Pakistan, politicians and promises on May 6, 2016“I saw it when my father was in active politics; when I joined politics; in the years I have been part of the party that I’m a member of; in my interaction with all kinds of politicians; during social dos, party meetings, I see one common factor: politicians who claim to work for people never […]
Ban the bans! on April 29, 2016The outrage on social media on any given subject is enough to drown the combined cackles of a clan of spotted hyenas. On any given day. The self-importance of the self-labelled twitterati is enough to put a preening peacock to shame in a relatively low-key hour of self-admiration. Other than the heads of states, sports, […]
My country called Pakistan on March 31, 2016Things are bad, and things need to be talked, written and tweeted about. But where is that line that blurs healthy criticism into outright trashing? There have always been the mediums of newspapers, magazines, television, and cinema, with the recent addition of the multi-dimensional hydra, colloquially known as social media, and the landscape of information […]
The tolerance debate on March 2, 2016The very word tolerance speaks of an environment where myriad and contrasting ideas, viewpoints, social ethos, ideological narratives, cultural dynamics and religious distinctions exist. From the fundamental grouping of family to community to society to nation, the entire edifice of human interaction stands not merely on the similarities between individuals but on the distinct differences […]
August 2014 on August 25, 2014The din is raucous. Each sound is more ominous than the other. The combat continues, and as the world watches, bemused, amused, bored, the real victim goes unheard: Pakistan. Today, the leaders of Pakistan, a third world country, beset by the constant horrors of terrorism, inflation, power crises, unemployment and breakdown of law and order, […]
The Pakistani woman on June 22, 2014“There are two powers in the world: one is the sword and the other is the pen. There is great competition and rivalry between the two. There is a third power stronger than both, that of the women” — Muhammad Ali Jinnah.Jinnah said this 67 years ago, and every day the truth of these words […]
To Kazakhstan with love II on May 7, 2014One of the most important sessions at the Eurasian Media Forum (EAMF) 2014 in Astana, Kazakhstan was the ‘New world order to defuse east-west tensions’. “Russia will not give up Crimea and the world must accept that reality,” former speaker of the US House of Representatives Newt Gingrich stated to an audience of politicians, experts […]
To Kazakhstan with love I on May 6, 2014As I paced restlessly at the Turkish Airlines lounge in Istanbul, wondering how I got myself an eight-hour stopover for a two-day trip, I cheered up thinking about what the two days had in store for me. This was my first trip to Central Asia, Astana, Kazakhstan being my destination, where the Eurasian Media Forum […]
Of longing, laughter, love, literature, Lahore II on March 8, 2014The roads surrounding the Alhamra were vehicle-lined as far as my bad-sighted eyes could see, and there was no parking space left by 11 am for even a motorbike. The event was not some political rally or a pop-star’s concert, but the Lahore Literary Festival (LLF), which to the delightful surprise of booklovers like me […]
Of longing, laughter, love, literature, Lahore I on March 1, 2014No one does it better than Lahore. Give it a chance, it will dazzle you with its abundance of spirit, love for all things good, responsiveness to new ideas, heartfelt nostalgia for the old, craving for stimulation of the mind and appreciation of the splendid. The three days of the literary festival displayed all that […]