Editorial Periscope | May 2020 Pakistan has moved from a complete lockdown to a ‘smart lockdown’, as like other developing countries, it faces a catch...

India's biggest ally US has labelled India as the country with the steepest and most alarming deterioration in religious freedoms. Such circumstances provide Pakistan a golden opportunity which it must immediately seize. The country must set the wheel of the international system in motion through a multi-prong strategy, argues a graduate of Harvard Law School, U.S.A.

Corona Pandemic compelled Pakistani system to come up with a new institution. National Command & Operations Center (NCOC) has emerged as quintessential Pakistani institution of crisis management.

"It is a challenge, but this is our job. We understand our problems but we can't make excuses. Now is the time that country needs us. Now is the time that the spirit of public service, which has been inculcated in us in the past so many years, must come up to the challenge."

Economic analyst and businessman argues that the job of the government has just started. If imposing a lockdown in a country like Pakistan was difficult, kickstarting the economy in comparison will be a nightmare. However, with growing protectionism and falling oil prices, this is an opportunity in disguise which Pakistan must fully embrace. The government and the private sector must cooperate to ensure that the country is back on track.

Mian Kashif, Chairman FIEDMC, one of Pakistan's leading businessmen; is positive about what the future holds for the country. After successful visits to Europe and the UK, he sees immense potential for bringing investments into the special economic zones like Allama Iqbal Industrial City, Faisalabad, energizing Pakistan’s industrial production and exports.

Jehanzeb Zafar, CEO Askari Life Assurance sees this pandemic as a watershed moment for insurance companies in Pakistan. He sees health and life insurance products becoming more important as people relate even more post-Covid to the fickleness of life.

An investment banker elucidates on why 2020 58 is not going to be the year for business but for survival. Humans will have learned to adapt to these new changes. Global socio-economic politics has been severely impacted by the virus.

Dean of the Pardee School of Global Studies, Boston University and former Vice-Chancellor LUMS shares his insights into how the coronavirus pandemic is changing perceptions in the world over the efficacy of the democratic system and highlights the importance of good governance in these challenging times.

Pakistan's ex-Foreign Secretary believes Trump's erratic style of calling out China is likely to remain, due to his re-election bid in November, as Trump tries to cover up his disastrous handling of the pandemic. China’s late response to the issue has been overcome by its role as a supplier of medical equipment around the globe.

Srinagar-based journalist, Rashid Ahmed, draws a parallel between the lockdowns imposed around the globe and in Kashmir. The near 9-month silent revolt against the lockdown in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir has sent shockwaves around the world due to India’s human rights violation in the region, however, any real change is yet to be seen. As days pass, the misery of the Kashmiris piles up.

Herodotus who is deemed to be the “father of history” set the precedent of writing history as a flowing and engaging narrative. He told history in a chronological order, which was very much a form of art. He relied upon his observations but also myth and folklore, hence, history, as an academic discipline, was certainly viewed as spectacular art through Herodotus’ lens.