Karachi’s Avatar
Every time the generous people at Dawn publish one of my blogs, I start receiving phone calls from friends in the dozens. Write about this, one would say, as another would insist on a different topic....
View ArticleRise and fall: A tale of two contrasting 16 years
Pakistan's great fall had been a long time coming. It has finally happened.And with Pakistan's fall came the rise of Bangladesh.“Bangladesh ends 16-year long wait,” the headlines read. And it did not...
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Moin Akhtar, my father
"I was young and stranded and had left my job as a mechanic. I did not know what to do, but a quiet voice was always whispering to me, 'Whatever you do, make sure it is grand.'"—Moin AkhtarSeptember 6,...
View ArticleBracing for a 46 billion dollar future
Consider it Pakistan’s Marshall Plan. China’s $46 billion infrastructure spending is a once-in-a-lifetime development opportunity, which can put Pakistan on the path to development and...
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I come in peace …
I’ve been lucky enough to have been able to travel extensively across Asia, Europe and the United States in the last decade or so.But my favourite destinations remain to be certain European cities that...
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No justice for the Tahiras' of Sindh
Every day, at least two to three (and sometimes even more) cases of honour killing or karo-kari are reported in the Sindhi media. These cases now hardly acquire more than a column's space in Sindhi...
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Voting in NA-246: Then and now
April 23 was a highly awaited day because it is supposed to decide the future of NA-246– a constituency reigned by the biggest political party in Karachi, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).The...
View ArticleThe real tabdeeli in NA-246
There was no upset in NA-246: Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) Kunwar Naveed won, which means Muttahida will bag a National Assembly seat from the constituency for a record seventh time.But most...
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Aishwarya, we expected better
Does anyone else think Aishwarya Rai Bachan's response to Kalyan Jewellers 'racist' ad was weak?You may have heard that Aishwarya Rai Bachan has become embroiled in a furor over a “racist” ad. The...
View ArticleThoughts on a rise in India's Muslim population
Looking at projected populations, PEW Research Center has released a report (2nd April 2015) stating that the population of Hindus in India will fall down from the present 79.5 per cent to 76.7 per...
View ArticleSabeen, the one who never backed down
The fingers type, but I don’t feel them moving. The ears sense a commotion, but I cannot hear. The eyes fight back tears, but it’s futile to resist.How can you feel, how can you react, how can you...
View ArticleIdealism didn't kill Sabeen, bullets did
It’s easy to be cynical. Being cynical means not having to do anything, and the lack of action creates its own self-fulfilling prophecy. The cynical person sees a protest march and thinks, “That won’t...
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Badtameez Dil Sabeen
Sabeen was defiant in life, and went out just as defiant, if not more. There was nothing that would have dissuaded her from hosting the Balochistan talk last night at the T2F, for that's who she was....
View ArticleSabeen, what do I teach our children now?
Dear Sabeen, I woke up today to read on my Twitter feed that you had been shot. And, that you are no longer here with us. Believe me, the realisation that I was asleep while you were organising an...
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Drones — One white death can change everything
“Let us kill the people who are trying to kill us,” President Obama has been reported as telling his aides in relation to drone attacks.Indeed, drones have been the darlings of the Obama...
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Food Stories: The cutlet
I was a chubby kid, and the culprit for my excess weight was the delicious potato cutlet, partially. It was the early '80s. The sandwich-maker had just been introduced to Pakistan and I became a...
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From Germany to India: Chai and contradictions in Pakistan
This is the travel blog of backpackers Rochssare Neromand-Soma (28) and Morten Hübbe (30) who met at the same university in Germany, where they both studied Literature and Media. They finished school...
View ArticleNepal will rise again
Nepal slept uneasy on Saturday night, away from homes and buildings and under open skies. Throughout the night, the fitful sleep of those who survived Saturday’s catastrophic 7.8 earthquake was...
View ArticleSilencing dissent in Pakistan
“Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety” — this clichéd quote is ascribed to Benjamin Franklin; it presupposes a trade-off...
View ArticleKU's Dr Wahidur Rahman — A restless soul
At the best of times, he was a restless soul. At the worst of times, he was an irritatingly restless soul. Anyone who has shared professional space with Dr Wahidur Rahman will tell you the same....
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