In this age of mindless populism, narrow nationalism, renewed misogyny and personality cults, we stand sharply... Published Jul 14, 2019 06:55am

I begin with a qualification that Pakistan’s intellectual scene — academic, artistic, literary and social — is... Published Jun 09, 2019 07:03am

It was about 25 years ago — a time of intense political tensions between Sindhi-speaking and non-Sindhi speaking... Published Apr 21, 2019 07:10am

A certain amount of decadence and rakishness is required to produce a worthwhile work of art or piece of literature.... Published Mar 17, 2019 07:51am

Many years ago, after becoming a father I proudly announced it to my friends. Someone close but senior in years... Published Feb 17, 2019 07:38am

Allama Muhammad Iqbal and his times influenced the Urdu poetic tradition in a unique way, although the great poets ... Published Jan 20, 2019 08:58am

A short, fidgety old man sporting a neatly trimmed grey beard and usually wearing a lounge suit with a cheerful tie,... Published Dec 16, 2018 07:24am

The passing away last week of Fahmida Riaz, formidable poet, prose writer, translator, feminist and rights activist, Published Dec 02, 2018 07:04am

My short stint as a young man in Central and Eastern Europe during 1995 and 1996 was indeed rewarding — both... Published Nov 11, 2018 07:05am

Oscar Wilde famously said that “the true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible.” But the... Published Oct 28, 2018 07:09am

Muhammad Hasan Askari has always intrigued me as a formidable scholar, writer and critic. But his conceptualisation... Published Oct 21, 2018 08:34am

Usually, the crassness of politics and power agitates you and the refinement in art and literature soothes. But then... Published Oct 14, 2018 07:11am

Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi, our major poet, fiction writer and literary editor from the last century, once recalled meeting ... Published Oct 07, 2018 07:00am

In Pakistan, India or other developing countries, it is a common sight that old buildings of bricks and mortar are... Published Sep 30, 2018 06:28am

In his 2005 introduction to ‘Jejuri’ — a celebrated poem by the leading English and Marathi language poet Arun... Updated Sep 24, 2018 03:57pm

It is problematic when great poets in any language are not only identified but categorised by their geographical... Published Sep 16, 2018 06:45am

I would truly feel small if asked to comment on a work of art as brilliant, celebrated and so thoroughly analysed ... Published Sep 02, 2018 06:58am

It seems that what the state traditionally thought was its responsibility — particularly during the Zia years —... Published Aug 26, 2018 07:40am

V.S. Naipaul and Samir Amin — one a celebrated man of letters and the other an outstanding political economist —... Published Aug 19, 2018 07:21am

Universally, there is a love-hate relationship between literary criticism and creative writing. On the one hand,... Published Aug 12, 2018 07:47am