South Asia attracted international attention once again during this week but unfortunately once again it was for the wrong reasons. The news was not about double-digit economic growth, impressive social indicators or ground breaking technological innovation. The news was about nuclear saber rattling between India and Pakistan after a terrorist attack on an Indian military base in Indian controlled Kashmir. ...

Policymakers continue to uphold their colonial legacy entrenched in the patriarchal position that a woman’s legal status is acquired through her relationship with a man—first her father and then her husband Pakistan is an all-male state, which reflects in its politics, economics, legislation, culture and social ethos. It ranks at the bottom of gender equality and the fact that it ...

Apparently the current row between the conservative Sunni-Saudi monarchy and the Shi’a theocracy of Iran is called a Haj-spate as the war of words between the world’s two most oppressive regimes has emanated from their dispute about the annual pilgrimage of Muslims to the holiest places and monuments of Islam. As the Haj drew closer it became quite clear that ...

A recent news report documented the removal of two Muslim women working for the federal government from an American Airline flight. On its surface the airline staff appeared to be upholding safety regulations, but in reality they were engaging in discriminatory practices. I know this to be true because I was one of the two women. We were removed from the ...

Of late, there has been considerable amount of discussion in various circles of Pakistan on the need of counter extremist narratives for all good reasons. Appreciating the good intentions of all those involved in the process, one would like to underpin essentials for success of such a process. We need to raise and address some fundamental questions. What constitutes a ...

Since its inception; Pakistan is on wobbly ground. The heebie-jeebies state is multifactorial. Some goes back to its genesis followed by political, economic, ethnic, sectarian and social convolutions. It is pointless to go into the genesis but one fails to ignore Maulana Shabir Usmani remarks; while responding to a question from a Muslim fellow,” Will you stop me going for ...

Under normal circumstances border management is a serious business for nation states and no one can have any problem with it as every state is supposed to do it as a matter of duty. As a long term measure, no sane person in Pakistan or Afghanistan would have anything to say against it. In fact, during the 2014 Pakistan visit ...

When our parents were whispering to each other with frightened faces, their faces signified terror. When you got out of the house, you could see every new place hit by a rocket. An air of fear and uncertainty had taken over all of Kabul. Nothing was certain, especially our future, life and death. Our parents had to make an ultimate ...

Yet another report on FATA reform has appeared and religiously repeating the past practice once more, the state has “delayed” it’s implementation for “further discussions” on the report. This decision was taken by a high level meeting convened by the Prime Minister on August 24 in Islamabad to consider the implementation of NAP. It is pertinent to note that the ...

 In many Muslim societies, women are strictly monitored, hidden, kept under surveillance, controlled and treated as the property of husbands and men in general, furthermore forced to adhere to stringent codes in order to preserve the honour of their men, families and relatives. We regularly hear of the killings of women by family members, often resulting from what is perceived ...