Adil Najam
For much of Pakistan’s history, Habib Jalib was a voice of rebellion. Often an angry voice, but always an honest voice. He wrote in the idiom of the people and the jalsa was as much a platform for his poetry as was the mushaira. He often wrote in the idiom of anger. But that […]

Owais Mughal
Credits for following photos belong to Pervaiz Munir Alvi saheb. He took the photos on his recent trip to Pakistan and graciously shared them with me. The location is the Grand Trunk (now called highway N5) in Punjab.

While we have discussed Declaration of Emergency, Chronology of a Meltdown, mis-treatment of Imran Khan in […]

Owais Mughal
Pakistan now joins the list of growing countries where RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) based electronic toll collection is in use. For now it has been introduced on Peshawar - Islamabad M1 and Islamabad - Lahore M2 Motorways. This technology allows the vehicles to pass through toll booths without stopping and toll amount is […]

Owais Mughal
This photo is credited to famous photographer Fayyaz Ahmed.
According to Fayyaz’s notes, he found this subject at the tomb of Abdullah Shah Ghazi in Clifton, Karachi. When he asked for the photo permission, the subject replied:
“Whatever you wish”.
I saw this photo for the first time a few days ago but I keep coming […]

Qandeel Shaam
Honton ko si kar dekhiye pachtaiye ga aap
Hangame jaag uthte hain aksar ghuttan ke baad
Any anodyne effect this sher might have had on me was lost forever when my neo-Trotskyite friend decided to give me his interpretation of it. I didn’t ask for it, but there it was. A multi-headed hydra called “having coffee” […]

Owais Mughal
Pakistan’s famous TV, Radio and Film artist Shafi Muhammad Shahpassed away on Saturday, November 17, 2007. He was 57. He was suffering from many ailments. After a severe pain attack on saturday he was rushed to the hospital but he couldn’t survive. Quoting the Daily Times:
Shafi featured in more than 50 drama serials and […]

Darwaish
After the Martial Law, crackdown on lawyers, civil society, media and politicians, now we have seen yet another shameful act by authorities in Pakistan. The latest disturbing news is that Geo Television Network has been shut down and ARY has also been ordered to do the same.
After failing to bring them down on their knees, […]