Where is Osama bin Laden? He could be hiding in the mountains of Pakistan, or Afghanistan or maybe hanging out in the south of France. It shouldn’t matter. In the nine long years since 9/11, we’ve seen the world change and we’ve seen al Qaeda’s empire expand rapidly both in popularity and complexity. It’s no... Continue Reading →
As time draws near for me to return to Pakistan, I've been keeping a record of the things that go through my head as I move back in the Pakistan Diary section of my blog. These are my more personal musings about what I look forward to, what I fear, what I will miss and what... Continue Reading →
Recently Punjab decided to reform the laws governing marriage and made critical changes to the nikahnama, the marriage contract between two Muslim adults. Good idea! There are many things wrong with the institution of marriage in Pakistan and marriages are often used as a tool of coercion and extortion. Heard of dowry deaths or the... Continue Reading →
There is a great amount of hoo-ha, and rightfully so, across Pakistan over the Punjab government's recent move to gag the media by passing a unanimous resolution against the freedom of the press. Oh what a swift U-turn this is from the days when the media was hailed by the brothers Sharif as the golden... Continue Reading →
In 1947, Aftab Omar and his wife AshfaqJehan Begum packed a suitcase, locked the front door of their house in Meerut, got on a tonga for the railway station and left for Pakistan. They took nothing but a few clothes. They did not know that this would be the last time they would look at... Continue Reading →
It seems only two kinds of people in Pakistan have protection, VIPs and the terrorists. The common people are left to fend for themselves as the bulk of our security forces are deployed in front of political and bureaucratic palaces. Given the state’s failure to provide security to common citizen, we’ve seen an increasing privatisation... Continue Reading →
Only 12 countries in the world have acted upon the ideological commitment to ensure women’s participation in the formal political arena, as embodied by the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Beijing Platform for Action. Pakistan is one of them. Under the Local Government Ordinance of 2001, 33... Continue Reading →
Living in the West is charming and it brings with it the luxury of living in solitude. No prying relatives and no nosy neighbors. But growing up in Pakistan renders you incapable of living in solitude. Pakistanis in america, constantly work to recreate parts of home around them and to resist solitary living. It makes... Continue Reading →
Thousands took to the streets to protest against facebook and blasphemous content being published on it. On May 28th, 80 innocent Pakistanis were murdered in cold blood as they were peacefully praying in a house of worship. I wonder how many will take to the streets to protest this atrocity. I have a feeling that... Continue Reading →
As a child I was told that God created human beings to be Ashraf-ul-Makhlooqat–the greatest and best of all of God's creations. And we were given this honour because, unlike in the case of other creatures, God gave us free will–the ability to choose between actions. He then gave us intellect and commanded us to... Continue Reading →
Sehar Says.... 