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Of course, charging an ex-Chief of Army staff with treason will help us fight...
After many hiccups and a long wait, the day has finally come and former president Pervez Musharraf has been indicted for treason. This is a new chapter in the history of Pakistan, for reasons both,...
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Don’t equate the United Baloch Army with the Taliban!
Wednesday April 9, 2014. 8 am. Islamabad I-11’s fruit market. A blast rips through the usually quiet federal capital morning. Over two dozen lives lost. Everyday news in everyday Pakistan. The only...
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Iss parcham ke saaye talay
It’s been more than a decade since I have felt safe in my own country. Through times, I have experienced phases that this country has seen, but never have I seen such a demanding situation that seemed...
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Should war be celebrated?
On the walls along MA Jinnah Road, I came across certain graffiti, a bold approval in red paint, which read, “Pak fauj qadam barhao, hum tumharay saath hain” (Take a step, Pakistani Army, the people...
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A sham democracy is not democracy at all, PML-N
In light of recent events, the government has said that it has a firm resolve to ‘safeguard’ democracy at any cost. I am not entirely sure what the government thinks democracy really is. So far,...
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How Hollywood reacts to Gaza: Welcome to the dark side
Since the early 20th century, Hollywood has been persistently flourishing and progressing towards better and greater dimensions; shaping filmmaking trends for rest of the world’s leading film...
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An open letter to anti-PTI trolls
Am I a member of a cult or some secret society? No. Have I recently been released from prison for murder? No. Then why do I have to cringe every time I show my support for the Azadi March and why am I...
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Why socialists do not brace the Azadi and Inqilab marches
Enough has been said and written about Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri in the recent days, and for obvious reasons. These contentious, yet, influential leaders have occupied the living room space of every...
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Drones, Pakistan’s worst kept secret
The current surge in drone strikes in FATA has reignited the infamous ‘drone debate’ and ‘Pakistan’s tacit agreement’ on intelligence sharing with the United States. Only a few months ago, Peter...
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The birth of widows in conflict ridden Kashmir
In 2008 and 2010, Kashmir witnessed the most severe and popular anti-India movement leading to the death of more than 200 individuals, mostly teenagers. The decade’s old conflict has given birth to...
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Why can’t we bring back Ali Haider Gilani or Shahbaz Taseer?
Ali Haider Gilani, son of former Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, was abducted on May 2, 2013 during an election rally from his hometown, Multan. His secretary and bodyguard were both killed, and...
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150,000 dead and counting: When will Af-Pak’s killing spree end?
Wars are a nasty killing business, the culmination of a failure of diplomacy or resolution of conflicts in a peaceful manner. Like religious fanaticism, where reason and logic stop and aggression gives...
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Aitchison may be ‘the best school in Pakistan’, but our education system is...
Editor’s note: When I first read Mr Haider’s email, my first reaction was to decline the post. The blog in question, for which he wrote this rebuttal reproduced below, had been published two years ago....
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Mass graves and the filth that is our government hospitals
The sun was at its zenith and the temperature and humidity were at its peak. Karachi, the city of lights, has been a victim of a severe heat wave which has resulted in the loss of more than a thousand...
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Punjab is Pakistan and Pakistan is Punjab
As 83 mutilated corpses are found in Balochistan, I further lose hope in our crumbling system and the state. A state which has failed its citizens over and over again. Every man with an empty head and...
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Women like Shazia Perveen don’t wait for a saviour, they are their own saviour
Her eyes were ablaze with determination and professionalism while she was all set to perform her heroic duties. The picture, in true sense of the words, spoke a thousand words. Shazia Perveen is the...
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When the concept of ‘an eye for an eye’ seeps into the fashion world
The recent allegations surrounding designer Tabassum Mughal are widely known. She is accused of ‘beating up’ and verbally abusing a client’s mother, Shagufta Noor, when she visited the studio at the...
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Dear Ahmed, like you, I was also viewed as the ‘enemy’
You may have heard the story of Ahmed Mohamed, the 14-year-old Dallas student who was arrested after bringing a home-made clock in to show his teacher. They believed it was a bomb, likely because Ahmed...
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Why did PML-N let Musharraf go?
Those who had anticipated the former military dictator lingering behind bars, for monopolising power through unlawful acts for nearly a decade, are reminded of Manto’s masterpiece, Naya Qanoon. The...
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He named her Angel
I named her Angel and she looked the part too. After four rowdy boys, my wife and I had prayed for a girl. I was blessed, fathering four sons or at least that is what everyone told me. However, the...
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