Faisal Qureshi’s rant targeting Saif Ali Khan is not ‘patriotism’
For too long, the Indo-Pak dialogue has been held hostage by bellicose jingoists on both sides, and Faisal Qureshi’s video response to Saif Ali Khan’s controversial film epitomises our countries'...
View ArticleFake guns, real terrorism
This last Eid, as I was walking through the dusty old alleys of Nazimabad 5-C – paying visits to age-old community members and families from the time of my grandfather’s era – I couldn’t help but...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Narali: Exploring the pre-partition trade hub
Like other villages in the Gujar Khan Tehsil in Punjab, I was drawn to Narali because it boasts of some of the most wonderful historical monuments in the country. Before partition, Narali was known as...
View ArticleHow Phantom, Faisal Qureshi and Shaan vs Mawra exposed sexism in our midst
A few years ago, British columnist and whip-smart funny woman Caitlin Moran wrote about the particular breed of sexism she often encountered."These days," she said, "sexism is a bit like Meryl Streep...
View ArticlePublic transport: Letting Pakistani women take back the wheel
For women, taking back the wheel has always been a herculean task.In neighbouring India, for instance, according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the female labour force participation...
View ArticleHacking to blackmail women: A new evil in our 'honour' system
Earlier this week, Dawn reported on a group of lady doctors in Lahore being harassed by criminals who had hacked their social media accounts, and were using their private information to blackmail...
View ArticleHigh blood pressure? Here's how to lower it naturally
Every time a Pakistani parent or elder tells you that you’re “giving them high blood pressure”, there’s a one in three chance that they’re actually correct and it’s not the melodrama talking.According...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Books and baklava: Off the beaten path in Istanbul
Istanbul is a favourite destination for many tourists, and rightly so. The juxtaposition of Byzantine and Ottoman architecture with the serenity of Basphorous is a visual treat! However, the long...
View ArticleIslamsplaining: Why do non-Muslims insist on explaining Islam to me?
You can’t solve a problem if you don’t know you have a problem. But how do you know you have a problem if you don’t have a word for it?“Mansplaining,” for example, describes the peculiar tendency of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
BREAKING: PTA to ban Saif Ali Khan everywhere
ISLAMABAD: After the Pakistan censor board banned Bollywood megastar Saif Ali Khan’s movies subsequent to his comments about losing his faith in Pakistan, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA)...
View ArticleClik here to view.
An apology to Wasim Akram is not enough
Wasim Akram talks to media as he arrives at the National Cricket Stadium in Karachi on August 5, 2015, after a gunman opened fire on his car. — AFPEarlier last month, the former Pakistan cricket...
View ArticleWho is responsible for the two Pakistani teenage 'suicides'?
Two days ago, I woke up to the terrible news of the death of two children in a school in Karachi. Initial reports suggested that the children had decided to end their lives after their parents...
View Article'No one puts their children in a boat unless the water is safer than the land'
Images of a drowned Syrian child shocked the world today. The pictures, taken on Wednesday morning, show the lifeless body of a three year-old boy (identified as Aylan Kurdi) washed up ashore on a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Food Stories: Khichri
Khichri, another name for wholesome goodness and one more commonality, amongst many, that connects sub-continental households across borders, languages and ethnicities. Children are nourished on...
View ArticleClik here to view.
10 things Pakistani dramas taught me about doctors
Picture this: Dhoop Kinaray. Dr Ahmar and Dr Zoya Ali Khan infinitely lost in each other’s eyes and treating patients at the same time. He smiles, takes a microsecond-long look at a howling child who...
View ArticleNo more taboos: Pakistanis must destigmatise suicides
A few years ago, I heard about a young student in Pakistan on scholarship to a prestigious university, commit suicide. Being away from Pakistan, I could not learn anything beyond hearsay. He had...
View Article11 Pakistani cricketers who would have been legends of T20 cricket
Pakistan has produced some of the most exciting cricketers the world has ever seen. Many of these players bowed out of the game before the inception of Twenty20 cricket, a format ideally suited to the...
View ArticleCovering climate change: Why the Paris conference is important
While the media in regional countries like India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Maldives have a good understanding of global climate change negotiations and are well aware of climate change and its...
View ArticleBlaming Sunny Leone: When politicians give green signals to rape
On a TV show discussing if child marriages are kosher, I realised I should not have been there in the first place. It was like discussing if waterboarding, maiming or beheadings were a laudable method...
View ArticleClik here to view.
17 years and no census in Pakistan — A country running on guesswork
Every sensible parent knows that the timely and frequent measurements of their newborn’s height and weight is essential for the child’s mental and physical development. A national Census is no...
View Article