Provision: Protection of Property Rights No person shall be deprived of their property save in accordance with the law. No property shall be compulsorily acquired or taken possession of except for a public purpose and with compensation as determined by law. Nothing in this article prevents the state from imposing
Meaning No one should be a judge in their own cause. Explanation A person cannot preside over a matter in which they have a personal interest, as it compromises impartiality. Example: A government official cannot decide on a dispute involving their own business—it would be a clear conflict of interest.
If the hope of giving is to love the living, the giver risks madness in the act of giving. Some such lesson I seemed to see in the faces that surrounded me. Needy and blind, unhopeful, unlifted, what gift would give them the gift to be gifted? The
اب مرے دوسرے بازو پہ وہ شمشیر ہے جو اس سے پہلے بھی مرا نصف بدن کاٹ چکی اسی بندوق کی نالی ہے مری سمت کہ جو اس سے پہلے مری شہہ رگ کا لہو چاٹ چکی پھر وہی آگ در آئی ہے مری گلیوں میں پھر مرے شہر میں
“Please, bring me a cup of chai.” “Chai?” The waiter frowned. “We’ve got English tea, madam.” “Okay then, bring me a British tea.” He gave me a cringe smile—one of those tight-lipped grins laced with polite embarrassment. I ignored the weight of his judgement and turned my attention to the
Pakistan is one of those countries where justice is served partially—only to those who either have enough power to influence the system and turn the tables in their favour easily or to those who exhaust years of their lives running to and from courts in pursuit of justice. The country’s
She Said No. He Killed Her Anyway. Seventeen. Sana Yousaf was just seventeen. She didn’t get to grow up. She didn’t get to graduate, make mistakes, dream, or breathe freely. Instead, she bled to death on her bedroom floor. Why? Because she dared to say no. Because a man—her cousin,
Every day in Pakistan, from crowded school staff rooms in Karachi to bustling office cafeterias in Lahore, a familiar scene plays out. A woman opens her handbag and pulls out a stack of steel tiffins. The food is lovingly packed, with chapatis still warm, sabzi seasoned just right, and a
In the Foucauldian sense, the state’s ultimate power lies not in law, but in the management of life and death – in deciding who may live “freely” and who must be regulated, watched, and, to the best of its intentions, contained. This week, the Punjab government, displaying a meritorious sense
Who Does the Dishes? She posts a Women’s Day story with a quote by Audre Lorde. Then she clears the table. Her brother is still scrolling in the lounge. No one expects him to rinse even his own glass. This is where feminism in a desi household splits into two
For as long as anyone can remember, saying no has been a social sin. So much so, in fact, that it has become one of those things that doesn’t discriminate between genders. Though—like everything else—society has two different methods of exercising control over each. For men, it becomes a guilt
Meaning Ignorance of the law excuses no one. Explanation A person cannot avoid legal responsibility by claiming lack of knowledge about the law. Example Constructing a building without required permits is unlawful, even if the builder was unaware of the regulations. Importance Being informed of the law is essential, as
Provision: Right to Property Every citizen shall have the right to acquire, hold, and dispose of property in any part of Pakistan, subject to the Constitution and any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the public interest. Meaning: Article 23 guarantees the right of every citizen to legally own and
Why did I write it down? In order to remember. Of course, but exactly what was it I wanted to remember? How much of it actually happened? Did any of it? Why do I keep a notebook at all? Although I have felt compelled to write these things down since
تم اپنے عقیدوں کے نیزے ہر دل میں اتارے جاتے ہو ہم لوگ محبت والے ہیں تم خنجر کیوں لہراتے ہو اس شہر میں نغمے بہنے دو بستی میں ہمیں بھی رہنے دو ہم پالنہار ہیں پھولوں کے ہم خوشبو کے رکھوالے ہیں تم کس کا لہو پینے آئے ہم
i’ve been eating poetry again. you can tell from the ink on the edges of the cutting board, from the way the cumin spills beside commas. i forget what i came here to cook. the counter is stained with metaphors. a bookmark sticks to the butter knife. sometimes, i
The decorations have decked every room in your house—strings of marigolds and fairy lights cascade down the walls, people are coming and going, and the hustle and bustle of shaadi prep has taken over all the women in your family. It’s a sensory fever dream. You’re sitting at a dholki,
In the villages of Punjab, Heer wasn’t read. She was remembered. Her story lived in the mehfils, echoed from the mouths of old men under peepal trees, and spilt from the dhol of the fakir walking barefoot down dusty roads. She wasn’t something to be adapted. She was something to
Dear Reader, Welcome to Pakistani society — where roti, kapra, aur makaan remain elusive for the common man, women struggle with domestic violence, and floods swallow entire cities. Amidst these crises, Pakistani men, too, suffer a grave injustice: their masculinity is in peril. Almost endangered — like a house of cards blown
In a bid to progress digitally, the government of Pakistan has introduced digitisation of many different tools for the general public. One example is City Islamabad, an application that allows online tax payment, among other features. However, behind the narrative of digital progress lies a dark reality: state-backed apps are
If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is
Provision: Safeguards as to Educational Institutions in Respect of Religion No person attending any educational institution shall be required to receive religious instruction, or take part in any religious ceremony, or attend religious worship if it relates to a religion other than their own. Religious communities are allowed to establish
Provision: Safeguard Against Taxation for Purposes of Any Particular Religion No person shall be compelled to pay any special tax the proceeds of which are to be spent on the propagation or maintenance of any religion other than his own. Meaning: Article 21 protects individuals from being forced to financially
On the plane I have a dream I’ve left half my torso on the back porch with my beloved. I have to go back for it, but it’s too late, I’m flying and there’s only half of me. Back in Texas, the flowers I’ve left on the
What if political and social decadence reaches our doors and we find our feet taking their last steps towards any real moral, social, or political elevation? Look at the lines of a female student from the University of the Punjab at a recent scholarship distribution programme: “My father, a retired
The majority of individuals belonging to the so-called “Islamic Republic of Pakistan” have, at least once in their lives, been forced to adapt to the precepts of Islam. The culture of imposing the mother religion on one’s offspring has been in practice since time immemorial. Following the lineage of these
A young man walked down the corridor of the Prime Minister’s House in December 1974, carrying the secrets of one of the world’s most notorious and controversial inventions—one that even its original inventor came to regret. Abdul Qadeer Khan, often hailed as the face of Pakistan’s nuclear programme, is not
JT: Thank you for speaking with Jarida Today, SSP Sahib. To begin, could you tell us a bit about your background and what drew you to the police force? SSP Muhammad Naveed: I’m Muhammad Naveed, currently serving as SSP Investigation, Lahore. I joined the Police Service of Pakistan in 2007
How did the language of Faiz Ahmed Faiz — the poet whose verses echo across continents, whose words have been translated into dozens of languages — become something we punish children for speaking in schools? How did the language sung by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, whose voice brought tears to
In the spring of 1929, while the Roaring Twenties danced its last waltz and jazz spilled from speakeasies across America, a quiet bay colt with a name like poetry—Blue Larkspur—stepped onto the racetrack and changed everything. He wasn’t flashy. He wasn’t temperamental. He didn’t come with drama. But he came
If you find yourself half naked and barefoot in the frosty grass, hearing, again, the earth’s great, sonorous moan that says you are the air of the now and gone, that says all you love will turn to dust, and will meet you there, do not raise your fist. Do
Provision: Freedom to Profess Religion and Manage Religious Institutions Every citizen shall have the right to profess, practice, and propagate his religion. Every religious denomination and every sect thereof shall have the right to establish, maintain and manage its religious institutions. These rights are subject to law, public order, and
