Rumours of corrupt practices during Matriculation exams have always been rampant in Pakistan. And as is the case with rumours regarding corruption in Pakistan, most prove to be factual. Frequent cheating diminished the credibility of local exams and the Pakistani elite soon turned to British O and A...

Popular media in Pakistan is playing to the gallery of glorified irrationalism, writes Nadeem F. Paracha. On the day renowned Islamic scholar Dr Sarfraz Naeemi was brutally slaughtered by a suicide bomber of Baitullah Masud’s terrorist set-up, the Tehreek-e-Taliban-Pakistan (TTP) [1], mainstream television...

They whizz past you barefooted with mud-smudged faces. Although they are normally a nuisance, during  hot days when you are carrying heavy bags, these Itwaar Bazaar ‘mazdoors’ can be quite helpful. Take Abdul Ghafoor, for instance. He was persistent enough to follow me for about half an hour this...