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Karachi Zoo — where animals come to die
The Punjab government recently announced plans to import two female leopards into the Lahore Zoo. I wish those animals good luck because having seen one zoo in Pakistan, it would appear, these new...
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Tales of horror, from Gaza to Gujranwala
It was supposed to be a month of peace and tolerance. It turned out to be anything but.A mob attacked homes belonging to Ahmadis in Gujranwala, causing the death of three innocent civilians. In the...
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Various shades of green: An ideological history of the Muslim League
The Muslim League (ML) is one of the oldest parties in Pakistan. But unlike the country’s other large party, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the ML has evolved through schisms and splits, with the...
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Saving Karachi’s oldest Eid Gah
Akhtar Balouch, also known as the Kiranchi Wala, ventures out to bring back to Dawn.com’s readers the long forgotten heritage of Karachi. Stay tuned to this space for his weekly fascinating...
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July scribbles: Of moons and marches
July scribbles: Of moons and marchesCartoon: 30 July, 2014Cartoon: 29 July, 2014Cartoon: 28 July, 2014Cartoon: 27 July, 2014Cartoon: 26 July, 2014Cartoon: 25 July, 2014Cartoon: 24 July, 2014Cartoon: 23...
View ArticleFear and Acid
It was in bottles and it was in syringes. It was flung and it was squirted. The acid that was used in the nearly 10 attacks that took place in Balochistan last week was probably cheaply and easily...
View Article'I protest when I do not get candies': Up close with Tariq and family
“I am an expression of the divine just like a peach is, just like a fish is.”The quote from Alice Walker’s The Color Purple dominated the front page of the menu at 'Busboys and Poets' restaurant. The...
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Cadiz — off the beaten track in Spain
If you're headed off for vacation. Some of the best vacation spots are located a bit off the main tourist route. The ancient city of Cadiz in southern Spain is one such hidden jewel.Travellers to Spain...
View ArticleHealthcare in Pakistan: No one cares because they're not taught to
No civilization would ever have been possible without a framework of stability, to provide the wherein for the flux of change. Foremost among the stabilising factors, more enduring than customs,...
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My daughter and Kainat
It was one of those hazel sort of days that you sometimes get in Pakistan, in which a pleasant chill permeates the shining bright rays of the sun.The sky was as azure as the sea and the trees never...
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Will PTI boycott ‘the mid-term’ polls?
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan. —Mobeen Ansari/Herald photoThe Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf contested its first elections in 1997, almost a year after its formation, but could win no seat....
View ArticleGaza's state of exception
In the wake of the response to the ongoing massacre in Gaza, the leftists, liberals and ethno-nationalists of Pakistan have raised some important concerns about the nature and moral legitimacy of...
View ArticleCan music bring change?
A few months ago, I switched on a foreign news channel which was doing a show on Pakistan, and more specifically, on the topic of politically conscious music coming out of Pakistan. The discussion was...
View ArticleChildren of a lesser God
Could you imagine the wrath and fury of an American response to an attack in which 300,000 Americans, mostly civilians, were to lose their lives?Unlike the US, a tragedy of similar proportions has...
View ArticleWhat government? What opposition?
Talk is cheap, whether of ‘revolution’, ‘change’ or just ‘good governance’.In a country like ours, the loudest chatter is often just a play on buzzwords by the few failing to deliver on their duties. A...
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Primal screen: Pakistan through the eyes of Lolly, Bolly and Holly
Primal screen: Pakistan through the eyes of Lolly, Bolly and HollyBy Nadeem F ParachaPakistan according to Lollywood (Pakistani films) …All bearded men are wise …Only evil men drink alcohol …‘Modern’...
View Article“Make your own Saudi prince”
All the little girls growing up in Pakistan have a single dream. One day, when they are 18 or 19, a fat and old man dressed all in flowing white, will alight from the first class cabin of a Saudi...
View ArticleAzadi march: Nationwide release, multiple shows on weekend
All eyes are set on August 14. There has never been more uncertainty in Pakistan's recent history over the unfolding of events as now.Amidst plenty of speculation, none of us are sure whether the...
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What the PTI can learn from the AAP defeat
The rise of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Indian politics was stunning. It upstaged both the ruling Congress and its arch rival BJP in Delhi’s local elections just months after its formation. The elections...
View ArticleCaretaker, priest and player fight as people watch
The invisible hand stretched out of the window and reached the lonely Peepal tree outside the dilapidated haveli. It gave the hanging roots a violent shake, which woke up the bats hiding from the...
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