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By Sikander Hayat Lyari is considered one of the most dangerous places in Karachi due to ubiquitous gang activity and a thriving narcotics industry; certain areas of the town are literally controlled by gangs and municipal authorities have no power. Hence, the town has also been the site of many police operations. The two biggest gang leaders in Lyari were Rehman Dakait and Arshad Pappu, who were the most-wanted criminals in Karachi. Rehman Dakait died in a police operation and allegations about that police encounter are still flying around. Lyari is considered as the most backward area. Few schools, no proper hospitals, poor water system, not much facilities, broken roads are a feature of this area and made it the most dangerous place in Karachi.Last few days have seen the level of violence in Lyari go up to previously unseen levels. There has been so much bloodshed in Lyari because of a dangerous mix of politics, gangland activity, narcotic trade and ethnic animosity between the Bal...

By Sikander Hayat 7th National Finance Commission Award has been signed into agreement today in the port city of Gwadar, Baluchistan. Punjab and Federal Government have given up some of their share to meet the needs of Baluchistan and NWFP. This is a historic occasion for Pakistan because it is first time that all federating units have reached consensus without any major disagreements. A new formula has been devised to distribute resources among the centre and the federating units. Under the award population will be given 82 per cent weightage, poverty 10.3 per cent, revenue collection five per cent (2.5 per cent revenue generation, 2.5 per cent revenue collection) and area 2.7 per cent. Under the new NFC Award, the federation met the demand of the provincial governments for a greater share in national resources. The provincial share of the divisible pool would increase from 47.5 per cent to 56 per cent in the first year of NFC and 57.5 per cent in the remaining years of the Award. Un...

By Sikander Hayat Why is everyone so hell bent on removing a democratically elected president by any means possible. Is it not the job of the people of Pakistan to decide after another three years to give their verdict on the performance of this president. Zardari has made mistakes but has spent eleven years in jail and nothing has been proved against him yet. Please give democracy a chance so that people from Sindh, NWFP and Balochistan can keep their trust in the federation. PML (N) & PML (Q), both Punjabi dominated parties, are asking for Zardari's resignation on moral grounds but what about houses in Park Lane London and businesses in Spain. Now Nawaz Sharif is trying to pretend that he is the cleanest person in Pakistan. They are all corrupt but it is only the job of the people to tell who should be running the country. I am not a fan of Zardari, I know that he is president because all notable Bhutto’s are dead but I cannot second guess the choice of Pakistani people. Army...

By Sikander Hayat Asif Ali Zardari is the democratically elected president of Pakistan. People of Pakistan knew about the NRO but still voted for his party. People like Khwaja Asif of Muslim League (Nawaz) are being hypocritical by asking for Mr Zardari’s resignation because his own party leaders were dismissed twice for corruption in the importing of scrap metal and unfair use of power. The same Nawaz Sharif who is untiring in his demands for the rule of law ordered the attack on Supreme Court of Justice Sajjad Ali Shah when his party member on his orders attacked to stop a hearing of a case about the misuse of powers. People like Khawaja Asif must understand that even though his party leader is a billionaire, he still pays about 5000 rupees worth of tax. If Zardari is a crook, than they all are and Sharif brothers are anything but innocent. People who talk about the removal of Asif Ali Zardari must understand is that they are playing with fire by making demands of him and his party w...