July 28, 2012
Good Luck, Pakistan

Pakistan’s Olympic contingent walked in to the Olympic Stadium in London wearing white shalwar qameez, and green vests with the national flag emblazoned on the chest. There’s something inexplicably beautiful about teams walking in with their national dresses on, and I am glad Team Pakistan decided to don theirs this time.  Sohail Abbas, one of the greatest hockey players of all time, yet one of the sport’s most underrated, seemed nervous carrying the national flag, but who wouldn’t be.  He carries the hopes of 170 million people on his shoulders.

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Filed under: pakistan nishtar park sports hockey sohail abbas anum bandey olympics london 2012 
June 11, 2012
Closed Sesame

One of the most vivid memories of my childhood is packing 8 people into my uncle’s ramshackle Mazda sedan, and going to the PIA Planetarium to watch puppet shows.  Karachi was a very different place back then.  Ethnic violence was yet to grapple the city, and families would throng to places like the Planetarium, Hill Park, and Funland by Clifton Beach without the fear of all hell breaking loose, and the city shutting down in a matter of minutes, without notice.

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Filed under: nishtar park pakistan sesame street rafi peer theater karachi usaid usa faizan peerzada afghanistan ngo sim sim hamara 
May 28, 2012
Dynasties in a Land with No King

In the United States, the word “dynasty” evokes the image of Magic Johnson or Kobe Bryant’s Lakers; and the struggle of LeBron James to be part of one.

In the hip-hop world, one pictures Jay-Z’s hands forming a “D” above his head as a self-acknowledgement of his ascendance to the throne.

In the much of the Middle East, it refers more to the actual definition of the word as it appears in the dictionary.

Of course, in Pakistan, they do things differently.

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Filed under: pakistan nishtar park politics bilawal bhutto zardari benazir bhutto zulfikar ali bhutto asif ali zardari kennedy george w bush united states usa nawaz sharif hamza shahbaz sharif maryam nawaz sharif ppp pmln 
May 19, 2012
They Do Leave, Mr. Prime Minister

Despite calls from Pakistan’s opposition to step down or be ousted, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani is still in charge.  Fresh from his triumphant reception outside the Supreme Court, Gilani took on a different kind of challenge when he sat down for an interview with CNN’s Becky Anderson last week.

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Filed under: pakistan nishtar park yousuf raza gilani cnn karachi brain drain becky anderson 
April 26, 2012
Another Crisis?

When it comes to Pakistan, terms like “on the brink”, “in crisis”, “at a crossroads” and the like have become monotonous and meaningless.  So now that Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has been convicted (and has served his 30 second sentence) in the contempt of court case, the media is abuzz about being in the midst of yet another crisis, while much of the general public seems blasé towards it.

What happens next?  Frankly, this thing can go in many directions, and have just as many effects on the future of this government, and Pakistan as a whole.

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Filed under: pakistan nishtar park yousuf raza gilani supreme court nawaz sharif fahmida mirza asif ali zardari election commission iftikhar chaudhry democracy politics islamabad 
April 25, 2012
Bhoja Air: A Tragedy Beyond the Skies

127 people died in an air crash near Rawalpindi last weekend.  It was a tragedy of epic proportions, worsened by what happened in its aftermath.

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Filed under: pakistan nishtar park rehman malik politics bhoja air nawaz sharif twitter geo tv news 
April 9, 2012
Bilawal and the Game of Thrones

Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has a lot of work to do.

The heir apparent to the PPP (and by proxy the Pakistani) throne, spoke at the party’s Central Executive Committee’s annual meeting earlier this week, and it made for some interesting observations.

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Filed under: pakistan nishtar park bilawal bhutto zardari benazir bhutto politics asif ali zardari larkana zulfikar ali bhutto supreme court pakistan peoples party nawaz sharif imran khan yusuf raza gilani 
April 7, 2012
Tragedy at Siachen

It wasn’t grenades or bullets that took the lives of over 100 Pakistanis on the world’s highest battlefield. It was the elements.

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Filed under: avalanche nishtar park pakistan pakistan army siachen glacier politics india siachen 
April 4, 2012
Of Orphans, Biryani, and Asra Nomani

Asra Nomani is at it again.

The writer of such ground-breaking pieces as “Let’s Profile Muslims” and “Profile Me Please!” is at it again.  In her latest piece she challenges a supposed “ban on adoption” in Islam.  And just like most of her pieces, her arguments are about as convincing as Mitt Romney’s smile.

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(Notes: 2)
  
Filed under: asra nomani daniel pearl islam karachi muslims nishtar park orphans pakistan student biryani terrorism american muslim 
March 29, 2012
As Karachi Burns, the Show Goes on

Karachi is burning again.

Just like the violence that broke out in Pakistan’s largest metropolis last summer, it isn’t about ethnicity, or religion, or nationalism.  It’s about money.

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(Notes: 9)
  
Filed under: pakistan nishtar park karachi violence target killings muhajir mqm anp politics amn committee showcase