In the midst of an impassioned mob at the New York Yankees ticker tape parade, I came across an unexpected sight. A few feet from me, with an equally obtrusive view of Broadway, stood a tall Caucasian man holding an Urdu newspaper, the words ‘Pakistan Times’ in a bold Arabic script across...

Toronto’s Gerrard Street was ablaze with a cacophony of familiar sights and sounds. Was this really Canada? It was hard to tell. This was the second time I had joined the joyous melee of chaand raat on foreign soil. The boisterous scene was enjoyable, but anyone present in the vicinity could be forgiven...

Is there a difference between Muslim history and Islamic history? I found myself asking this question while seated in a university course titled, ‘History of Islam till 1258,’ with an emphasis on political and economic issues. Our professor, a non-Muslim, had been dealing with Muslim students’...

Canadian citizens of Pakistani descent are beginning to wonder whether it’s worth it to marry people from back home. A friend of mine, Najma, recently expressed her displeasure at the Canadian immigration system pertaining to spousal sponsorship. As a Canadian citizen of Pakistani descent, she...

Toronto-based Taimoor Farouk shares tales from the Pakistani diaspora. The other day, I visited my parents’ long lost friends who had fled Pakistan in the mid-1980s and settled in Canada to secure a good future for their children. Their house, situated in a posh locality of the Greater Toronto area,...

Toronto-based Taimoor Farouk shares tales from the Pakistani diaspora with Dawn.com. During the past several years, I have often found myself pondering something as basic as a queue. It is fascinating that from the most ruthless armies to harmless ants, all creatures have practiced the art of queuing...

Toronto-based Taimoor Farouk shares tales from the Pakistani diaspora with Dawn.com. Staring at the Monument to Multiculturalism in Toronto the other day, I remembered a political science lecture that helped me better understand Canada’s multiculturalism soon after I had arrived here a few years ago....