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Mistrust and hostility: A Pakistani journalist in Afghanistan
This article was originally published on October 7, 2015. As a TV anchor, I'll readily admit that our electronic media neglects covering Pak-Afghan relations. Why? Because it will not bring in...
View ArticleSaeed had no family until his donkey Raju gave him companionship
As a thinker in the Marxist tradition, I am interested in labour and fighting for its fair compensation. However, too often, the question of labour within and without the Marxist tradition has focused...
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Despite the dangers, I took the risk to visit Afghanistan and it was a...
Our paths crossed at the arrival hall of the Islamabad airport, next to a baggage conveyor belt. No, we were not arriving passengers, but outgoing passengers whose PIA flight to Kabul had been...
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Pakistan: A history through posters, papers and assorted paraphernalia
Photo: TIME archives. Future founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, on the April 1946 cover of TIME. He is shown in the midst of a geopolitical struggle in British India. Photo: Akbar Ali. Cover of...
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Walking through Rawalpindi's Bhabra Bazaar was a journey into a majestic past
The streets of Rawalpindi's Banni Chowk sight a chaos at one o'clock in the afternoon. The area once identified for enticing edifices and captivating designs is now tarnished with unfettered traffic...
View ArticleA train ride to India in better times
This article was originally published on October 3, 2016. Some stories from my past are still clearly etched in my memory.In 1955, I travelled to Bombay as an accompanying child on my mother’s passport...
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Thoughts of a man on Mother's Day: Why should housework be 'natural' for women?
Most mornings, I am served coffee in bed. Often, the coffee is made by my mother. After drinking it, I continue to recline in bed until I am served breakfast – again, most often, made by my mother. I...
View ArticleIs India trying to convince the world China’s OBOR plan is secretly colonial?
More than 29 heads of nations came together in Beijing on Sunday to officially launch China’s massive One Belt One Road initiative, an effort that some have described as the biggest overseas...
View ArticleDiary of a divorced Pakistani girl: How money, not family, saved me
Hi. I’m a 29-year-old Pakistani girl who grew up in Karachi. I am gori with brown eyes, moderately tall and not too fat. What taints these idyllic criteria for a rishta, however, is that I’m a...
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Misbah's story: How the almost forgotten cricketer rose to become an icon
Photo: Cricing.org Misbah-ul-Haq’s cricketing story is quite remarkable. It almost reads like a plot of what would certainly make an engrossing film, or at least a TV series. Today, sports writers...
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A Sufi, a Sikh and their message of love — A journey from Lahore to Amritsar
This article was originally published on February 2, 2016. Sufi music and architecture has always fascinated me. Consequently, I have taken it upon myself to explore the tribal areas of North Pakistan...
View ArticleFrom Imran-Miandad to Misbah-Younis: Pakistan's best cricketing duo
Javed Miandad ran towards Imran Khan, grabbed him by his arm and pulled him for a hug. “Only Miandad can do that to Khan sahab”, said my dad. The hug was iconic; not because even in absolute ecstasy of...
View ArticleOnly memories are left of Mashal, the idealist who always wanted to learn more
A mob lynched Mashal Khan last week at the premises of his university on the allegation of blasphemy. Factually, the statement is accurate, but reducing the incident to newspeak is simplistic and...
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No longer a thriving fishing village, Kalankar lake's community can only hope...
I remember the moment I was sitting on a partially-broken wooden batila (small boat) at Sindh’s Kalankar lake earlier this year. Local fisherman and boat captain Mir Hassan Mallah pointed toward the...
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The Panama Case verdict: international and local reactions
A festive rally was taken out in the capital of Panama after the court ruling on the Panama Leaks case in Pakistan was finally announced. The rejoicing people hoped that maybe now their country’s name...
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Misbah: A great player. A leader of cricketers. A maker of men.
Illustration by Feica On the lawns of Aitchison College, a game of schoolboy cricket is developing. Saeed is batting at number four. His proud parents casually watch on, grazing on fruits while...
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Moin Akhtar, my father
"I was young and stranded and had left my job as a mechanic. I did not know what to do, but a quiet voice was always whispering to me, 'Whatever you do, make sure it is grand.'" —Moin AkhtarSeptember...
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How I miss you, Sabeen
This article was originally published on April 23, 2016. Born 1974. Flown, but never forgotten It’s now a year to the day when I got that call. Sitting at lunch, family visiting, and a single, awful...
View ArticleSabeen, the one who never backed down
This article was originally published on April 25, 2016. The fingers type, but I don’t feel them moving. The ears sense a commotion, but I cannot hear. The eyes fight back tears, but it’s futile to...
View ArticlePanama verdict: the most it has to offer is irony
As the leaks from the Isthmus of Panama poured in, to nick the words of honourable Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed, ‘many an alabaster pedestals crumbled’ on being confronted with the irrefutable qualms of...
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