Be Global Citizens: My Advice to Public Affairs Students at Cornell Commencement
August 1, 2017: Be Global Citizens: My Advice to Public Affairs Students at Cornell Commencement (Huffington Post) Last weekend I delivered this speech at Cornell Institute…
Govt is digging own grave by muzzling online freedoms
The ongoing campaign against digital media is an extension of the established patterns of how the state – including elected government – can muzzle…
Dissent is not blasphemy
Last week, a bizarre public notice issued by the federal investigation agency (FIA) appealed to the general public to provide evidence about social media…
Should we let the India problem ruin our ties with Afghanistan and Iran?
It is unfortunate to see something of a siege mentality developing in Pakistan’s regional posture. For a country that is situated at the crossroads…
Islamic State, a threat Pakistan can no longer ignore
The ghastly attack on the convoy of Deputy Chairman Senate in Mastung, Balochistan comes as the latest of terror attacks claimed by the self-styled…
Sagacious move by the military – Pakistan wins
Pakistan’s military leadership, by issuing its latest statement on the Dawn Leaks issue through the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), has done the democratic process…
Threatening the regulators?
Recent revelations by Print and Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) Chairman Absar Alam, made to representatives of the media, are most troubling. The Chairman…
The Sound of Data Darbar
NEW YORK, May 6, 2017 — Me and classical singer Tahira Syed. We explore Lahore’s, and arguably Pakistan’s, cornerstone of Sufism, the shrine of…
Go Nawaz go . . . for an early election
The third term of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been far from smooth. Beset by challenges of governance and a strong opposition, he has…
An elusive victory
Third time elected PM has once again survived in office. Two Supreme Court judges in their dissenting judgment found Sharif guilty of the charges…
Let’s accept what we have done to ourselves
The lynching of Mashal Khan by fellow students at an educational campus in Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, is a stark reminder of what we have done to ourselves. The…
Blasphemer hunting must stop
The violent passions incited in many sections of Pakistani society by accusations of blasphemy were on display once again – this time in Mardan.…
Pakistan’s radicalisation problem begins at school
In 2010, Pakistan’s Parliament devolved education as well as the powers to set school curricula to the provinces. Many of us heralded this change,…
My Utopia Died Three Years Ago
The Parliament has extended the military courts for another two years. Cited as a desperate measure in extraordinary times, there has been a widespread…
Music: Tabla master Sandeep Das & Kayhan Kalhor
Tabla master Sandeep Das joins multiple Grammy nominee and co-founder of Masters of Persian Music Kayhan Kalhor following their March D.C. appearance with Silk…
We need to talk about NAP
27 Jan 2017: We need to talk about NAP (The Friday Times) For more than two years, Pakistanis have been assured that terrorists have…
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…
Bring Pakistan’s Missing Bloggers Home
An activist holding an image of Salman Haider during a protest to condemn the disappearances of social activists, in Karachi, Pakistan, this month. Credit…
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…
Taseer will live as an icon for a sane, just Pakistan
Salmaan Taseer, businessman, publisher and Governor of Pakistan’s largest Province, was killed by his bodyguard a zealot who like his supporters thought that Taseer had…