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Wednesday, May 13, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Pakistan Fighting Off U.S. Aid
The killing of Osama Bin Laden on May 2 in a covert operation by the United States has prompted strident calls by many in Pakistan to see it as a lesson for the country to stand on its feet, say no to foreign aid and shrug off the title "hired gun of the U.S."
PAKISTAN: Nearly Osama’s Neighbour
It was far from home for an eight-year old, about 400 km from the eastern city of Lahore, to be exact. But Abbottabad was home. My father lived there; he was born there, in that house which my grandfather built. Now that the dust and uncertainty about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden there seem to be settling, I think back on what was, and what might have been.PAKISTAN: Rape Victims Left Feeling Hopeless
A recent verdict by Pakistan’s Supreme Court has left rape victims feeling dejected and helpless, as lawyers warned it could set a bad precedent for other such cases in the future.PAKISTAN: Osama’s Women: Who Are They, What Do They Know?
Pakistan authorities announced they would let the United States interrogate the widows of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, provided their countries of origin grant permission to do so.PAKISTAN: Watching Where the Drones Now Go
"They should wrap up and leave!" says cricketer turned politician Imran Khan, who has been waging a campaign to put an end to the U.S. and NATO presence in the region.Pakistan Responds With Disbelief
The once elusive Osama bin Laden may be dead, but the way he was killed, the secrecy surrounding the covert mission, and the haste with which the body was buried at sea have provided grist for the rumour mill.
Osama Killing Shakes Up Pakistan
Shabbir Hasan, 49, was woken up in the dead of the night to the sound of the "roar of a really low-flying helicopter." Hasan, a businessman, has lived in the hill station in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province all his life. The sleepy town is known for its educational institutions - and military establishments.PAKISTAN: Vaccinators Get a Shot in the Arm
The questions came like something from a medical student’s exam: What is routine immunisation? When should a vaccine be destroyed? What is the best temperature for storing a vaccine? At which angle should the needle be held while administering a pentavalent vaccine? And which five diseases does a pentavalent vaccine prevent?
PAKISTAN: Health Workers Without Maternity Leave
Shazia Kiran is seven months pregnant with her third child and worried she might be unable to juggle her work and the responsibilities of caring for a newborn. But what worries her more is that she has no maternity benefits, and she has not received her salary as a Lady Health Worker (LHW) for the last three months.PAKISTAN: Seafarers Tread Dangerous Waters as Piracy Rises
Sanauddin Baloch never expected the joyous welcome from his family and neighbours when he returned to Pakistan last month, after being held captive at sea by Somali pirates for almost a year.PAKISTAN: Higher Education Hits a New Low
University students and teachers have taken to the streets in a bid to prevent provincial governments from taking over the reins of higher education in Pakistan.
PAKISTAN: And Then There Was Light
Hasan Ibrahim’s tea stall is the busiest place in the sleepy, sand-dune covered village of Sholani, proof of the economic and social change the arrival of electricity has ushered in.
PAKISTAN: Citizens and NGOs Step Forward to End Illiteracy
The man known as ‘Master Ayub’ holds classes for free, between three and seven o’clock. His classroom is a public park, and his students are street children six to 16 years of age who otherwise would be picking trash, begging, or slowly becoming petty thieves.
PAKISTAN: Unsung Heroines Bring Healthcare to Villages
At eight in the morning 30-year-old Sultana Solangi steps out of her house ready for her day’s work. Wearing a black gown that shows only her eyes, she is shod in comfortable slippers and lugs a large black bag.
PAKISTAN: Deaths of ‘Unwanted’ Babies On The Rise
The graves at a cemetery in Moach Goth have no epitaphs, no verses from the Koran, not even the names of the deceased. The only inscription on the small wooden signs that serve as headstones is a number and the date of burial. The latest one is Number 72,315.WOMEN’S DAY: Pakistan Is Not for Single Women
Sobia Aslam, in her forties and twice divorced, often feels she should get married a third time.
PAKISTAN: New Fears Over Malnutrition
"She was just skin and bones, even crying seemed a huge effort," Hajiani says of one-year-old Samreen Tauqir, when she saw her for the first time two months ago.
PAKISTAN: Injecting Disease With Medicine
Once every two weeks, 45-year-old Perween Riaz enters a place with a sign outside that says "Ghazi Medical Centre" where she gets injections for headache and nausea from someone people know is not a real doctor.PAKISTAN: Killer Sets Off National Introspection
The United States is putting pressure on Pakistan to release jailed American Raymond Davis, who has confessed to killing two men. But some Pakistanis want their government to demand concessions from the U.S. in exchange for Davis's freedom.Pakistan Sees Too Much Change
The Muslim world is reeling from the fall of Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak, but the effect is unlikely to ripple through Pakistan despite people’s disenchantment with their leaders, officials and academics say.
PAKISTAN: Divided Between the Mullah and the Model
A spat between a Pakistani actress and an Islamic leader has emerged as a vivid revelation of a deep split across the nation between different sets of values.« Previous Page — Next Page »
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