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The shrinking space for pluralism in Balochistan
Muhammad was pacing faster than usual to the weekly corner meeting with his friends in the small town in Turbat, Balochistan. He had waited the whole week for this evening’s meeting. The weekly casual...
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PM’s scheme: The lost distinction between loan and investment
The Scheme may end up with billions of dollars in toxic debt. While it appears to be a well-intentioned Scheme to offer business loans to the youth, it may end up becoming a massive exercise in...
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'An election' Part II: An exit
This is the second part of the blog 'An election' in which I shared my experience of joining student politics at college during the Ziaul-Haq dictatorship. In this blog, I relate to you my exit from...
View ArticleJimmy nay socha: Loag
I have reached the conclusion that, loag have shattered more dreams than any other singular thing. They are worse than our most formidable enemies. Why? Because they are the hardest judges, and most of...
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The manless world of Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain
"You need not be afraid of coming across a man here. This is Ladyland free from sin and harm. Virtue itself reigns here."So says Sister Sara, one of the main characters of Sultana’s Dream, Rokeya...
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He looked closely at his dirty clothes and drove away
“Only when I left home, I realised that not everybody is a Muslim,” said Kausar Jackpot. “I mean, I knew that Muslims were a minority in some countries but I did not realise that it meant having to...
View ArticleManto's Lakshmi
Lakshmi is the name of the goddess of wealth in Hinduism. She is considered to be the symbol of prosperity. Since she is a goddess, of course the followers of Hinduism worship her as much. The Hindu...
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Sleepless in Delhi
Arvind Kejriwal. -Photo by AFPThe fledgling Aam Aadmi Party headed by former bureaucrat-turned-activist Arvind Kejriwal stopped the Bharatiya Janata Party from wiping the Congress 4-0 in the Delhi,...
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Movie Review: Frozen
A scene from movie, "Frozen". - Courtesy PhotoThe Love for your sister can melt hearts; Melting snow – or taking away piercing winter – is not that big a problem.Mere moments after “Frozen”, the latest...
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Ode to Karachi: “Reunion”
This blog is part 3 of a three-part series. Read part 1 here and part 2 here. I am on my annual pilgrimage to Karachi. The anticipation and excitement that precedes my trip has now turned into a state...
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The Baloch conundrum: Calling a spade a spade
Conflicts of all kinds are by their very nature a catastrophic force which deprives people every last shred of human dignity. Such is the case of Balochistan the largest province which has witnessed...
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Sadiq Dost
For whom the bell tollsThe 16th day of April in 1853 is special in the Indian history. The day was a public holiday. At 3:30 pm, as the 21 guns roared together, the first train carrying Lady Falkland,...
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The persistent poverty among Muslims in urban India
Unlike Muslims in rural areas, a disproportionately large number of Muslims in urban India experience abject poverty. While incidence of poverty has declined for all religious groups in India, urban...
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Hidden hands unhidden
Some Pakistanis mock the whole idea of hidden or foreign hands in most political disasters and ills that this unfortunate country has experienced in the last many decades. In spite of the fact that...
View ArticleAbba and his A-B-C
It is rarely seen that a shopkeeper would splash ink on the name of the shop on the signboard, while leaving the details of the products sold there intact. It sounds strange but believe it or not it is...
View ArticleJimmy nay socha: Late
Someone told me of a rule in the west:If you are early, you are on time, if you are on time, you are late, and if you are late, you are fired.Well, for starters, the rule can not work in Pakistan, for...
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Of murders and mishaps
When Heraldo Munoz, the UN Official appointed by United Nations Secretary General to head the Commission investigating the assassination of Benazir Bhutto arrived in Islamabad in July of 2009 he was...
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You are either with Abdul Qader Mullah or against him!
In a fateful moment of our recent history, US President Bush had uttered ‘either you are with us or against us’. His words cast a spell on the world and condemned us all to a political myopia. We are...
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Why can’t we have a revolution?
Outside, the snow had already covered the streets. A bitterly cold wind made it worse. Although it was still evening, the streets were empty. Most people preferred to stay indoors in this city of...
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A remedy worse than the problem?
Beyond making headlines and trending on social media, does the case of Indian consul-diplomat Devyani Khobragade and her maid Sangeeta Richard have any larger takeaways? It would appear that Richard...
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