-ravaged and catastrophe-stricken urban centres. Quite an achievement for the country’s commercial capital, and a sobering reflection of a city where crumbling infrastructure, failing public services and civic neglect have become the norm rather than the exception. The irony is hard to miss: the city that generates a substantial share of Pakistan’s revenue can scarcely provide its own residents with the most basic urban amenities. Which naturally raises an awkward question: Where does Karachi’s money actually go?
Cockroaches Bite Back
The Cockroach Janata Party has done what many seasoned politicians could not—it has turned an insult into a political movement. After India’s Chief Justice allegedly described unemployed young people as “cockroaches” in May 2026, Generation Z embraced the label with remarkable enthusiasm, taking to the streets in protest almost overnight. If social media is any measure of popularity, the party seems to have left the BJP eating dust, with over 22 million Instagram followers compared with the ruling party’s roughly 9 million. The Indian authorities, apparently unimpressed by this display of democratic creativity, responded to a march on Parliament with tear gas, mass arrests and forceful crowd-control measures. Yet, as often happens, the crackdown appears to have fuelled rather than extinguished the movement, with more than one million volunteers reportedly signing up and thousands more joining every day.
Too Minor to Feature?
Veteran TV actress Sania Saeed recently criticised TV channels and producers for routinely excluding Pakistan’s religious minorities from mainstream storytelling, as though they simply do not exist. Her question was refreshingly simple: if Pakistan is home to people of different faiths, why are they virtually absent from our television screens? She has a point. Judging by most Pakistani drama serials, religious minorities have somehow vanished between the script and the screen. If television is supposed to reflect society, ours has become remarkably adept at reflecting only the parts it finds convenient.
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