By Niaz Murtaza

Pakistan is probably the country whose demise is predicted most frequently and nervously. David Kilcullen, an American-based guerrilla warfare expert, wrote the most apocalyptic (and inaccurate!) obituary back in 2009: collapse within months. Political scientists, wiser than narrowly-focused warfare experts, are less impetuous. However, while acknowledging that Pakistan has a final, fast diminishing opportunity of a few years (decades for some) to undertake reform, their overall outlook is still pessimistic.

By Nadir Hassan

At first glance, the second iteration of the Karachi Literature Festival (KLF) was a rerun of the first, with the same venue and the same authors talking about the same books. A closer look at the programme, however, showed that this was a continuation, not a retread. Sure, most of the authors from last year were making a repeat appearance but the line-up had more than tripled. With more than 100 authors on the slate, there was something for everyone even if, with three sessions running simultaneously, it wasn’t possible to get more than a sampling of the panels on offer. If the KLF continues growing at this rate, it may soon need to add another day to its schedule.

By Arif Hasan

Since 1970, I have been involved with development-related issues, both at the national and international level. This involvement has been in land, housing, physical and social infrastructure and research into the dynamics of urban growth, especially related to what are known as 'lower-income groups'.

By Kalsoom Lakhani

The India-Pakistan World Cup semi-final in Mohali, India is in just one day (cricket cup, World Cup, it’s a big cup…), and my Facebook and Twitter feeds are oversaturated with anxiety-riddled , nail-biting discussion about the match. News agencies and leaders alike are gleefully using the term “cricket diplomacy” to describe the well-timed restart of high-level talks between the two countries.

By Stuart White

I'm back from the March 26 demo. Kathy, my partner, came home a bit earlier to do an interview with Five Live. The interviewer's agenda was pretty typical of how many mainstream media outlets seem to have been presenting the demo today: he wanted Kathy to get into an argument with someone from UK Uncut about direct action and 'violence'. Turned out to be a total non-argument, since both Kathy and UK Uncut strongly support non-violent direct action.

By Rakesh Mani

Despite the posturing of our politicians and patriotic czars, the reality is that the lowest sections of Indian and Pakistani society are united by their shared sorrows. The education received by a child is still largely determined by their birthplace and their socio-economic background.