Last week, in a blog titled ‘The Convenient Curtain of Myth‘, I tried to show the dangers of viewing international politics through popular mythological conceptions which produce theories like the India-US-Israel triangulation as a conspiracy to destroy Islam and Pakistan. Little did I know...

Islamabad, November 18: Famous anti-India TV personality, Zion Hamid, was caught yesterday watching Shakuntali, a popular Indian TV soap opera. The discovery was made by one of his fans who Hamid thought was his milkman. When Hamid opened his door, the fan heard and saw the TV in the background where...

Recently, I met some jihadis who have been in the business of holy war since the 1990s. I was surprised to hear that even though they were in support of the jihad in Afghanistan and Kashmir, they were opposed to the idea of destabilising Pakistan itself. When asked who was responsible for the suicide...

I had a bizarre encounter with our corner shopwallah the other day, which went something like this. ‘Ayee?’ (Has it come?) ‘Abhi nahin. Kal try karna.’ (Not yet. Try tomorrow.) So I did, and he still didn’t have it. This continued for several days, our conversation going from business-like,...

The day after the terrible terrorist attack at Islamabad’s Islamic University that took the lives of eight innocent students, certain TV news channels ran a footage of a dozen or so angered students of the university pelting stones. The first question that popped up in my mind after watching the spectacle...

A Paki is a Paki no matter where and what. Those complaining of racism abroad should also look at the way they’re treated at home. Please get it right: it is not always your colour or, of late, religion that may be responsible for the way you’re treated by goras and Arabs alike; it is the Pakistani...

In his prose work, Allama Muhammad Iqbal foresaw the trajectory of the Pakistani masses, writes Khurram Ali Shafique. The best resource for understanding the work of Allama Iqbal is the collective experience of the Pakistani masses, including the unschooled. Call it a dream, but I consider it to be...

Is there a connection between the absence of madressahs and guns and that of violence in the public sphere? The election campaign’s images coming out of Gilgit-Baltistan are just old world enthralling. The region is set to go to the polls on Nov 12, and big and small leaders of political parties like...

Could it be that President Asif Ali Zardari is finally ready to part with his power? Reports this week state that the president is ready to hand over some of the authority given under Article 58-2b to the parliament – sounds familiar? Perhaps it reminds you of the time Zardari first stated this well...

It’s worth remembering the adage ‘justice delayed is justice denied.’ Yesterday marked the second anniversary of the missing people’s case. Amina Masood Janjua, chairperson of the Defence of Human Rights in Pakistan – an independent organisation calling for the release of all citizens who have...