I was handcuffed and tied but it was worth my fight against One Unit
50 years ago, 4th March, 1967 marked a watershed event in the post-Partition history of Sindh. It was the day when 207 students were arrested en masse at the G.M. Barrage between Jamshoro and Hyderabad...
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How this lesser known festival is celebrated annually by Hindus in Sindh
The Indus is a mainstay of the Indian civilisation. For the people of Sindh especially, its mythical status penetrates each and every aspect of Sindhi life. The mention of River Indus, or Sindhu, goes...
View ArticleI was sucked into my husband’s narcissistic world, but came out of it stronger
I quickly got up from my chair as I heard a loud thud and a door slamming shut across the hallway from my apartment. I looked out and saw my neighbour sitting in the corridor, bursting into tears.As...
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Stadium stories: Famous Pakistan cricket grounds
Gaddafi Stadium City: Lahore (Punjab)Constructed: 1959First Test Match: 1959 (Pakistan vs. Australia)Original Name: Lahore Stadium. Changed to Gaddafi Stadium in 1974.Seating Capacity: 27,000Home...
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Public misogyny: Chronicles of a boy on Karachi's streets
This article was originally published on January 22, 2016. This piece consists of snippets chronicling gender roles on the streets of Karachi through a male gaze, and also tells part of the story...
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In memory of my sister, Perween Rahman
Perween Rahman, Director of the Orangi Pilot Project, was killed on this day in 2013. She was a selfless and dedicated activist, a dear friend, a close comrade, a loving daughter and my younger sister....
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12 stops: A Do-It-Yourself tour of Karachi, Part II
It is perhaps impossible to reach a consensus on which places to include on a list of top attractions in Karachi. The geographical spread of the metropolis makes it difficult for one individual to see...
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The fear of Hindu Rashtra: Should India's Muslims keep away from electoral...
Four months before the Uttar Pradesh election results sent Muslims in India reeling in shock, former Rajya Sabha MP Mohammed Adeeb delivered a speech in Lucknow, which, in hindsight, might be called...
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A history of Karachi’s garbage outbreaks
Photo: File photo Karachi has witnessed at least three major garbage outbreaks. At the same time, ironically, the history of the city also suggests that it not only managed to eliminate these...
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The colourful faces and celebrations of Holi in Umerkot
Holi has become one of the well-recognised cultural and religious events across the planet. While the global status it has received might be new, the festival of course has historical significance in...
View ArticleWhy I disagree with the censorship of social media and the imposition of hijab
Pakistani representatives seem to be getting their ankle-length trousers into quite a few unseemly knots these days over unprecedented ‘slights’ against our battle-hardened culture. Under attack (as it...
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Concerned US and Canadian Muslims weigh in on rising Islamophobia
Last month, North America witnessed instances of blatant Islamophobia and religious and racial hatred. Not long after the new American president Donald Trump announced a visa ban on seven...
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How the Virgin Mary brings together different faiths in Pakistan and India
For many members of threatened minority communities, places of worship offer solace. Last year, more than 70 Christians were killed while celebrating Easter in a park in 2016. The forced conversion of...
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‘At once silent and eloquent’: a glimpse of Pakistani visual poetry
Whose mischief created a world of beseechers? Each petitioner is seen wearing a garment of paperThis line from Ghalib refers to what he claimed to be ancient Persian tradition of petitioners wearing...
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The hidden 'evil' of Valentine’s Day
We have been warned over and over again about terrorists and extremists. These warnings are entirely biased. They only speak of stereotype terrorists and extremists; or those who may actually be, and...
View ArticleHow shrines helped indigenise Islam and Christianity in South Asia
The blog was originally published on January 9, 2017.At least once a month, I drive down to Lahore from Islamabad using the Motorway. Just before the Jhelum River, as the Salt Range and Potohar Plateau...
View ArticleIf terrorists burst in, where is the nearest exit I can push my brother towards?
It hurts, deeply. Lahore. Quetta. Mohmand. Peshawar. Sehwan.I wonder if we'll ever live without this sense of fear – the fear that you or your loved one will never return as they step out of the...
View ArticleDamadam mast Qalandar is a cry of rebellion against established orders
Sehwan is different. Unlike the more officially-accepted shrines of Pakistan, such as the Data Ganj Bakhsh in Lahore, Bari Imam in Islamabad, and the lustrous tombs of the Suhrawardi sufis in Multan,...
View ArticleHina Shahnawaz's murder shows Pakistani men won’t let women break free of...
Work and what it means for the female franchise — independence in industry, social emancipation, progress from our primitive psychology and a need to be better than the women before us — has belittled...
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As Pakistan cracks down on love, hate makes deeper inroads into the country
The Pakistani state has a unique ability to find itself in farcical situations.On Monday, February 13, the Islamabad High Court banned Valentine’s Day celebrations across the country on the eve of the...
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