Farid Ahmad

I look out the window at the beautiful mountains, the clear blue sky, and the wonderful winter sunshine. I see cars driving along the road – from the luxury four-wheelers, to the economy small cars. Busy people. Peaceful people. People going about their daily lives. People working hard on their jobs to feed their families, to fulfill their ambitions, to make something of their lives, to raise their children, to love and to live.

Then I hear the news of some terrible incident somewhere close by. The contrast between what I see all around and what I see in these isolated incidents is jarring.

And I think to myself, we’re peaceful, friendly people – we deserve better.

Adil Najam

I write this post on May 1. Labor Day in most of the world.

We have written about workers and work, and about labor Day before. It is a good day to celebrate, because every day should be labor day. It is also good that the government made a big deal of this being Labor Day, that it used it to make high profile and visible political proclamations, and that it used it as an appropriate occasion on which to announce its new labor policy.

All of this is good. It is also good that the labor policy does focus on substantive provisions, including those for social insurance and old age benefits (even if on a voluntary basis). The center-piece of the new policy, and today’s big headline, is that the minimum wage has been increased for Rs. 6000 per month to Rs. 7000 per month.

Let us first establish one thing. The fact that the government has done this is good. It is clearly a step in the right direction. Well done.

Now, lets please take a moment to think about what this means.

Adil Najam

The question mark in the headline is a real question mark. I am not suggesting that there should have been no fuss about Pakistani cricket star Shoaib Malik marrying India tennis star Sania Mirza. I am wondering why there has been as much fuss as there has.

I ask this because I really would like to know why you think it has been so.