Boxing genders: The LGBTQ struggle in Pakistan
As a child and adolescent psychiatrist, I deal with the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) population on a regular basis. In my practice, I see youth with different sexual...
View ArticleMaking JI relevant: Can Sirajul Haq do it?
Sirajul Haq is different, or at least, that seems to be the case. He has indeed played his cards well, unlike his predecessor who continues to put Jamaat in hot waters after first issuing, and then...
View ArticleHow to rethink 'Pakistan isn’t made for democracy'
Democracy never sounded like a good idea to me. Not the way it was sold, anyway. ‘Government of the people, for the people, by the people,’ sounds less like a promising achievement and more like a...
View ArticleMr Erdogan, we're mothers... and much more
In his most recent speech, Tayyip Erdogan, stated that women and men are not equal and thus further incensed secular Turkish people by stating that women should be left to embrace motherhood and their...
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Food Stories: Mutton Vindaloo
My father always had fascinating stories to tell, and the following was one such that I’ve heard on several occasions. It was the rollicking 60s, a time where Karachi was considered the Paris of the...
View ArticleNovember 30: The Revolution will be televised
The date is set, the venue is set, you better watch out, you better not pout, the Revolution is coming to town: Imran Khan has announced November 30 as the day for the final battle, when Liu Kang meets...
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When cricket bat and beard = “anti-Semitic killer”
Even without a concealed cricket bat, he would have stuck out like a sore thumb. Being bearded and brown in Brussels sets you apart, but not necessarily in a good way.Assim Abbasi, 22, attracted sudden...
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Remembering Nadeem Chawhan: 'We are all just stories'
I met him the first time in 2008, at the Young Leaders Conference. A slightly hefty man, with sparkling eyes and a smoke in his hand, it seemed like Nadeem Chawhan had something different to offer. I...
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50 delightful years: Thank you PTV
Pakistan Television completed its 50 years on November 26. This is the time to say thank you to PTV. PTV began its journey from Lahore in 1964, with a staff of 30 people. It started with black and...
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The economics of piety
From the mid-1970s onwards, Pakistanis, for the first time, were given the opportunity to travel to various oil-rich Arab countries for work. Until then, very few Pakistanis actually possessed...
View ArticleSaarc: India and Pakistan, it is time to move forward
Back in 2002, Pakistan’s then President cum Chief of Army Staff, after delivering his speech at the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) summit, got up from his seat, proceeded to...
View ArticleThe polio pariahs
There are more cases of polio in Balochistan than there are in Somalia and this is when that country has suffered an outbreak of the disease this year while it doesn't have a government. It seems...
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Phil Hughes: A country boy who chased 'Baggy Green' dreams
Australia's Phil Hughes celebrates reaching his century during an ODI against Sri Lanka at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on January 11, 2013. — Reuters For such a young man, Phillip Hughes saw clearly...
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1972 Fiat 124S — smitten by an Italian dream in Karachi
The 1972 Fiat 124S. —Creative commons The year was 1984 in Karachi and I was 29 years old. I was getting married in two weeks time and it is a well-known fact that no decent girl ever marries a man...
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Searching for strays: Where are Pakistan's animal shelters?
Domesticated dogs were already common in 12000 BCE, with some theories suggesting their presence as far back as 16,000 years ago. It is safe to say our companionship is as old as humanity’s recorded...
View ArticleNov 30: Game-changer or deadline-changer?
PTI are the Kardashians of Pakistani politics; love them or hate them, they are news makers. You just can’t ignore them. No matter how out of touch, narcissistic and offensive they become, the party...
View ArticleReinventing the classics
My journey as a vocalist has only just begun and I do not believe success or even global fame is the ultimate light at the end of the tunnel. Since 2010, when Rohail Hyatt plucked me out of a niche...
View ArticleSuicide, and the warning signs we miss
Mazhar* was not the most intelligent or studious one in our class, but he was good at batting, so that is mostly how I remember him.He was isolated and often the last one to get the teacher's...
View ArticleNote to Disney: I don’t want my daughter to be a 'princess'
With the birth of my daughter – who is now six – came infinite joys and pleasures, but also a set of unprecedented and deep-seated anxieties. My daughter arrived in a world that considers itself to be...
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Crossing borders: Why every Indian should visit Pakistan
I said, “I want to go to Pakistan…” but, I couldn’t finish before the reactions came flying in:“There are so many new places you can see, then why Pakistan?”“If a war starts between India and Pakistan,...
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