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Visual Karachi: From Paris of Asia, to City of Lights, to Hell on Earth
Clustered diversityKarachi confuses people – sometimes even those who live in it. The capital of Pakistan’s Sindh province, it is the country’s largest city – a colossal, ever-expanding metropolis with...
View ArticleTerror’s targets: The Professor and the Policeman
There was no moon on Thursday night, September 25, 2014 but the darkness would prove to be more ominous than just an absence of light. Most of the day, the city had been in its usual disarray. A sit-in...
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Metro Bus or Mars: The problem with our priorities
1969 was the year, when the United States succeeded in landing humans on the moon – our closest neighbour in space – and safely bringing them back to Earth. The United States, being the most...
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Overheard at the Great Political Circus
Overheard at the Great Political CircusBy Fasi ZakaA dead serious look at the current political crisis, unadulterated by media biases and appreciative of our politicians' collective victory against...
View ArticleKarachi ruled by everyone, run by no one
Here's the routine for most people in Karachi:They wake up in the morning and get ready for work. The lucky ones have enough water to take a bath but most have to make do with much less. If there is...
View ArticleWhen your gaaye isn't Gucci enough...
Haan bhai, bakray kitnay aa gaaye?Soch raha hoon is baar ek gaaye aur ker loonBara freezer lena hai Eid se pehleThese are a few statements I overheard at a family lunch, reinforcing my belief that...
View ArticleWhat Bilawal must do...
For the last few days, we’ve been reading much about Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s trip to South Punjab’s flood affected areas. This, after the announcement of his plans to contest the 2018 general...
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Being queer was not always a crime in Pakistan
This Friday saw an extraordinary development in the UN, when the top human rights council called for nations to protect the rights of individuals regardless of sexual orientation, adding that...
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7 things that make a Pakistani feel at home in India
1. Honk, honk, beep, beep. Hey, you...!A Pakistani driving license may not hold in India. But rest assured that a Pakistani’s road sense, cultivated through decades of weaving in and out of chaotic...
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Food Stories: Bhagaray baigan
Growing up I always heard my khaloo (uncle on mother’s side) refer to baigun as bay guun (literally meaning that eggplant is not praiseworthy), but I have just the opposite opinion! A delicious, spongy...
View ArticlePakistan's worst nightmare: A Jew, an Indian and an American walk into a bar...
Know a Pakistani's worst nightmare? A Jew, an Indian and an American walk into a bar...The Indian sings Vande Matram and calls it the Pakistani Anthem. They chortle. The American unfurls a completely...
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In praise of tea
In praise of teaBy Vaqar AhmedI was 10 years old when I realised just how central tea was to the socio-economic milieu of Pakistan. It was the 60s and basic food commodities were not available as...
View ArticleTV in Pakistan: Why can't we have pilot seasons?
Having recently had the opportunity to work with some people in Hollywood, I felt honoured and proud to be even a tiny cog in a giant machine. However, I realised, a few months in, that over there they...
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The 'halal' curriculum
There is no limit to folly when ideology takes over.Radicalised middle-aged men will again determine the curriculum of primary schools in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). Also read:Verses on jihad in syllabus:...
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For the love of it
Recently a video showing some of Tahirul Qadri’s supporters hankering over a piece of tissue used by their leader went viral. To some, the video proves the ‘cultish mind-set and make-up’ of Qadri’s...
View ArticleLet the Cervantes of Pakistan take over!
Once upon a time, there used to be a President named Ayub Khan. One day, his grandson heard some derogatory slogans against him. When his grandson chanted those slogans in his presence, Ayub – being...
View ArticleSentencing a schizophrenic to death - and other Pakistan stories
Pakistan has seen an alarming surge in blasphemy accusations this year, shattering all previous records. More worrisome is the fact that most of these charges are completely unfounded, as is evident in...
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The other news bulletin...
The other news bulletin...By Fasi ZakaA look at the current political crisis, unadulterated by media biases and appreciative of our politicians' collective victory against common sense.D-Chowk becoming...
View ArticleGraves laden with sweets
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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On life support, PPP in Punjab is a setting sun
The recent call made by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to reinvigorate the party and address concerns of disgruntled PPP workers, took me back to early 1985, when in Lahore, I witnessed an MRD (Movement for...
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