Dr Zafar Khan Safdar

Map is not the reform
- By Dr Zafar Khan Safdar
- September 7, 2026
Pakistan may be preparing to redraw its political map, but a new map will not automatically produce better government. The debate over new provinces,…

Honours without honour
- By Dr Zafar Khan Safdar
- September 2, 2026
A national honour is not supposed to be a gift basket. It is not a retirement present, a political courtesy, a reward for friendship,…

When state loses its reach
- By Dr Zafar Khan Safdar
- August 31, 2026
A state does not collapse when a militant seizes a police station. It begins to collapse when ordinary citizens stop believing the state can…

Born into a burning building
- By Dr Zafar Khan Safdar
- August 28, 2026
AT 6:45 Wednesday morning, a fire reportedly began after an air-conditioning compressor exploded in the nursery of PIMS Hospital in Islamabad. Sixteen newborns were…

The electricity that never reaches KP
- By Dr Zafar Khan Safdar
- August 23, 2026
KHYBER Pakhtunkhwa has rivers powerful enough to light Pakistan. Its waters feed Tarbela, Ghazi-Barotha and a chain of hydropower projects that together supply roughly…

The unfinished promise of Pakistan
- By Dr Zafar Khan Safdar
- August 14, 2026
EVERY nation has two birthdays. The first marks its independence. The second begins when it fulfills the ideals upon which that independence was won.…

Selling the sacred
- By Dr Zafar Khan Safdar
- August 10, 2026
DIGITAL economy has found a market for almost everything, including the most intimate corners of human life. Marriage, once regarded as a deeply personal…

The art of taxing the powerless
- By Dr Zafar Khan Safdar
- August 7, 2026
THERE is an ancient principle of just taxation, articulated across every serious tradition of political philosophy from Ibn Khaldun to Adam Smith, that a state…

Local government: The missing tier
- By Dr Zafar Khan Safdar
- July 28, 2026
PAKISTAN suffers from a shortage of government where it matters most. Power remains concentrated in Islamabad and the provincial capitals, while the institutions closest…

Police: The first line of defence
- By Dr Zafar Khan Safdar
- July 22, 2026
PAKISTAN’S national security debate has long been dominated by the armed forces, border management and counterterrorism operations. Yet recent attacks across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan…







