 The creation of a new province for administrative purposes is the

need of the hour, even if it is formed on the basis of ethnicity.

 Those with wisdom will pay attention to those on the peripheries.

Otherwise, resentment may grow towards the centre.

 Anthropogenic activities are core reason behind such catastrophes.

 The spate of violence began with the assassination of Ali Raza Abidi
late last year, with the former MQM leader gunned down outside his
home.

 A sectarian motive is one of the angles being considered for the as-
yet-unsolved murder.
 When the Rangers-led Operation Cleanup began in late 2013, Karachi
was a cauldron of ethnic, sectarian and political rivalries — the wages
of years of disastrous policies that had sabotaged the interests of the
city’s residents for political gain.

 but there is irrefutable evidence that some of those criminal elements

are returning to their old hunting ground. They must not be allowed
to spread terror in Karachi again.

 As prime minister, it is also incumbent on him to not allow

political differences to hamper united action on key issues
if there is to be progress.

 The talk of undoing the 18th Amendment and plans to significantly

cut the provincial share under the next NFC award aren’t helping the
cause of the federation, or mending centre-province relations.

 . The PPP and other opposition parties smell a conspiracy

to bring back a unitary system curbing the autonomy of
the federating units.
 After years of being on the fringes since the invasion of the Americans
and their allies ousted them from power, the Taliban are now gaining
acceptance as legitimate stakeholders in the Afghan political process.

 But a new realisation is dawning: the government needs at least a

working relationship with the bureaucrats.

 It is believed by many medical experts that the Punjab government is

not taking the issue as seriously as it ought to be, despite the dangers
posed by three high-risk districts in the province: Lahore,
Rawalpindi, and Dera Ghazi Khan
 SINDH has always prided itself on maintaining interfaith harmony.
 all of whom batted and bowled superbly to keep the rivals at
bay.
 IN fragile societies such as ours, ethnic and sectarian issues
have the potential to flare up.
 The Larkana killings follow on the heels of the murder of
Irshad Ranjhani in Karachi last week.
 They have been met with a hail of bullets but have not been deterred.
 There have been several instances of students, academics and
intellectuals choosing the path of armed struggle, mainly because
they see no other way to resist the atrocities unleashed by the Indian
military machine.
 Brutality will only beget more violence. It is only through the path of
negotiations involving Pakistan, India and the Kashmiris that the
stand-off can be resolved
 AT a time when the roll of war drums is resonating at fever
pitch from across the border, Prime Minister Imran Khan
has made a sensible statement.
 The prime minister has made accountability the cornerstone of his
governance; in the interest of transparency, the resident of the huge
Banigala estate — and all the expenses its maintenance must entail —
should explain how his yearly income tax worked out to less than
Rs10,000 per month.
 Any attempt to silence critical voices on digital platforms will send a
negative message to the world about the health of Pakistan’s
democratic system, and play into the hands of anti-democratic forces.
 The people of Pakistan and the media have also emphasised that they
reject war and want peace to prevail in the region.
 A meaningful and sustainable ratcheting down of tensions will only
occur when the leadership, media and influential elements in society
in each country focus not only on what is required of the other
country but also on the actions and introspection necessary in their
own.