Aliya Anjum

The dearly departed General Zia-ul-Haq was the first to use the slogan of Islam to gain and retain power. He endlessly preached to the choir and stressed upon clothing and empty ritual. Thanks to his pioneering ways, the entire nation now seeps in hypocrisy. From social media preachers to Tele-muftis to mosque imams, everyone is […]

In Pakistan, lying is a way of life, yet the nation desires an honest leader. Each Pakistani seeks for himself or herself what he or she denies others. Religious innovations, or bidaat, over the centuries have infantilized and objectified women. Herein lies the root of all evil. The absolute denial of agency and public space […]

Boko Haram in Nigeria and the TTP in Pakistan are geographically, linguistically, and culturally disparate groups. However, the identical trajectory of Boko Haram and Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) establishes that they were created from the same mould. Such Salafi-Jihadi movements claim to be subaltern resistance to the forces of globalization. Nigeria and Pakistan have their commercial […]

The producers of Top Gun Maverick had low expectations for the film. However, they minted almost $1.5 billion from a sequel that premiered 36 years after the original classic. Top Gun Maverick is filmmaking at its best. Tom Cruise’s personal passion for aviation shines through in the film, because he pushed the actors to go […]

In April 2022, Shari Baloch, a suicide bomber, killed three Chinese language teachers and a Pakistani driver inside the premises of Karachi University. Shari’s educated parents claimed ignorance, but her dentist husband initially expressed pride over his late wife’s actions on Twitter. However, after being arrested by the authorities, he changed his stance and declared […]

My father read every day, and he inculcated in me, the reading habit, which has benefitted me tremendously in life. In my childhood, I enjoyed reading both English books and Urdu story books, which was a great blessing. If Enid Blyton’s enchanting fictional world was full of engaging characters then Dastaan Ameer Hamza with Umro […]

Pakistan’s 75th anniversary is approaching. What should be an occasion of fanfare and celebration has been marred by the political chaos that has engulfed the country. Quaid-e-Azam, with his foresight viz-a-viz the two-nation theory, bequeathed us a sovereign nation. Looking at India today, we should all be immensely grateful to the Quaid-e-Azam. Prime Minister Narendra […]

The Covid lockdown and restrictions confined the world to their homes. Global powers are now posturing for dominance and almost all flashpoints are presently triggered. Russia has been heavily sanctioned by the west, similar to Iran. Facing an economic crisis, Russia initially reached out to its long-time ally, India. Seeing India being held back by […]

Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and his political ally Asif Ali Zardari, were very keen to oust Imran Khan after the latter tried his best to cancel them. In his haste to oust Khan and assume office, Shahbaz Sharif took over a bankrupt nation, heading towards sovereign default. A sovereign default occurs when a country is […]

Rains are always a welcome sight in southern Pakistan, which is sunny and hot for most of the year.  There is poetry and romance associated with the rainy season.  The monsoon rains offer a respite from the scorching sun.  This year, the heat was unbearable as unprecedented temperatures were experienced due to climate change.  The […]