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Chambaili: The perfect tonic for a dejected Pakistan
Yesterday, I watched the much-awaited film, Chambaili - the first in a long list of Pakistani feature films under production and probably the most hyped movie since Bol that was released two years ago....
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The Taliban must not be painted as violent savages
“You have no option but to take direct military action.” This was the advice given by John F Kennedy’s top military aide at the height of the Cuban missile crisis which brought the world to the brink...
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I see Gullus everywhere…
“There is no hypocrisy in Pakistan; we just have completely different standards for men and women.” The comment above summarises the general feedback I received on a meme I created, which went viral on...
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Ban the bowlers, ban them all!
After depriving the world of the most glorious sight in international cricket – Saeed Ajmal in all his grace, splendour and beauty giving an interview to Nasser Hussain after a match – the ICC plans to...
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Sexual harassment at LUMS, don’t blame the university!
A video of a woman walking the streets of New York City, getting hundreds of catcalls from men went viral around the world this week. The woman is followed, called all sorts of names, and her attention...
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Unity, not uniformity
We tend to accept unity as one of the fundamental guiding principles of Pakistan, without questioning what it means. The oft repeated, and clichéd, political slogan is that we need to unify the...
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Can LUMS still be considered apolitical?
This has not been a great week for Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). Fresh off the sexual harassment case and an online petition to remove the Vice Chancellor, the university was...
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Islam may be trending on the streets of New York
Thirteen years after the events of September 11, 2001, New York is ready to begin its cathartic process. News of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and al-Qaeda may still dominate the majority of...
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Ferguson, a window into our own cases of police brutality
I have been arrested. I have been handcuffed. I have been put in jail. I have had a police officer put a gun against my temple in the middle of the road in Defence. I have had a police officer threaten...
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Calm down, Pakistan – there is no revolution coming!
Imran Khan has repeatedly insisted that the revolution he is advocating will be peaceful. Maybe, that is why it has not materialised as a revolution. Peaceful revolution is an oxymoron; a contradiction...
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Does Pakistan’s media encourage sexism?
The recent controversy surrounding Junaid Jamshed has dominated social media over the weekend. The matter is between him and God; I am in no position to comment on the apology or the blasphemy issue at...
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Aunty shaadi kara day gi
I am turning 26 next month. I see how aunties look at me at weddings and mehndis. Even for a guy, I seem on the tail end of the perfect shaadi age bracket. No longer am I the choicest meat at the...
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180 million hearts broken… again
Jallianwala. Dhaka. Quetta. North Waziristan. Peshawar. Places change but stories remain the same. That doesn’t make the heartbreak any more bearable. The unanswerable ‘why’ still looms over our heads....
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If Ghalib was alive in 2014…
We curse him while trying to cram verses from Deewan-e-Ghalib into our heads for our Urdu literature exams. We study him because we have been told to but if – by some miraculous, unfortunate...
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Best of Pakistani politics 2014
It’s December, which means it is awards season. It has been a roller coaster year filled with action, romance, suspense and adventure. The Academy of Pakistani Politics has had a particularly tough...
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India is ready to talk about religion. Is Pakistan?
The new Rajkumar Hirani-directed Bollywood movie PK starring Aamir Khan and Anushka Sharma has divided opinions in India. ‘#BanPK’ trended on Twitter, there were protests all over India and religious...
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Subramanian Swami, I guarantee you that the ISI did not fund PK
Dear Subramanian Swami, Unlike Aamir Liaquat, I do not wish to engage in a tirade of abuses and vitriol of hate. I will not mention any ‘dandas with jhandas’ or ‘pichwaras’ or ‘teesri hockey sticks’,...
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10 philosophical ideas perfectly expressed by Lollywood songs
Lollywood gets an unreasonable amount of flak for being the stepsister of Bollywood; the one that was sent to the village as a child, and says her ‘o’s as ‘a’s – McDonalds becomes ‘MaacdAnalds’ and...
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I am a Muslim and I apologise
After the tragic Charlie Hebdo shootings, there has been a call by some people to make Muslims all over the world apologise for the incident. I completely agree with the sentiment. It is the only way...
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Bridge kay us par
As a child growing up in Karachi, in PECHS, I just had one dream, one day I will go bridge kay us par (across the bridge, to the other side). The Kala pull was the Berlin wall of my world. Every...
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