Democracy, legitimacy, and mega-project politics: the evolution of Lahore’s first BRT corridor

This paper studies the politics surrounding the implementation of Pakistan’s first mass transit project, the Lahore Bus Rapid Transit corridor completed in 2013, to interrogate the role that infrastructure mega-projects hold in highly factional and democratising polities of the global South. Drawing on the Lahore BRT as a case study, this paper posits that infrastructure development is increasingly interwoven with conceptions of political legitimacy and “modernising” governance, especially under conditions of nascent democratic competition. We argue that democratisation-led transformations in the political-institutional context of state power has helped fashion new roles for mega-projects, which partly explains why state power is mobilised for projects that had been ignored for several decades. Finally, this paper cautions that this new role for infrastructure, while marking a departure from previous patterns, can simultaneously constrain the possibilities for sustainable interventions going forward

Profit, piety, and patronage: bazaar traders and politics in urban Pakistan

This thesis studies the political and social practices of prosperous bazaar merchants and traders to understand the dynamics of power and authority in contemporary urban Pakistan. Broadly, it considers how propertied groups, such as traders, maintain their dominant position in Pakistan’s political sphere, and how the consent of subordinate classes is structured to reproduce this persisting arrangement. Drawing on 12 months of ethnographic fieldwork in a large wholesale bazaar of Lahore, this thesis demonstrates that bazaar traders accumulate power and authority through a fused repertoire of transactional bargaining, material patronage, and Islamic civic leadership. By mobilizing voluntary associations, and forming personalized relations of reciprocity with state functionaries and political elites, traders are able to reproduce their material and status privileges through political access and co-optation of public resources. Such networks also position them as patrons and brokers for the urban poor who work in marketplaces, helping the latter resolve pressing issues of everyday subsistence, while sustaining ties of exploitative dependence in the process. These ties are simultaneously legitimized through an accompanying cultural politics grounded in religious ideals. Bazaar traders remain deeply embedded with Islamist actors and play a central role in administering mosques, seminaries, and religious charities. Therefore, notions of piety, divinely ordained class and status hierarchies, and benevolent civic virtue - disseminated and popularized through their articulation and performance by bazaar traders – shape the cultural frames under which class authority and material conditions are interpreted by subordinate groups in marketplaces. Ultimately, these processes act as the building blocks of a persisting arrangement, wherein the influence bazaar traders possess through economic resources and their authority over the urban poor is transacted with weak political parties during elections, thus underpinning the reproduction of Pakistan’s elite-dominated political sphere. By documenting the everyday power practices of a dominant group and the microprocesses that feed into the political sphere, this thesis rectifies deterministic statist and structuralist explanations for Pakistan’s lasting regime of elite power. It also contributes to ongoing debates on the roles played by the state, political parties, and civil society in the articulation of hegemonic political arrangements

Streptococcal pharyngitis: Delving deeper than the throat

Acute rhabdomyolysis and elevated transaminases during streptococcal pharyngitis are rare presentations. The proposed pathophysiological mechanisms include direct bacterial invasion and toxin generation. Physicians should be aware of the association between these infections and the above-mentioned complications to facilitate optimal treatment of these patients. We present the case of a 18-years-old gentleman with β-haemolytic streptococcal pharyngitis complicated by rhabdomyolysis and elevated liver function tests. Such high levels of creatine phosphokinase of 111856 IU/L and elevated liver function tests with aspartate aminotransferase (AST) of 1862 U/L and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) of 1003 U/L in streptococcal pharyngitis is rare to find in the literature. He was treated with aggressive intravenous hydration, antibiotics and hemodialysis. Key Words: Rhabdomyolysis, β-haemolytic Streptococci, Creatine phosphokinase, Liver function tests

Acute urinary retention: Should we call it a manifestation of appendicitis?

Acute urinary retention (AUR) is a fairly common presentation in the elderly; but interesting to be noted in a healthy young individual as a manifestation of acute appendicitis. We present a case of a 32-year gentleman with decreased urine output with mild tenderness at the supra-pubic region; which was later on, shifted to the right iliac fossa. Computed tomography of the abdomen showed acute appendicitis. Emergency physicians are challenged to recognize the uncommon presentation of acute appendicitis and need to be reminded of this common complaint as a rare presentation of it. This case also stresses on the repeated abdominal examinations to seek diagnostic clarity. Key Words: Appendicitis, Acute urinary retention, Repeat abdominal examination

Factional federalism, state capacity, and fiscal constraints: Pakistan's COVID-19 challenges

As Covid-19 spreads across Pakistan, Hassan Javid, Sameen M. Ali, and Umair Javed (Lahore University of Management Sciences, Pakistan) explain how the country's ability to effectively deal with the virus will be impeded by tensions between the central and provincial governments, a lack of state capacity, and fiscal constraints

Optimization of HNO3 leaching of copper from old AMD Athlon processors using response surface methodology

The present study investigates the optimization of HNO leaching of Cu from old AMD Athlon processors under the effect of nitric acid concentration (%), temperature (°C) and ultrasonic power (W). The optimization study is carried out using response surface methodology with central composite rotatable design (CCRD). The ANOVA study concludes that the second degree polynomial model is fitted well to the fifteen experimental runs based on p-value (0.003), R (0.97) and Adj-R (0.914). The study shows that the temperature is the most significant process variable to the leaching concentration of Cu followed by nitric acid concentration. However, ultrasound power shows no significant impact on the leaching concentration. The optimum conditions were found to be 20% nitric acid concentration, 48.89 °C temperature and 5.52 W ultrasound power for attaining maximum concentration of 97.916 mg/l for Cu leaching in solution

Systematic Review of COVID Spillover and Online Education Pedagogy

This paper has touched one of the most critical area affected due to pandemic situation created by the COVID-19 and its powerful spillover effect on education sector by customizing education pedagogy. Earlier researchers have studied online education separately, whereas this paper discussed the natural transition and systematic review of upsurge of e-learning. The objective of this paper is to make the systematic review of COVID spillover and transition towards e-learning education pedagogy through theoretical framework. The study makes systematic review of switchover towards e-learning and spillover effect of COVID-19 and customization of the education pedagogy. In this study, past literature has been utilized to make critical analysis of spillover effect of COVID-19 and impact on education pedagogy by creation of prepositions. The findings of the study reveal that in the exceptional circumstances of COVID-19, e-learning transition has taken place from conventional to e-learning modules. All over the world, countries have shifted towards online education by schooling out but classes in campaign ignited by Chinese government. The same has also been replicated in other countries of the world during COVID-19

Demanding Power: Contentious Politics and Electricity in Pakistan

This paper explores Pakistan’s electricity supply crisis that lasted from 2007 to 2015, and the ensuing contention that shaped public discourse and political events in the country. During this period, which witnessed electricity outages of up to 14 hours per day, 456 incidents of contention took place, with just under 20 per cent escalating into some form of violence. Electricity became the number one political issue in the country and was integral in shaping the outcomes of the 2013 General Election. Following the election, public authorities undertook extensive investment to expand capacity and ensure consistency in supply while evading questions about affordability and sustainability. On the surface, this appears to be a case of extensive protest working towards shaping state responsiveness. And it is true that the state now sees supply as a non-negotiable aspect in the social contract with citizens. However, a range of factors contributed to the chronology and the selective, generation-focused nature of this response. On the other hand, citizen inclusion and participation in decision-making, and issues of affordability and sustainability, which impact vulnerable and disempowered groups the most, remain absent from the political and policy conversation around energy. This suggests that while protests were useful in generating a short-term response, their long-term legacy in empowerment related outcomes is less visible.Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Offic