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Revenge bedtime procrastination: when staying up late feels like taking control

The glow of his phone screen often marks the end of Mohammad Daniyal Shahid’s day. A final-year MBBS student, buried in exam preparation, says his nights are the only moments that feel truly his. “The whole day is scheduled, lectures, wards, studying,” he says. “Night is the only time that feels like my own.” Between lectures, clinical rotations and the relentless pressure of becoming a doctor, Daniyal squeezes his passions, travel, fitness and photography, into whatever hours he can reclaim. A young woman looking at her phone while in bed at night. — Canva AI But when he checks his screen-time report, often stretching beyond four or five hours, the realisation hits. “I think I’ll scroll for a few minutes, and suddenly it’s 2am,” he says. “That’s when I realise I’ve delayed sleep again.” Those late-night hours are both comforting and costly. For Daniyal, they are a way of taking control, a quiet rebellion against packed schedules and constant responsibilities. “It feels like I’...

Tug of war

THE timing may be questioned, but the issue is not new. The PPP and the MQM-P are once again engaging in their old tug of war over who ‘owns’ Karachi, using bombast to stake their claims. The Sindh Assembly last Saturday passed a resolution, tabled by Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, to condemn “any conspiracy aimed at the division of Sindh or the creation of a separate province comprising Karachi”. The resolution affirmed that Karachi shall “forever remain” an integral part of Sindh. The MQM leadership protested at the resolution during its passage, and convened especially to declare it an “attack on the federation”. “This [resolution] challenged Pakistan, its Constitution, its law and its state,” an MQM leader declared at the party’s press conference. It was remarkable that the leaders of the MQM’s component factions were able to come together on the matter, given the bitter infighting the party — whose years of rule in Karachi yielded little more than a few flyovers — has seen in...

Unidentified attackers blow up school in South Waziristan, no casualties reported

PESHAWAR: Unidentified attackers blew up a school in the Birmal tehsil of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s South Waziristan in the late hours of Monday, the police said on Tuesday. According to District Police Officer (DPO) South Waziristan Lower Muhammad Tahir Shah Wazir, the explosion destroyed parts of the Government Middle School (GMS) Boys’ Sharif Khan Kot, including two classrooms, bathrooms, the main gate, and one side of the boundary wall. Initial reports confirmed no casualties were reported. The blast was so powerful that it was heard in distant areas. According to police sources, nearby houses were also affected. Solar panels, walls, and windows sustained partial damage from the blast. Following the explosion, police launched an investigation into the incident and began collecting evidence from the site. Local authorities reiterated their commitment to ensuring the safety of educational institutions and maintaining peace in the region. Meanwhile, KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi str...

Increased risk of glacial floods in Gilgit-Baltistan due to above-normal temperatures: PMD

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), in its February-April weather outlook for northern areas, on Monday warned of a “high probability” of glacial lake outburst flood (Glof) in Gilgit-Baltistan, owing to “sustained above normal” temperatures. Glof refers to the sudden release of water and debris from a glacial lake, leading to the loss of lives, property, and livelihoods in mountain communities. Over 7.1 million people in GB and KP are vulnerable to the phenomenon, according to the Ministry of Climate Change. The PMD, in its outlook, noted that due to reduced rain and “persistent clear-sky conditions”, temperatures across GB and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) from Feb 1 to 22 recorded an increase. “Daytime (maximum) temperatures were recorded 3–5°C above normal, while nighttime (minimum) temperatures remained 1–3.5°C above the 1981–2010 climatological average,” the PMD said, adding that the highest warming was recorded in the regions of Gilgit and Bunji. “Chilas and Bunji h...

HISTORY: THE FREEDOM FIGHTER WHO BECAME STATELESS

Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar (sitting, centre), Shahpurji Saklatvala (standing, centre) and Dr K.M. Ashraf (standing, second from left) along with others in London in 1930 | ZMO Library & Archives During the hardening positions in the 1940s of the Indian National Congress (INC) and the Muslim League (ML) on the creation of a new state for the Muslims of India, there were other groups and parties that envisioned different resolutions to the “Muslim Question.” Among these voices was that of the Communist Party of India (CPI), which was aligned with the INC in the late 1930s, yet slowly diverged from it in the 1940s. A major figure who articulated the CPI’s perspective on Muslim politics was Dr Kunwar Mohammad Ashraf — whose contribution has remained somewhat marginal in the received history of this period. THE PALS OF MEWAT Dr Ashraf was of Rajput stock from the Mewat region and hailed from a lower middle-class family that had settled in United Provinces (UP) in the 19th centur...

Nadra to issue CNICs for first-time registrants without birth certificate

The National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) announced that it would issue Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs) to those seeking first-time registration without a birth certificate, a statement said on Sunday. The time-bound facility for first-time registration would be valid until December 31, 2026, and would be subject to strict verification conditions. “This facilitation has been approved under Section 5(1)(b) and Section 20 of the Nadra Ordinance, 2000, read with Rule 8 of the Nadra NIC Rules, 2002, which permit alternative verification mechanisms in specified categories”, the statement said. It added that the CNIC issuance under this framework would be allowed only where identity was established through NADRA’s existing records and mandatory biometric verification of already registered immediate family members. Per the statement, for a married woman aged 18 years or above, a valid local government Nikah Nama , a valid CNIC or National Identity Card for Over...