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Am I a ‘ganwaar’ if I speak in Punjabi?
Over the last few weeks, I have been meeting children from different parts of Punjab. They ranged in age between three and five years and included children of my friends and extended family. I was...
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Free the PCB from government intervention
If Saturday was a black day in the history of international cricket, Monday was much of the same for Pakistani cricket. On Saturday, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) lost out in its opposition to the...
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In Vitro Fertilisation: Don’t choose a boy over a girl, choose a baby!
Being blessed with a baby opens up a new epoch in every couple’s life. There is excitement at the new arrival, fear of the impending responsibilities and the innate desire to protect the tiny being...
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Mix&Match: 8 celebrity couples I would love to see together this Valentine’s Day
Remember that time you were sitting at a restaurant, having a conversation with a friend and you felt your mind drifting away? You start taking things around you in; the environment, the people. You...
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Protection of Pakistan Ordinance: Always guilty unless proven innocent?
The government tightened the anti-terror legislation of the country last month, as President Mamnoon Hussain approved the Pakistan Protection Ordinance (PPO). It declares all peace-disrupting elements...
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Valentine’s Day is about family, love and chocolate truffles!
It is natural that things that seem important to us in our teens do not really appeal to us as much two decades later. That’s the case with me and Valentine’s Day. Back in the day, hormones were...
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Chinese new year, leftover women and the custom to rent-a-boyfriend
Along with the dumplings and yee sang (raw fish salad deemed to bring about good luck; usually eaten on the seventh day of the festivities) the very coveted Chinese new year brings with itself the...
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Kohistan video scandal: Killed for enjoying music? What is the truth?
Kohistan is a settled district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the predominantly non-Pashtun Hazara Division. It stretches to about 7,500 square kilometres on both, the east and west of the Indus River. The...
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Neelam Ghar and Kasauti: Change is not always a good thing
Recently, I was flicking through the local channels when my fingers suddenly stopped on Pakistan Television (PTV) – our once-glorious national channel is now on permanent crutches, a tragic outcome of...
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Aao bacho sair karain tumko Pakistan ki: Not an ordinary nursery rhyme…
There is a very famous poem, by a very famous poet, written in a more hopeful and exuberant time. It has been set to wonderful, cheerful music and is taught to children everywhere. And in the video...
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Doing hash? Think again
During the first week of January 2014, I was surprised to read three different news stories about marijuana – Washington became the first American state to legalise sale of marijuana for adult...
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Bajee: I only realised her importance after she left…
“Baba, Bajee…?” asks my two-year-old, rather inquisitively, each time I put him to sleep or wakes him up. Bajee, the nanny, had been with us since before our son’s birth and had recently left for her...
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Mixed Martial Arts: Pakistan versus Afghanistan – a ‘patriotically personal’...
In spite of there being many local wrestling akharas (training hall for martial artists) in Pakistan where desi pehlwan’s dish it out, as well as a number of martial arts schools, a match between the...
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Shahzaib Bajwa: More than just a name in the papers
A few months ago, I wrote a piece that appeared on this site about my experience as a Palestinian, in Chitral and how my view of humanity had changed for the better. Not only did I have the chance to...
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A strong man
He really hated elbows on the table. It made him feel as angry as when they hid his cigarettes. But he had no choice in the matter. It was a conspiracy hatched by three women, against him, and not just...
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Is there a need for peace talks?
The Government of Pakistan has been notified by the Mohmand Agency group of the Taliban that they have killed 23 Frontier Corps (FC) soldiers who were kidnapped four years ago from Shongari checkpost...
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Suffering from lethargy? Here are 5 tips to get your lazy bum outta bed
When a reporter asked Pope John Paul XXIII how many people worked at the Vatican, he replied, “No more than half of them.” When I look around, I agree with his statement. In fact, he could have said...
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Doctors in Pakistan: Sumbal, only the peptic ulcer wali bibi, not a person...
Her doctor thought she was an open mouth for him to dunk pills into. Instead, she turned out to be a person with thoughts, feelings and questions that were all left unaddressed. As part of Pakistan’s...
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In Hangu, are teachers a specie quickly going extinct?
A few days ago when I was going home, I received a text message from Abdullah Khan, a journalist working in Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P). It said that three primary school teachers had been killed...
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So many Hindu and female doctors! What is happening to Pakistan?
There are some things you can’t help doing – like talking to fundamentalists. I know many of them and almost all of them are convinced that non-Muslims want to harm Muslims. One such person, whom I...
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