The Way I See It

Why does the state permit people to kill themselves slowly by smoking cigarettes but not in one go? It would appear that we have ‘pocket’ ideologies, changing for every scenario.

If you place the typical Pakistani male at an American college, then he’ll be sure to fall into one or more of a few broad categories like the bad boy, late lateef and desi boy.

When I tell people I worked on a political talk show they attack me!

A typical girly conversation will always include question like “What did she wear to the party? Was the outfit attractive? Was it from a boutique? Did she look good?”

Allama Muhammad Iqbal's philosophy is most relevant for Muslim community because of his understanding of the spirit of Islam as being essentially humanistic and reformative and for his formal arguments that satisfy the principles of Islamic jurisprudence. Iqbal finds ‘Ijma’ as an inherent principle for change in formal religious interpretations.

Tere Bin [Laden] is not releasing in Pakistan. No surprises. In a country with a collective “morality” but no collective “identity”, a film with this name cannot be screened in public.

The wanna-be Talibans are at it again. In Lahore their success with these crackers is the height of absurdity. Petty groups and moral police have been active since October 2008, hitting the very fabric of the way life is lived and they are succeeding.

I have been jolted into writing this painful blog by a social activist's answer to my query about why his organisation has not protested about her ordeal. He replied, "We can't speak up for everyone..."

As a silent rule of thumb in Pakistan, the uber-elite seldom interact with people belonging to rural backgrounds. Coke Studio has proven an exception to this rule, for here it is the mascots of the masses- the Arif Lohar, the Saeen Zahoor, the Abida Parveen stand as titans towering over us jeans-wearing, English speaking, educated elite.