DEATH OF A RIVER
‘A river doesn’t just carry water, it carries life.’ The Kunhar River, which runs all the way from the upper Kaghan Valley to
HERITAGE: BREAD, SWEAT AND TEARS
An ordinary-looking, cramped tandoor in Lahore boasts a business history spanning nearly two centuries, and a secret...
PROFILE: THE GIRL WITH A CAMERA AND MIC
In the largely male-dominated field of sports journalism, a pioneering young woman
from Balochistan is doggedly making her...
SOCIETY: WITH FATHER BY THE SIDE
Paternity leave, a relatively new concept in Pakistan, promotes parent-child bonding, improves outcomes for...
EXHIBITION: THE ITALIAN DREAM
The Marmottan Museum in Paris pays homage to Paul Cezanne in an unusual exhibition...
ARTSPEAK: RULES OR PRINCIPLES?
In 1935, US President Roosevelt, addressing the youth of America said, “Rules are not necessarily sacred,...
SMOKERS’ CORNER: A MORAL DILEMMA
Controversial preacher Khadim Hussain Rizvi’s sudden death threw liberals into a conundrum over how to talk about him.
EPICURIOUS: ODE TO AUTUMN
Apple turnovers combine spiced apples with buttery puff pastry for the ultimate tea-time indulgence...
ADVICE: AUNTIE AGNI
‘I want to marry my crush but she rejected me’...
GARDENING: ASPARAGUS SYNDROME
Once you establish an asparagus bed, you’ll be harvesting the produce for 10 years or more...
TO BE A WOMAN IN PAKISTAN
Womanhood in Pakistan is being born with ashes in your fist.
IN MEMORIAM: THE JUDGE WHO WITHDREW CONSENT
Oppression and tyranny require our consent. Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth, who passed away November 12, exemplified courage and...
POLITICS: PLAYING WITH FIRE
Why does the state give the impression of entertaining an incendiary extremist party such as the TLP at all?...
FOOTBALL: ALL HAIL RASHFORD
In an age where sportspeople are increasingly criticised for their excessive wages, reckless lifestyles and for losing touch...
HERITAGE: ODEROLAL, THE SAINT OF WATER
In the heart of Sindh is a shrine where Hindus and Muslims pray together...
EXHIBITION: THE ART OF INTUITION
Rabeya Jalil’s latest body of work reinvigorates the spirit of Abstract Expressionism...
EXHIBITION: FIRST STEPS
Artworks by 26 recent graduates reveal their individual personalities and their ability to shed light on their transition...
NON-FICTION: THE QUESTION OF BALOCHISTAN
A book on the thorny issue of Balochistan’s underdevelopment by a Baloch former bureaucrat, writer and politician, despite his...
COLUMN: BALZAC'S SKIN OF GRIEF
He shows Raphael a strangely brilliant piece of shagreen; anyone who possesses the skin and makes a wish will have his wish...
FICTION: DRAGONS BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
A debut novelist digs into the glossy lives of the competitive Pakistani upper crust and reveals how they unravel behind closed...
NON-FICTION: RECONFIGURING PAKISTAN
A former IG Police analyses the reasons for ill-governance in the country and how to put the state back on the road to...
LITBUZZ: ZEENAT HAROON RASHID 2020 WINNER ANNOUNCED
Now in its second year, the Zeenat Haroon Rashid (ZHR) Writing Prize for Women has announced 21-year-old ...
NON-FICTION: RECLAIMING FEMINISM
An important book takes on the issues of class, race and gender that mainstream white feminism has often ignored...
FICTION: SWIMMING WITH SHARKS
Traditionally a rarity that only the elite enjoyed, shark fin soup suddenly fell within the reach of the general...
NON-FICTION: THE FRENCHWOMAN'S PAKISTAN
A posthumous publication by a towering scholar on Pakistan and Islam brings together 10 of her finest essays in one volume...
THE ICON INTERVIEW: ‘YOU HAVE TO REINVENT YOURSELF’
Icon presents an exclusive preview of the upcoming Coke Studio Season 2020, through the words and thoughts of its maestro Rohail
SOUNDCHECK: BABY’S DAY OUT
“It feels nice to finally be showcased because I’ve been showcasing artists my whole life, so it feels nice to have the tables
THE GRAPEVINE
Here’s another feather in the already richly decorated cap of Zeb Bangash. The mellifluous singer has come up, on this Iqbal Day
CINEMASCOPE: CAPTURING THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT
If you let go of your cynicism, you’ll realise that in Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey Netflix has crafted a holiday classic
STREAMING: THE CONMEN OF INDIA
There is cautionary life lesson in Bad Boy Billionaires: India. But watching the drama unfold of the undoing of these uber-rich
THE TUBE
The story takes an unprecedented turn with Mehru (Ayeza Khan) accepting an office project for which she has to go out of station.
SOUNDSCAPE: RAPPING FOR KASHMIR
Srinagar: With her hair tightly tucked in a pony and clad in a loose, long denim shirt, Mehak Ashraf from...
THE ICON INTERVIEW: ALI NOOR, UNFILTERED
He’s been the bad, arrogant young boy of Pakistani rock. He’s been a control freak. He’s been an overthinker. So why has the
SOUNDCHECK: EXTREMELY NUSRAT
‘Tis the season for tributes to the legendary Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. The latest is an original qawwali paean to the master
THE GRAPEVINE
On Nov 11, singer Sajjad Ali celebrated his wedding anniversary (we don’t exactly know how long he’s been married — nonetheless
CINEMASCOPE: PLAYING WITH OUR ANXIETY
The Outpost avoids clichéd nationalistic dialogue but fails, unlike its source material, to critique the American military complex
THE TUBE
Following Danish Nawaz’s Sunn Yaara, this is the fourth serial casting Junaid Khan and Hira Mani as leads. Danish Nawaz and other
SPOTLIGHT: WHY THE ACTION AGAINST ZEE5 IS ILL-ADVISED
A State Bank of Pakistan directive to block subscriptions of the Indian-origin media platform shows that politics and ego, rather
STREAMING: GAMES PEOPLE PLAY
In this week’s two Netflix releases, there is a tacked-on feminist tilt in logic-deprived Kaali Khuhi while Anurag Basu’s Ludo is
THE ICON INTERVIEW: TELLING STORIES HER WAY
With two web-series already ‘on air’ and another on the way, it seems director Mehreen Jabbar is more enamoured these days of the
SOUNDCHECK: BROKEN HEARTS AND SYNTHS
Both Zoha Zuberi’s Kyun Chal Diye and Saba Jaswal’s The One play up on that 1980s retro pop music vibe
Embracing our abilities
Saqib was sitting quietly on a bench, watching his peers play during the lunch break.
Mailbox
The power of forgiveness
Story Time: The joy within us
In an apartment complex, there lived a teenage girl with her not-so-stable family.
Poet's Corner
Published in Dawn, Young World, November 28th, 2020
Book review: Green Lantern’s Book Of Inventions
Ever wondered how the many electrical...
Wonder Craft: Shake the bottle
Plastic bottles can be of great use only if we reuse them in a creative way. So let’s not throw these bottles and create ...
Story Time: The broken doll
The day was not over yet, but Abdullah was already exhausted.
Spotlight
New Star Wars documentary coming next year