Technology and political legitimacy on June 22, 2019Social media’s profound impact on Pakistani politics is witnessed every day. There is no political development, update, official statement or rumour that does not escape comment on Twitter, Facebook, blogs, discussion forums and other social media platforms. In Pakistan, as well as on a global level, this new form of collective scrutiny has increasingly led […]
Sri Lankan cricket represents the grace of its nation on May 4, 2019A few days after the devastating Easter Sunday terrorist attacks, I was talking with a Sri Lankan friend at my home in Riyadh about how the attacks had shocked a thriving multicultural society that had moved beyond decades of ethnic strife. The optimism with which she described her country’s response – one of unique bravery […]
Preparing tweets as important as preparing guns on March 25, 2019Let’s get something straight first. White supremacy is an international terror threat. President Trump’s denial of that fact is beyond absurd. He just needs to read his own government’s study which states that between 2001 and 2016, 73 percent of terrorist attacks were waged by far-right extremist and 27 percent by Islamist extremists. That ends […]
Austen’s relevance in Pakistan on November 1, 2018While the influence of English literature in Pakistan stems from a century of British imperial rule, Pakistani authors who write in English have developed a unique, distinct voice. The recently published ‘Austenistan’ which recasts Jane Austen’s narrative in a contemporary South Asian context is a recent example. An anthology of short stories by Pakistani women […]
Mental health – what soldiers can teach us on September 7, 2018Last year, the Pakistan Medical Association said that rates of depression in the country were much higher than the world average. It was during his time in Pakistan and Afghanistan that former Financial Times and Reuters correspondent Matthew Green started seriously exploring the subject of mental health. Green’s book, ‘Aftershock’ is a masterful study on […]
Shutting the door on refugees on June 19, 2018Amid increasing intolerance towards migrants and refugees, the heroism of Mamoudou Gassama who scaled an apartment building in Paris to rescue a four-year-old boy hanging from a fourth floor balcony makes us ask why the stigmatisation of migrants is permitted. For his exceptional bravery — the kind only seen in superhero movies — 22-year-old Mamoudou […]
The inhumanity of Pakistan’s coal industry on May 22, 2018The recent demonstration held by the Pakistan Central Mines Labour Federation (PCMLF) in Quetta in the aftermath of two almost simultaneous coal mine explosions, which resulted in 23 fatalities, serves as a rallying call for justice for Pakistan’s coal miners. This disaster caught international attention in what is widely viewed as a deeply exploitative industry. […]
Pakistan’s primordial Hindu heritage on March 17, 2018The election of 39-year-old Krishna Kumari as the first Hindu Dalit woman to occupy a place in Pakistan’s Senate shines a spotlight on Pakistan’s long-suffering Hindu minority. Escaping a life of forced labour, her rise to the forefront of Pakistani politics is nothing short of inspiring. Similarly, the tireless struggle of 52-year-old Veeru Kohli against […]
Pakistan’s migrant tragedy on March 7, 2018Last month it was reported that 16 Pakistani migrants drowned at sea near the shores of Libya en route to Italy. Such tragedies are becoming all too common, highlighting the plight of countless Pakistanis whose lives have been marred by conflict, poverty and despair. The number of Pakistanis making this perilous journey by sea is […]
Pakistan’s lost children on February 11, 2018As the harrowing case of Zainab Ansari continues to grip the country, the endless cycle of abuse of Pakistan’s children continues unabated. Kasur, where a paedophile ring which victimised over 200 children was discovered in 2015, has been a hub of abuse, but it is far from the only place these crimes have occurred. The […]