Why is the US making a mountain out of the Masood Azhar molehill?
The United States has introduced a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution to blacklist Masood Azhar as an international terrorist. Azhar is the leader of Jaish-e-Mohammed (banned in Pakistan...
View ArticleKnock knock! Annabelle is coming home and things are about to get real scary
Following the Marvel path, The Conjuring universe has grown steadily over the last six years through both, the increasing returns that most films in the franchise have delivered and in stature through...
View ArticleIndia’s ‘Operation Isolation’ and the soft power of sports
“Our message is stronger than ever. Please stop the fighting. Please stop the killing. Please drop your guns.” Juan Antonio Samaranch, President International Olympic Committee speaking at the Winter...
View ArticleWhen khudkushi became her only freedom
The sky was a pool of black ink, dusted with stars at midnight. Arsh looked out from the window — she saw many little streets sprawled out below. She had only known these streets from inside the walls...
View ArticleIran and Iraq may not be tourist hot spots, but they offer a spiritual...
I was recently invited to a trip to Iran and Iraq by a group of close friends from Lahore, and as I had never been to these states before, I decided to take the opportunity to visit the shrines...
View ArticleRawalpindi: A chaotic labyrinth, caught between heritage and heresy
In the post-modern world, the topography of the city has undergone a drastic shift. Rapid urbanisation and growing job opportunities have resulted in many cities in the developing world being swamped...
View ArticleRaw and poignant, A Place for Us beautifully sheds light on familial love
It had been some time since I cried while reading a book. And A Place for Us changed that. Fatima Farheen Mirza’s dazzling debut novel tells the story of a South Asian Muslim family living in America....
View ArticleSea Prayer by Khaled Hosseini: A father’s lament of the barbarity we call...
“My dear Marwan, I look at your profile, In the glow of this three-quarter moon, my boy, Your eyelashes like calligraphy, Closed in guileless sleep. I said to you, ‘Hold my hand. Nothing bad will...
View ArticleIs Pakistan’s N-CPEC+ vision finally beginning to take shape?
Pakistan’s unique geostrategic location at the crossroads of East, South, West, and Central Asia enables it to function as the “Zipper of Eurasia”, as I wrote over half a decade ago in September 2015...
View ArticleYear in review: Struggle of Pakistan's transgender community in 2022
The year 2022 has posed many challenges for the transgender community in Pakistan, but small steps were also taken to make the country a more equal society. The discrimination and injustice faced by...
View ArticleSindh cabinet approves reserved seats for transgender persons in local councils
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah chaired a meeting of the provincial cabinet on Friday, taking several decisions including the approval of reserved seats for transgenders in the local council....
View ArticleTrans persons to get Rs7,000 stipend
Chairperson of Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) Shazia Marri on Sunday announced Rs7000 allowance to transgender persons to be disbursed every third month under the Benazir Kafalat programme....
View Article30 trans people complete Quranic lessons in Lahore
In a historic first, a group of 30 individuals belonging to the transgender community in Lahore have completed their Quranic lessons and were gifted a copy of the Holy Quran upon the completion of...
View ArticleFrom begging to learning
Mohammad Ali, known as Kabootri, is a 35-year-old transgender from Jacobabad, Sindh. His parents threw him out when he was 13 and since then he has lived and grown up with other transgenders. “It is...
View ArticleWorrying rise in digital hate speech against transgender community: report
A rise in digital hate speech against the transgender community was noted in 2022, said the Cyber Harassment Helpline report released by the Digital Rights Foundation. The report elaborated that the...
View ArticleKhyber clerics ban music, dancing by transgender persons at weddings
A group of local tribal clerics has once again taken the law into their own hands by imposing a ban on playing music and dancing by transgender persons during weddings in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Khyber...
View ArticleSHC gives Sindh govt 3 weeks to respond to trans activists’ plea
The Sindh High Court (SHC) has given three weeks to the Sindh government to respond to a plea filed by transgender activists against not providing treatment to HIV positive trans people at the Civil...
View ArticleTrafficking haunts transgender community
Even though slavery officially came to its end more than a century ago, covert manifestations of the dehumanising evil continue to plague the lives of millions of marginalised populations across the...
View ArticleNADRA resumes registration of transgender persons
The National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) has announced the resumption of registration for transgender persons, bringing a sigh of relief to the minority community after a three-month...
View ArticleSindh Moorat March held
The Sindh Moorat March held at the Frere Hall on Sunday saw participation of transgender community in large numbers, showcasing not only music and dance but also raising their voices for basic rights....
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