Divide or perish: creating new provinces in Pakistan
My piece published in TFT Since 1947, two characteristics of the Pakistani state have continued to haunt its legitimacy and survival. The first relates…
Pakistan: A failing society?
My recent op-ed: A couple of weeks ago a conference at the Lahore School of Economics allowed me to pontificate on how Pakistan is…
Bulleh Shah’s admission
Bulleh-a aashiq hoyiyon Rabb da, Hoai Malamat Lakh Tenon Kafir Kafir aakhdey, toon aaho aaho aakh
(Bulleh Shah)
Bulleh lover of G-d, a million…
Kuch tu Hawa bhi serd thi
Kuch tu Hawa bhi serd thi, kuch tha tera khayal bhi Dil ku kushi ke saath saath, hota raha malal bhi Baat wu aadhi…
questions from a worker who reads
questions from a worker who reads Bertolt Brecht Who built Thebes of the 7 gates ? In the books you will read the names…
Clear and present danger
Published by The News, Pakistan If the parliament and judiciary want to continue exercising their newfound powers, they have no option but to act…
Karachi Literary Festival: Spring in the land of suicide bombers and charlatans
Who says Pakistani literature was a relic of the past? If anything, Pakistani authors have a global audience today, and our writers are now…
Pakistan: flood politics at its worst
there appears to be a deliberate construction of a dangerous discourse and a sham argument for the ascendancy of the armed forces. The military…
8th International Mystic Music Sufi Festival
Sufi Music and Expression of Devotion from the Muslim World is one among a rare festival initiated in Pakistan by Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop.Performance…
Whither rule of law?
State effectiveness, by most definitions, has been waning in Pakistan. The ability of the law enforcement agencies and institutions to deliver services and entitlements…
Pakistan’s Southern Punjab: Politics of marginalisation
The discourse on South Punjab conceals the grassroots social movements and the clamouring for a linguistic identity in the region The conundrum of South…
An Unlikely Catalyst For Change
Published in Tehelka this week AFTER 37 YEARS OF POLITICAL UNCERTAINTY, PAKISTAN’S CONSTITUTION HAS BEEN RECAST ON ZARDARI’S WATCH. WILL IT HELP REKINDLE DEMOCRACY,…
Institutions, accountability and the UN Report
The Pakistani citizenry has a right to know and live in a rule-based, just society where political assassinations are not the norm. If the…
The task ahead
Published in The News Pakistan has crossed a major milestone last week by achieving a historic consensus on the 18th Amendment with 105 clauses,…
Who’s afraid of Dara Shikoh’s ghost?
It is now a given that the Pakistani state is a playground for Islamism and extremism under various guises and forms. Since the passage…
Without Love…
What a moving quatrain by Rumi Without love, all worship is a burden, all dancing is a chore, all music is mere noise. All…
Whither civilian governance?
My new piece published by The Friday Times While the gurus of security and international affairs continue to unpack and make sense of the…
kab uskaa visaal chaahiye thaa -Jaun Elia
kab uskaa visaal chaahiye thaa kab uskaa visaal chaahiye thaa bas aik Khayaal chaahiye thaa (visaal : union) kab dil ko javaab se Gharz…
Shah Hussain, Madhu Lal and the festival of lights
Lighting of lamps is a metaphor for killing the inner darkness that we live with. By invoking spiritual light through love and self-knowledge, we…
GOD-FORSAKEN RELIGIONS
A poem by Cecil Rajendra Any religion that sidelines excludes any one. Any religion that does not open doors to every one. Any religion…