Author: Ayesha Rafiq

For decades, a visit to a hospital in Pakistan has often begun with a familiar ritual: carrying a worn file stuffed with prescriptions, laboratory reports, and handwritten notes from previous consultations. Lose the file, and years of medical history may disappear with it. Visit a different city, and a patient frequently starts from scratch. In a country of more than 240 million people, fragmented healthcare records have long represented one of the most overlooked barriers to effective healthcare delivery. Pakistan’s reported plans to develop a nationwide digital health records system, drawing lessons from Saudi Arabia’s Unified Health Record platform, therefore…

As the world debates climate targets, carbon markets, and green transitions, countries like Pakistan are already living through the consequences of environmental collapse. Floods, heatwaves, droughts, glacial melting, and unpredictable weather patterns are no longer distant warnings for Pakistan, they are a brutal reality affecting millions of lives every year. The figures highlighted in the recent infographic based on the State Bank of Pakistan’s Half-Yearly Economy Report are alarming. More than 9,700 climatic events between 1995 and 2024, over $15 billion in economic losses globally linked to disasters, and 5.7 billion people affected worldwide paint a grim picture. Yet what…

In international politics, influence can be calculated on the strength of military forces, economic position or strategic alliances. But some of history’s most significant diplomatic advances have been made, not by the world’s strongest states, but by those states that can bring rivals to the same table. Islamabad is increasingly seeing itself in just this role to play, which is why it is willing to host the next round of Tehran-Washington talks. Beyond logistics, there is much more at stake in the significance of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s offer. Hosting negotiations is not just a matter of provide a place…

The recent defence dialogue between Kuwait and Pakistan looks normal at the surface, yet a more comprehensive context of change can be found in regional and global security politics. In a world of growing geopolitical tension in the Middle East and South Asia, nations look to the region for trusted alliances, in order to enhance their security, strategic independence and foreign policy clout. Thus, the summit between the chief of general staff of Kuwait and the top military officials of Pakistan is a more than just military protocol, it’s a precursor to the establishment of a more connected and cooperative…

The industrial sector of Pakistan is at the dawn of a new era of modernization and with the recent tie-up between Pakistan Salt Company HubSalt and Chinese energy major LIVOLTEK, the change is evident. This venture is not just a business deal; it marks the increasing trust of Pakistani industries in renewable energy, technological advancement, and sustainable economic growth. Arab News reported that HubSalt will be installing a 1.44MW solar PV system with a 2.35MWh battery storage system at its plant. The project will displace almost 360,000 litres of diesel each year and reduce carbon emissions dramatically. It remains a…

The collaboration between Pakistan and the Swiss-based DFINity Foundation to build sovereign cloud infrastructure and AI-native systems is not just a technical deal. It is a strategic digital step in the country. In an era where data control is the key to economic power, national security and technological prowess, the move by Pakistan can be seen as a sign of confidence, vision and awareness of the realities of digital life in the world. Countries around the globe are reconsidering their reliance on external cloud-service providers. The information today is not just data, but infrastructure. Digital platforms have government records, identities…