Adil Najam
Some of the best political commentary anywhere in the world is done in humor. In Urdu we have a great tradition of political commentary in verse and some of the best poetry (a la Faiz Ahmad Faiz) is of this variety. What I present here is no Faiz - not even close. But it [...]

Owais Mughal
hota tha pehlay ishq lifafay ki maarfat
ab kaam chal raha hai faqat ‘dot com’ se
Khalid Irfan is a New York based Urdu language poet. His poetry encompasses issues of Pakistan and Pakistani community abroad in a humorous style.
He is not new to ATP. Six months ago Shahran Asim of Urdu Talk Radio fame had [...]

Owais Mughal
Following photo is taken from MB’s blog here.

The image is a cloth banner wishing ‘Happy Indpendence Day to all Pakistanis except those who habitually change their political loyalties (lotay) and those who have regularly plundered national wealth (luteray).’ As you can see the banner message is issued by the PML(N) leader Shahbaz Sharif’s secretariat. [...]

Adil Najam
All major newspapers prominently reported the decision from the Supreme Court of Pakistan ordering “the arrest of the members of a jirga, including PPP MNA Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani, that decided to hand over five minor girls for marriage to a family to compensate for a murder in Jacobabad. Three of the 14 jirga [...]

Owais Mughal
I’ll let our readership contemplate on the mechanics of this photo. Who is controlling whom and how?

Photo is courtesy of Mr. Hanif Khattak who is a photo journalist associated with the News International. Photo was taken on August 8, 2007 in Islamabad.

Owais Mughal
The motto of Pakistan polics is to help those who are in need. How can this help be delivered in a time of need when the hardware given to police is not adequate and breaks down easily. Following three photos have been collected from national electronic media and show the plight of those who [...]

Owais Mughal and Adil Najam

Today is August 15.
India’s Independence Day.
ATP sends all Indians sincere and heartfelt Independence Day greetings and the very best wishes. We pray for a peaceful and prosperous future for both countries. May our futures be defined by friendship, mutual respect, and prosperity.
Last year we had expressed similar sentiments by presenting some [...]