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Are Signs of the Establishment’s Panic Already Starting to Show?

Originally published in the Friday Times on April 29, 2022

And as fate would have it, Pakistan has yet again experienced a shuffle in the parliament. The elected (or selected) — that labelling was irrelevant to begin with considering the strings of power have always been tugged from the same singular source – violated the constitution to cling to power, and isn’t pulling any stops post ouster either. Once the capital fell, Punjab followed soon after.

And so, the cat and mouse game continued: out with an obnoxious, incompetent government and in with largely self-serving political dynasties.

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How Afghanistan Has Historically Dealt With Foreign Occupations

Originally published in the Friday Times on September 9, 2021

The return of the Taliban has left the world in a state of utter shock and amazement. In just a matter of days, the militant outfit’s accelerated sweep across the nation has helped it reclaim most of the provincial capitals, including the capital city of Kabul with virtually no opposition.

It would be reductive to perceive the prevailing situation as a hasty exit on part of the US as one attributed to botched geopolitical strategies and not account for the sheer resilience on part of the Afghan people in general that has helped deter colonizers despite their superior military might at different points in history long before Islamic militancy existed. The speed at which the current events in Afghanistan have transpired once again stands as a testament to that historical resilience, aided in part by possibly the most treacherous geographical terrain to wage war on.

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You’re a Woman

Originally published in Naya Daur on November 4, 2020

You’re a student entering university. Growing up with sisters and friends, you know exactly what that entails: you’re expected to watch what you’re saying and maintain decorum at all cost. Whether you like it or not, your name is directly associated with your family’s honour and you’re required to see that it remains intact through thick and thin.

While your brothers are a source of pride for the family, you’re tasked with being the protector of its legacy by adhering to an endless list of thou shalt nots. You’re told the slightest deviation from tradition could spell disaster for your personal identity and future. Marriage proposals, you’re told, are only for the most behaved, well-mannered women.

There’s no margin for error.

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Mullah vs. Covid

Unsurprising as it was to see the government surrender in the Mexican standoff with the mullah collective over the issue of restricting congregational prayer at the time of a pandemic, or when the clergy callously threw caution to the wind in spite of consistent global messaging about means of Covid-19 spread when assembling at the annual Raiwind Tableeghi Ijtima, it nonetheless highlights a particularly cancerous problem that sits at the heart of our sociopolitical structure often becoming reactive when mutated with belief.

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On Privilege

Originally published in Dawn on February 3, 2019

You attended an elite legacy school – the kind your grandfather and father went to, and your kids someday would. Consequently, your peers are the offspring of notable bureaucrats, industrialists, politicians and landlords. An expensive private education paves your way to a prestigious university, where its professors use the abundant resources at their disposal to shape you into an analytical thinker. By the time you graduate, you have morphed into a self-starting individual capable of abstract thought, not to mention developed a strong network of influential compatriots — your brothers in arms, if you will.

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