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Diary of a French girl in Pakistan
On my visit to Pakistan for the first time ever, I distinctly remember the day I was crossing the Wagah border from India, listening to a song by Noori while my heart was beating fast – not out of...
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Cola wars: A social and political history
‘Cola Wars’ is a term which emerged in the US in the early 1980s. It was coined to describe the advertising and marketing tactics of The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo against each other. Coca-Cola has...
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Mashal's death is a result of the regression of our student politics
Much has been said about what the lynching of Mashal Khan revealed about Pakistani society – from the brutal consequences of mob hysteria to the degree to which fanaticism has seeped into the social...
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Occupational injury: How Pakistan is failing its 56 million labourers
This article was originally published on December 5, 2015.A serious physical injury could put an enormous financial burden on a labourer and his family — which is exacerbated if he is the sole...
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Helping an injured biker made me realise Karachi's traffic police isn’t...
My usual ride to the university each morning involves surfing through radio channels while I am half asleep. But this last Friday was different. I witnessed a traffic accident that jerked me out of my...
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Sports are known for matches, but rarely for how they are used as political...
Recently a minister belonging to one of the island nations which make up the West Indies suggested that the Caribbean people should forget about the declining status of West Indian cricket and...
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The spices and flavours of Marrakech will tickle your tastebuds
When people ask me if they should visit Marrakech, I quickly reply with an enthusiastic yes, shortly followed by “But it’s not for everyone”. With its dusty roads and confusing alleys, this historical...
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What is the Pakistani hockey player really worth?
— Photo courtesy FIH This article was originally published on August 5, 2015 Pakistan hockey. It is not unusual to talk about it in the past tense now.World Cup winners, Olympics giants; the kings of...
View ArticleHow I stopped hoping for my autistic son to become 'normal'
Yesterday marked the 10th World Autism Awareness Day. The United Nations, which passed a unanimous resolution in 2007 designating April 2nd for autism awareness, had Autonomy and Self-Determination as...
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Jinnah wasn't born in Wazir Mansion, so where was his actual birthplace?
Wazir Mansion, the site which many have claimed to be the birthplace of Quaid-e-Azam. Photo: Farooq Soomro Pakistan’s founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah, like all major personalities in history, is a...
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Modi adds cows to cricket team, PTI accuses Mountbatten of rigging
Indian government asks cricket board to select at least two cows in cricket team Photo: OBP New Delhi: The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked the Indian cricket board, the BCCI, to...
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Those who can’t afford to live are left to die – my experiences as a doctor...
I have had the privilege and honour to work in the hospitals of Karachi during and after my studies. While I served my patients to the best of my ability, my experiences opened my eyes to much that’s...
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Will Pakistan see another Jahangir Khan?
This article was originally published on January 5, 2016. Yet another year has passed with no success in the sport which Pakistan once dominated for nearly fifty years: squash. How many teenagers are...
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When census officials came to my home, they didn’t know what a Parsi was
A policeman, an army ranger and a government schoolteacher come to the home of a Parsi married to a Christian. If you think that sounds like the beginning of a joke, you are partially right.My driver...
View ArticleI was a victim of verbal sexual harassment at work and blamed myself for it
“Read this interesting one-liner by Manto,” said my boss from one of my former workplaces as he nudged his smartphone in my direction. Knowing who Saadat Hasan Manto was, and well-acquainted with the...
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My visits to India made me realise how easy it is to be friends
The only time I met the late Om Puri was in 2004, when he came to participate in the Kara Film Festival in Karachi. That was his first visit to Pakistan. I was introduced to him at a dinner hosted by...
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Sweden may have come under attack, but it will never be overpowered
On Friday, April 7, an Uzbek suspect hijacked a delivery truck and rammed the vehicle into the Åhlens City department store on Drottninggatan, a busy, crowded, partially pedestrian street in Stockholm,...
View ArticleTerrorists aren't always 'brainwashed', they commit murder in a rational state
I wonder which comes first: Does a bigoted society influence the government and the state; or does a bigoted state and government influence a society? Some experts suggest that (in a democracy) no...
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How I discovered the hidden springs of Khuzdar in Balochistan
The sky at Moola Chotook lights up with the planet Venus and Jupiter and the constellation Orion’s belt. Curiosity can be a powerful driving force; the need to constantly seek and discover. The one...
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Once populated with temples, only traces of Hinduism remain in Laki
Earlier this year, I went to Laki, which is about 18 kilometres from Sehwan. Laki is famous for its natural streams, but once I got there, I also realised how important Hinduism has been to Sindh and...
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