Were you silent about sexual abuse in your childhood? You're not alone
I was sitting in a coffee shop with a few close friends recently and the lighthearted banter suddenly turned serious when talk turned to the topic of child abuse. I’m not really sure how we ended up...
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Bringing our children home in shrouds instead of graduation caps
Phone ringing of a victim of the Lahore Blast; caller's name is Ammi Jaan (dearest mother). The phone snaps to life, the ring tone strident, the caller’s name lighting up the screen: Ammi Jaan. But no...
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'Cycle chalao, patriarchy dubao': Taking to Karachi streets without the...
Three girls are cycling ahead of me, one trailing with a poster that reads #GirlsOnBikes. Another has one hung on her back: ‘Hamari sarkein, hamara sheher.’Fifteen bikers — an unusual sight of...
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Polar ends: Three conversations
1. How can you not allow us to wear clothes according to our faith in your country?Would your country allow me to wear clothes according to our culture in your country?But your country is a...
View ArticleBombs targeting Christians is extremism, but our everyday bigotry isn't?
Words ought to fail us. But we can't afford the luxury of that failure anymore than we can afford the luxury of all the other potential failures staring us in the face as this phase of the 21st century...
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Swat — A beautiful tragedy
The stunning Swat valley has been at the epicentre of many tragedies, so much so that even the hands writing her elegies have run out of words. Be it extremism or catastrophe, there's no calamity that...
View ArticleWest Indies v England: There’s only one team Pakistanis will be cheering for
Pakistan's exit from the World Twenty20 was unceremonious to say the least and for many local followers, it was the end of their interest in the tournament. Not for me. As a die hard cricket fan, one...
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Doom, gloom and Boom Boom
By the time this column appears, Shahid Afridi would have either decided to put a full stop to a waning international career, which the entire Pakistan expects of him. Or he would have sent another...
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Mela Chiraghan — Where the light is stronger than the darkness in Lahore
Enter the third day of the Mela Chiraghan (Festival of Lights) in Lahore and I decided to pay a visit. My visit came barely a day after the Lahore park massacre. I needed to block out the images and...
View ArticleWhat being a minority in the US taught me about minorities in Pakistan
Lahore is my native city — it has always been the dearest sense of love I have felt. It was the beautiful gardens and my most favourite majestic Old Lahore. It was the mouthwatering hareesa at...
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Camp Gwadar: Diary of an embedded journalist
This is the first installment of a three-part travelogue. DAY 1 0630hrs: I feel it is a cardinal sin of the highest order to ask a journalist to report for duty at 7am on a winter morning. Suffice it...
View ArticleDhoni in the time of Virat Kohli
‘Come, let’s have some fun,’ said captain Dhoni.'Captain Cool' was fed up of being asked about his retirement plans yet again and it was time to turn the tables on the pesky journalists. So he pulled a...
View Article'We're just tired of hate' — My social experiment on Holi in Pakistan
I sometimes imagine what it would be like to belong to another religion in Pakistan. Would I own it, would I prefer it?I was ecstatic when news of a public holiday on Holi in Sindh broke. However...
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Mogambo in Arabia: A fly-on-the-wall review
Disclaimer: This article is categorised as satire.
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Panama pampers: A fly-on-the-wall review
Disclaimer: This article is categorised as satire.
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My search for the elusive ‘giant’ of Deosai
I first came across the name "Land of the Giant" in a blog post. It had never occurred to me before that Deosai could have anything to do with a deo (giant). I decided to embark on a trip hoping to...
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Panama Papers — Who is going to ask Pakistanis to pay their taxes now?
Panama — a country with serene beaches, untouched rainforests, and the bank accounts of our country’s elites.—Creative commons Here’s a question for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif: How can you look the...
View Article5 ways to save money ... even when it seems impossible
Money matters are usually stressing, especially when you can’t keep a track on where your money is going. I was extravagant myself until a year back, but one night, my family needed money urgently for...
View Article5 ways to save money...even when it seems impossible
Money matters are usually stressing, especially when you can’t keep a track on where your money is going. I was extravagant myself until a year back, but one night, my family needed money urgently for...
View ArticleChild's play — Is video gaming dangerous?
For the larger part of my life, I have identified as a gamer. I have grown to learn that this admission usually incites responses orbiting immaturity. Perhaps the adjective “play” triggers this...
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