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We're dying from apathy, not terrorism
Thousands have been targeted, but only a few have lived to tell the tale. Sitting in the semi-lit lounge at the Washington Plaza Hotel, Raza Rumi narrated the details of the fateful Friday in March...
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Student politics in Pakistan: A celebration, lament & history
This is an abridged version of a detailed paper written by the author in 2009. The paper has been frequently used by various western and local academics as a reference tool to trace the history and...
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What ISIS and the 'caliphate' mean for Pakistan
Among many factors, the Pakistani state's protracted apathy and inaction on the issue of security has provided non-state actors the spaces to grow and expand their influence. They used these spaces not...
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From Bannu: Writing the saddest lines...
As I walk through this relief camp in Bannu, the midday sun emits fire, the heat waves are palpable as they rise off the concrete road, adding a haze to the scenes of desperation among thousands of...
View ArticleBreaking up with China?
It has been a long-standing love affair and there are numbers to prove it.According to a Pew Research Center survey done just last year, the only country that loves China more than China itself, is...
View ArticlePolitical Islam: Why militants now symbolise Muslims
(continued from 'Political Islam: Theory and reality')The most recognizable face of political Islam today is neither a mullah nor a religious scholar. It is a militant.Until 2001, spellchecks did not...
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Movie Review: Ek Villain – Heads up ladies! This one’s for you…
Director Mohit Suri’s Ek Villain teaches us a lesson that women should not get involved in any argument with unknown men on the road, no matter how badly they treat them. These men can insult you; they...
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Musings of a 'full-time' mum
A few days ago while chatting with a complete stranger during the course of a long train journey, I was asked: Are you a full-time mum?The question left me speechless, but not because I was offended...
View ArticleThe 'good faith' of police will protect you now
The Protection of Pakistan bill was approved by the National Assembly on July 2, 2014. This bill states that a grade-15 officer has the full permission to enter and search the premises of a suspected...
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Iftar Special: Mediterranean delights
A better part of my day is spent preparing for evening iftar specials, and as my children hover in and around the kitchen anticipating the iftar menu for the evening, I find myself getting inspired by...
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We need feminist marriages, not feminist weddings
I recently came across an article in The Guardian titled ‘How to have a feminist wedding’ by Laura Bates, June 28th, 2014. The piece opened with this little nugget:“Let's face it, feminism can be...
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Movie Review: Lekar Hum Deewana Dil – (yet) another college love story
Director Arif Ali’s Lekar Hum Deewana Dil is a love story familiar to Doli Saja Ke Rakhna, Jab We Met, Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, and few other similar ones. Karishma (Deeshka Seth) and Dinoo (Armaan Jain)...
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Murder by drones: Where is the cost-benefit analysis?
It is the cornerstone of US counterterrorism policy. Still, the executive branch in the American administration does not know if the benefits of targeting suspected militants by drones in Pakistan,...
View Article7-1: To laugh away the pain...
Even as the game was still in progress, and billions of Brazil fans around the world suspended in disbelief, the internet and social media got to work venting people's emotions better than any poet...
View ArticleWhy I'm losing trust in the PML-N
It is very traumatic to lose trust in something you have believed in for a long time; to admit to one’s self that everything is in fact, not right. But for the past few weeks, this is exactly what I've...
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Cry us a river
In 1975 when I was just 9 years old, one of my cousins who was many years older than me vetoed my desire to watch a Steve McQueen thriller. Instead, he dragged me to watch a film ‘Mera naam hai...
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'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' serves up thrilling action
IF the CGI apes stole the show from their less lifelike human counterparts in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, the two groups are more evenly matched in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. The latest...
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Movie Review: Bobby Jasoos – a must-watch
Bilquis ‘Bobby’ Ahmed isn’t an average woman – and neither is Vidya Balan, for whom Bobby Jasoos feels like a natural extension.Balan is at a career zenith and her roles don’t always warrant a...
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I hateth Shakespeare
"I have tried, lately, to read Shakespeare, and found it so intolerably dull, that it nauseated me."So said Charles Darwin regarding the Bard, a figure perched on the highest throne in the kingdom of...
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Who defines the ‘other’ Pakistan?
A recent Reuters photo feature posted on the Dawn website titled "Through a Foreign Lens: The Other Pakistan” has caused quite the storm in many-a-teacup - and for good reason. It is no doubt...
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