The deafening sound of silence
Democracies are meant to be transparent and open – their workings visible to people. They are meant to be places where information is readily accessible to people, their basic ‘right…
Noise sense
Lately there was much amusement when a local English daily printed a story on strained relations between Gulf states. It was standard fare, dwelling on the KSA-Qatar rift that every…
The Luxor lesson
If you look at the map, upper Egypt is actually in the south. While this seems like a major geographical faux pas, the fact is that Egypt is governed by…
The new Pakistani woman
As the world celebrates International Women’s Day on March 8, a year’s journey of Pakistani women can be summed up in four images, each worth many thousand words. On May…
Don’t ‘like’ this
You’ve heard of Pakistan Idol. You’ve also no doubt heard of, and heard, Hadiqa Kiani. And chances are you’re familiar with Mufti Naeem, of Jamia Binoria fame. But perhaps you…
Closing of the Pakistani mind
A Friend showed me a class four Pakistani textbook from the 1960s. It was on famous personalities. In the first section there were four chapters, including one on Prophet Muhammad…
The Sharia question
During a recent talk show discussion on the form of Islamic laws desirable for Pakistan, the anchor brushed aside a panelist’s cautious questioning of the premise by proclaiming that ‘everyone…
The hydra of Lerna
The last of the directors shuffled into the room, and took the one empty seat at the far end of the round table. The panel was finally complete, and the…
The Baloch are here
“Lahore 75 kilometres” read the milestone in the picture, but over the Facebook the professor wryly remarked “Lahore is farther”. In the foreground of the image marched a handful of…
Rape, left and right
AFTER a routine autopsy at a Delhi hospital, Khurshid Anwar`s damaged body was brought to the Communist Party`s Delhi headquarters, its portals now an abbreviated shadow of glorious days when…
