Balochistan is a neglected area not only in Pakistan but in Afghanistan and Iran too. Just like so many other nationalities such as Bengalis, Kurds, Pakhtuns, Punjabis, and many others, the Baloch find themselves divided across borders. But that is not our cause of concern here. Our concern is more ...

During the past few months, the politics of the Persian Gulf has changed pretty fast. These changes will have a far-reaching impact not only on the Gulf area but also in the entire Middle East, and on South Asia too. Starting with the UAE, some other countries are also improving ...

When Waris Mir published his series of columns on the religious interpretations of veil, he became a target of severe reproach by conservative circles. Then he responded by even more detailed analysis and refused to bow down to the clergy that in his opinion was responsible for wrong interpretations of ...

Listen! O dark and ravenous dungeon of Karachi! Whenever I sit in front of my cell And look out towards your mighty ramparts, An intricately patterned net. I realize what a cruel world you are How dark and steeped in sin is your path No one is privy to your ...

In the first two columns of this series appearing in these pages on September 21 and 23, we started a discussion on Waris Mir (1938 – 1987) and his columns in Urdu that dealt with attempts to reform Muslim societies with a special reference to Arab societies. We talked about ...

COVID-19 has pushed all of humanity into a ditch. Rarely have so many millions of people been in the same pit, threatened and beaten from all four sides. It is not only the disease, but the paralysis of the economy, mass unemployment, disconnection from social relations, uncertainty, physical and psychological ...

That time Malcolm X met Fidel Castro in Harlem 60 years ago on this day. A year after the Cuban Revolution, Castro and his delegation came to New York to attend the UN General Assembly, but the management of the Manhattan hotel the delegation booked now refused to house them ...

Waris Mir pointed out in his writings that as long as Muslim societies used rationality and reason, they were paramount, and as soon as they embraced irrational thinking and worked against reason, they declined. When Muslim rulers and sectarian leaders turned against rationality to serve their own interests, they suppressed ...

With increasing onslaught against the freedom of expression in Pakistan, it is imperative that we remember those who held the torch of sanity under the most horrifying periods in Pakistan’s history, especially under the military dictatorships of General Ziaul Haq and the self-appointed Field Marshal General Ayub Khan. In some ...

Sammo with her herd at Mountain of Rastrani Grazes her livestock and fetch water from far Dragging behind her herd barefoot My Moon face doesn’t look good amidst sheep and goats. Request you I ,O Clouds of Badraa Give her shadow and pour down on her grazing field Laughing with ...