Adil Najam

Shia processions in Lahore and Karachi – commemorating the martyrdom of Hazrat Ali (RA) – were attacked. In Karachi seven people were left injured. In Lahore 18 were killed, 190 injured. The suicide attack on the Lahore procession triggered panic, mayhem, and further clashes. Sectarian tensions, already high as a result of a series of orchestrated attacks against Shia targets, have been further flared by these inhuman and murderous attacks.

Once again, my hands are trembling as I type this post. With rage. With anger. With anguish. I have no words that can console the wounds of those who have fallen. No words to explain the horror that has, yet again, transpired. No words to express the angst that tears at my heart – wanting so badly, needing so desperately, for this madness to stop.

Aisha Sarwari

I was in Buenos Aires recently attending a conference. During the daily commute to the conference venue I couldn’t help but be taken by the city’s grandeur, beauty and its ‘first world’ feel. Inquiring on their struggle with democracy, international pressures and the fear of being overshadowed by neighboring Brazil, the country’s similarity to Pakistan struck me as comforting.

During conference discussions, my nationality – like everyone else’s – was a common first question. Upon my response, “I’m from Pakistan” my business suits would prompt questions about the niqab. “That’s a personal choice in Pakistan. The niqab never enjoyed legal prescription in Pakistan as it does so in other countries” would be my response.

My urban adventures ensued with but one aim in mind; to understand how they got here and conversely could we? This whimsical feeling quickly wore off one day when I asked the hotel reception to call a taxi and when it arrived. Not only was the driver drunk, spoke only Spanish but he also chose to interpret my entire conversation with him mid journey as a refusal to pay. However upon arriving at the conference venue, I inquired about the fare and found that he had doubled the bill for no apparent reason. I didn’t fight it because I don’t haggle as a policy. But later in the night as I returned to the hotel I passed on this terrible experience to the front desk and requested that I may be called a more professional cab driver next time.

The next morning as I rushed to the last day of the conference I had an envelope in my name, which I opened expecting a message from the embassy, but it was plain cash – A reimbursement from the cab company. “But”, I protested, “this is much more than what I paid”. I was told it is what the company sent when the complaint was lodged. As I put that money in my purse, I was moved.

Mosharraf Zaidi

(This article was first published in The News. The cartoon is by Feica and was published in Dawn.)

There is a lot of criticism of the Pakistani discourse that relates to ideology and identity.

If you question drone attacks, there are those that will immediately label you a Taliban-supporter. If you question Pakistan’s need to fight, kill and capture terrorists, there are those that will immediately label you an American stooge. If you spell Ramadan correctly, you’re an Arabist. If you enjoy classical music, you’re a covert Hindu. You want to make a fraaandships with India? RAW agent. You want to honour the dedication with which the Guardians of the Two Holy Mosques care for Makkah and Madinah? Wahabbist fundo.