Adil Najam

I realize that Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry has much, maybe too much, on his plate right now. And all of immense consequence. He and his court will be judged on how they deal with these monumental issues. But they will also be judged on whether they can give the ordinary Pakistani a confidence in the justice system.

Adil Najam

I have been waiting many weeks to write about H.M. Naqvi’s debut novel, Homeboy.

I finished reading the book soon after it first came out this fall and found myself riveted to the richly layered, intense tale of three colorful characters – all of Pakistani descent – living in New York City. Homeboy follows the chaos brought into their once cavalier life by the events of 9/11.

I have waited this long to do a post on the book because I myself am not much of a fiction reader (I realize that this is a pity and my own loss). And this novel is not just a tale, but a work of literature that has been crafted with as much care and concern for craft of storytelling as for the story itself. It deserves a more thoughtful review than I could provide.

Such a review was just published in The New York Times:

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Adil Najam

This montage of headlines from Dawn need little explanation. It represents seven headlines; one each from each of the last seven days (Nov. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14, 2009). All except one were headlines on Dawn, and one (Nov. 13, 2009) was on the back page. The fact that the killing of 17 Pakistani soldiers will not make it to the front page of a Pakistani newspaper is itself a stern reminder of the craziness that defines our polity today!