The personal is political
January 22, 2017: The personal is political (Dawn) Pakistani American artist Anila Quayyum Agha has been celebrated for her groundbreaking sculptural installation ‘Intersections’ that earned…
Love, Loss and Gain: Anila Quayyum Agha’s Art
A shorter version of this article was published in DAWN in January 2017. Pakistani American artist Anila Quayyum Agha has been celebrated for her…
Fighting for democracy
Raza Rumi is a Pakistani journalist and policy analyst who is currently Visiting International Scholar in Residence at Ithaca College, US. A consistent voice…
Portfolio: Local yet global
Recently, Aicon Gallery in York exhibited Monomania the first solo US exhibition of Karachi-based artist Adeel uz Zafar. The title of the exhibition summed…
In memoriam: Writers like Intizar Husain never die, they live on in their words and ideas
In celebrating his pluralistic literary roots, Intizar Husain was a truly contemporary writer. Intizar Husain, the last of great Urdu writers, passed away yesterday…
Miniature Painting Goes Global
Steeped in the past, and yet, modernist in its application, neo miniature is the new face of Pakistani miniature painting and art. Having evolved…
One size may not fit all
Excerpts from my statement: Raza Rumi, Senior Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace, says the government has much to do when it…
Not being dead is a victory for Balochistan’s journalists
Why, one would ask, is killing the only answer for disagreement? To say that Pakistani journalists are under attack is an understatement. They are…
Khushwant Singh: The last Pakistani living on Indian soil
My tribute to KS (first published in DAWN on March 30) IT is difficult to evaluate the legacy of writer, journalist and an icon…
Displacement & Discontent – Basti by Intizar Husain
THE publication of Basti’s translation is an important literary milestone. The author, Intizar Husain, is perhaps the greatest living Urdu writer and his genius…
Karachi Literature Festival: The great divide
The third Karachi Literature Festival concluded recently. I am posting a short piece of mine which was published by the News on Sunday. Another…
Sense and sovereignty in Kafkastan
I just returned from Karachi, where the city was outraged at the unscheduled, endless power cuts. Everywhere, the energy crisis dominated the discussions. In…
Social media and Pakistan – prospects and possibilities
When I started to blog, almost by accident, a few Pakistani bloggers were found in cyberspace. Within half a decade the number has multiplied…
Mukhtar Mai – Media and Misogyny
My piece for DAWN As if the showering of rose petals on Mumtaz Qadri and the release of a new Urdu book ‘Parwana-i-Shama-i-Risalat’ extolling…
Reforming the education system
The recent debates on education have also highlighted how the education sector is not receiving its due compared to say defence, infrastructure and other…
KLF: a mixed bag
By Huma Imtiaz When a literary festival’s headliner is author and religious thinker Karen Armstrong, one wonders whether to be amused, or descend into…
My session with Intizar Husain: Karachi Literature Festival 2011
Huma Imitiaz has summed up the session I moderated at the KLF. Huma has been kind to me but I am just a humble…
Literature Festival ends with homage to Faiz
By Peerzada Salman KARACHI: A befitting and heartfelt tribute to Faiz Ahmed Faiz ended the 2nd Karachi Literature Festival at a local hotel on…
Stories of Sarmad
Read this excellent piece by Bilal Tanweer published in DAWN, Pakistan on one of my favourite characters: In another variation of this motif, the…
Hyderabad – Past And Present
The Untold Charminar -Reviewed By Asif Noorani Way back in 1954 when I greeted a grand old lady, who had migrated to Karachi from…