Kartarpur Corridor — Pakistan creates history on November 5, 2019The Government of Pakistan’s goodwill gesture of offering Sikh devotees an opportunity to worship at the Kartarpur Gurdwara without having to obtain a Pakistani Visa has caused a wave of joy to sweep across the Sikh community worldwide. Now, in honor of the 550th birthday celebrations of Baba Guru Nak, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, […]
Population explosion, contraceptives and religion on October 6, 2019The forsaken topic of birth control in Pakistan has always been shrouded with enigma and plagued with controversies. The very idea of birth control and contraceptives has always been dealt with a pinch of salt and often viewed as a vague non-Islamic measure by many pseudo-religious factions. They would stand up against just any other […]
Child Pornography in Pakistan: Reality or myth? on July 15, 2019If an average Pakistani transgresses into the deep web just for child pornography, he is also deemed to be swayed by other criminal activities. Human Rights Minister Shirin Mazari recently asserted in the National Assembly that Pakistan was ranked as the country with the largest numbers of child pornography viewers. This got me thinking over […]
The Christian-only condition for sanitary workers in Pakistan on July 7, 2019Recently, the rescinding of the ‘Christian-only’ condition for sanitary workers by the Pakistan Army has been met with praise by the public. It is a decisive action made by the upper echelons of the establishment, strategically removing religious discrimination against minorities, a vice previously considered to be a norm. Such societal norms, which are exclusive […]
Origins of the polio conspiracy narrative on May 4, 2019An important lesson of history is that rumours of a conspiracy against large segments of population can only be ignored at great peril. Neglect on this front can easily lead to anarchy and bedlam. In 1857, for instance, the rumour that the new cartridges used cow and pig fat, insulted the pride of both Hindu […]
Understanding the Hazara genocide on April 18, 2019The Hazara community was at the receiving end last week of yet another attack in Quetta’s Hazarganji area. The community has been a victim of heinous attacks in the past as well. O October 10, 2017, two unidentified men on a motorcycle had opened fire on a van heading for a nearby vegetable market, killing […]
Marital rape a non-criminalized crime on April 13, 2019Recent incidents of domestic violence have made me contemplate over a very indispensable issue – marital rape. As of today, Pakistan still has a very feeble stand over criminalizing marital rape with section 375 being the only legislature related to rape crimes yet still includes no reference to marriage. With the rising hue and cry […]
Forced conversion and religious zealots on April 2, 2019I was appalled upon learning that yet another family fell a victim of a religious zealot-another forceful conversion had taken place in Pakistan. To be born in a country which was created on a rationale that offered equality for all minorities, I was nothing but flabbergasted over this surreal yet heinous act of a conversion […]