Could there be a liberal resurgence in Pakistan? Lawmaker Sherry Rehman says she’s working on it.
By Issam Ahmed Fri Jan 28 | Karachi, Pakistan – Liberal Pakistani lawmaker Sherry Rehman left a comfortable life researching a book in London…
Developments around Taseer killing disturb liberal Pakistanis
Islamabad, Jan 5 The emergence of Facebook pages eulogising the assassin of Governor Salmaan Taseer and praise from Islamic clerics for the killer have…
Pakistan media: Through the looking glass
It is ironic that the electronic media which played a major role in the movement against a military dictatorship is now being cited as…
Iqbal – The Universal Reformer
It takes thousands of year for a genious of the highest class to be born. Iqbal believed in habitual vision of greatness. He had…
Match fixing: shameful and unacceptable
The match-fixing allegations are not new for Pakistani cricketers. In the past, such allegations have been proved within the country. The recent scandal with…
Can we afford to bypass Jinnah’s Pakistan?
Published today by Jinnah Institute, Islamabad: Notwithstanding the contradictions inherent to pre-1947 Muslim politics, Jinnah was clear about certain fundamentals. Pakistan was to be…
Pakistan: Ungoverned Spaces
My paper published by CIDOB – Barcelona Centre for International Affairs Even after more than six decades since its inception, Pakistan has been unable…
Three Melodies – the evergreen voice of Noor Jehan
I wish to apologise for those who may not be able to understand the lyrics – but I was most excited to find these…
Pakistan loses young Facebook friends
Raza Rumi was quoted by the Australian The Lahore High Court banned access to the social networking site on Wednesday after conservative Islamic lawyers…
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…
Abida Parveen sings Faraz’s poem
Found this enchanting piece of music here: In his latest double CD “Paigham-e-Muhabbat” composer Muzaffar Ali, who has brought so much pleasure to our…
Why a Pakistani Ambassador is not acceptable to Saudi Arabia
Now this is truly funny – Saudis have rejected the credentials of our Ambassador designate on not-so-flimsy grounds Read here -The post at Cafe…
Farewell Haqqani Saheb – forgive your peers and colleagues
A personal favourite, Irshad Ahmad Haqqani is dead. This is a huge loss to Urdu journalism as he was the last of sane voices…
Farida Khanum Singing Raga Kamod – Manna for the Soul
I am cross-posting my dear friend Fawad’s excellent post from here. The links here are worth visiting and the music is fabulous for those who…
The tender tea house
I was quite pleased to read this piece. Aside from fact that it talks about me, the constant rememberance of Pak Tea House is…
Sub-Continent’s Berlin Wall
I am posting Shivani Mohan's article where I have been quoted with reference to the recent folklore festival held under the aegis of SAARC.…
Coffee, tea and revolution
Before his death in July 2009, KK Aziz had accomplished one mission that he had set for himself, i.e. to write about the Lahore…
Extracts from Empires of the Indus by Alice Albinia
From The Guardian In a land where it seldom rains, a river is as precious as gold. Water is potent: it trickles through human…
Jinnah Unfairly Demonised for Partition
Jinnah was a “great leader†and was unfairly “demonised†by India for his role in the Partition, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Jaswant Singh…
Amankaar Tehrik (peace movement) in Pakistan challenges the status quo
Courtesy Fouzia Saeed DISSPELLING THE MYTHS ABOUT TALIBAN Myth: The root cause of Terrorism is extreme poverty and lack of education Reality: This is…