Memories of Army Public School from 9/11 – and now
Two days after the Peshawar incident, as I conducted a special Urdu program at Radio Pakistan Islamabad, I had renowned dramatist and artist Anwar Maqsood on the telephone line. When asked about his...
View ArticlePlanning the Commission — if India can, why can't Pakistan?
One size doesn’t fit all; an important lesson that the Indian policymakers took only 65 years to learn. The Indian government has decided to abolish the Planning Commission, a relic of the Soviet-style...
View ArticleNew-age TV: Talent, please take a (back)seat
Have you been watching television lately? There is a throng of good looking people all over that thing. When did that start? All these beautiful people wearing designer clothing, modeling as common...
View ArticleEnglish: Our ultimate judging criteria
People in Pakistan are always embroiled in a rat race against each other. So many diverse groups, so many opinions and such diverse backgrounds; in such an environment, I am glad we have an objective...
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Fanaticism: From Peshawar to Paris
If their agenda is to put a wedge between Muslims and the rest, the Jihadists are doing a pretty fine job. The attack in Paris that killed 12 journalists and police at the office of the newspaper...
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This kebab…
The truth behind the kebab, its identity and its real face, as explained by various groups of people in our nation:This kebab according to apologists/deniers…This kebab according to terrorists…This...
View ArticleWould we hang a 14-year-old 'terrorist'?
To forget the pain of deaths past, we must do some killing of our own. Executions are set to guide the plot of Pakistan’s latest episode of the War on Terror. Every day brings news of the numbers,...
View ArticleDemocracy vs authoritarianism vs terrorism
It was supposed to be all about terrorism, but somehow it seems more and more about democracy, constitutionalism and their nemesis – authoritarianism. And in a country with a disturbing history of...
View ArticleImran Khan's wedding: How the media failed
Tu ghanti big ban di, poora London thumakda... Oh jaddo nachche pehn di, poora London thumakda...Kabhi kabhi mere dil me khayal aata hai, kee jaise tujhko banaya gaya hai mere liye…Bollywood classics...
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A Punjabi in New York: Juggling multiple identities
For the past seven years, during my stay in the United States, my identity has undergone many transformations. The journey started with feeling like a foreigner in the USA; the new, nervous...
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Look to Ibb to understand what happened in Paris
”We’ll always have Paris” – one of the most striking and memorable lines of cinema comes from the 1942 classic Casablanca. After the attack on French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo's offices in...
View ArticleKaneez Fatima — whom acid could not silence
Lahore’s Naulakha Bazaar is one of the many shopping hubs of the provincial capital. In sharp contrast to the erstwhile necklace or the pavilion from which it drew its name, the bazaar is now known...
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Exploring the legend(s) of Sohan Halwah
Say two words, ‘Multan’ and ‘winter’ in front of a foodie, and the next thing you hear will definitely be ‘Sohan Halwah’. Sohan Halwah is to winter what mangoes are to summer, except it is not limited...
View ArticleI am Charlie, but I am Baga too: On Nigeria’s forgotten massacre
If you thought 17 dead in Paris was bad enough for one week, you were wrong. In Nigeria, more than 2,000 people are feared dead after Boko Haram launched it’s deadliest-ever attack on a strategic...
View ArticlePeshawar attack: The importance of optics
Optics. Along with ‘collateral damage’, ‘doable’ and other such terms – this is a uniquely American invention. When applied to the political sphere, this essentially means “the way things look to the...
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Battleground Facebook: Calls for murder equal free speech?
Of all the widely used social media platforms, Facebook not only remains the most populated, but also the most controversial. When it comes to Pakistan , a particularly warped environment is...
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Why are we carrying this baggage to the World Cup?
With the announcement of Australia's squad, all the teams for the approaching cricket World Cup 2015 have been finalised. A big question mark hovers over the chances of Team Green, though. Judging from...
View ArticleInsurance against child labour: An admirable initiative by NRSP
Their place is in school and not in the factories. Still, millions of children work, many in hazardous conditions, to support their families. A low-cost insurance innovation for the very low-income...
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Who is at fault when 62 people die on our roads?
Too many people in our country have blood on their hands. Too many avoidable deaths occur. Too many lives are lost with no one held accountable. No, this is not about security lapses or healthcare...
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When in Rome …
The author in Italy (2007)In the last decade or so, I have been able to travel extensively across much of Europe, Asia and the Americas. During my travels, I noticed how rare it was to find...
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