Tag: Pakistan
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Writing and speaking
I’ve had a really busy few weeks back in the UK, so thought I would share a few links to some of my recent work. New Statesman Why are we…
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Tragedy in Peshawar
On 22 September, a huge bomb attack at a church in Peshawar killed more than 80 people. It was the worst attack on Christians in Pakistan’s history. I wrote a…
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The other Guantanamo
At Bagram prison in Afghanistan, prisoners are kept without charge, trial, or access to a lawyer. On 3 September, I wrote a blog for the New Statesman, The other Guantanamo, asking…
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Pakistan’s new generation
My long essay for Aeon Magazine was published this week. Aeon is a digital magazine which publishes one long-form piece every day of the week. There’s a really eclectic and…
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The Twitter jihadis
I’ve written a piece in the latest issue of the New Statesman about how banned organisations in Pakistan are increasingly embracing social media. It was an interesting piece to work…
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The Twitter jihadis
I’ve written a piece in the latest issue of the New Statesman about how banned organisations in Pakistan are increasingly embracing social media. It was an interesting piece to work…
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Egypt and Pakistan
On 3 July, Egypt’s first democratically elected president in six decades, Mohamed Morsi, was ousted in a military coup. One country that has had no shortage of military coups is…
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Recent speaking
Earlier this week, I took part in a Google Hangout for the BBC’s World Have Your Say. I’ve appeared on their TV and radio shows before, but this was a…
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Pakistan’s war on polio workers
Over the last seven months, nearly 20 polio vaccinators have been shot dead in Pakistan while delivering potentially life-saving immunisations to children. It’s a nihilistic and senseless campaign of violence…
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“The new suffragettes”
I co-wrote a profile of Mukhtar Mai, the gang rape victim who became an iconic advocate of women’s rights in Pakistan. The piece is part of the Independent’s “new suffragette”…
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A historic election
On Saturday 11 May, Pakistan went to the polls. It was the country’s first ever democratic transtion from one government to another, and many thought it wasn’t going to happen…
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A historic election
On Saturday 11 May, Pakistan went to the polls. It was the country’s first ever democratic transtion from one government to another, and many thought it wasn’t going to happen…
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Minority report
In the run up to the general election, I wrote a series of reports for the New Statesman about different minority communities in Pakistan and how they were approaching the…
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Minority report
In the run up to the general election, I wrote a series of reports for the New Statesman about different minority communities in Pakistan and how they were approaching the…
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An equal playing field?
Ahead of the general election, I wrote a feature for the Guardian’s G2 about Pakistan’s female election candidates. While there is a long history of female representation in the subcontinent,…
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An equal playing field?
Ahead of the general election, I wrote a feature for the Guardian’s G2 about Pakistan’s female election candidates. While there is a long history of female representation in the subcontinent,…
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Political violence in Pakistan’s election
As the 11 May election date approaches, the campaign of violence in Pakistan has increased drastically. I’ve been speaking and writing about the subject. Here are a few links. Pakistan’s…
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Political violence in Pakistan’s election
As the 11 May election date approaches, the campaign of violence in Pakistan has increased drastically. I’ve been speaking and writing about the subject. Here are a few links. Pakistan’s…
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Press freedom in Pakistan
I contributed a short segment to Monocle 24’s special package on World Press Freedom Day. The podcast is available here. I’m on from about 19 minutes in. Here’s the text…
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Life after acid attack
Acid violence is a particularly brutal form of gender-based violence, whereby acid or other corrosive substances are thrown at people – usually women – with the intent of disfiguring. The…
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Tribal women to stand in electons
Two women from Waziristan, the militancy plagued northern region of Pakistan, are standing in elections for the first time ever. I’ve reported on the story for the New Statesman. Pakistan’s…
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Recent opinionating
Here’s a round up of some of the opinion pieces I’ve been writing recently. New Statesman Manoeuvres and rallies as Pakistan’s election campaign heats up I wrote this piece after…
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Saving Pakistan
I wrote a long feature for the March issue of Prospect Magazine. It looks at the shape of militancy in Pakistan – and the efforts being made to counter it.…
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Violence in Karachi
Karachi is well used to violence, but 2012 was one of it’s bloodiest years ever, with 2,000 people dying in political and ethnic violence in the city. My long feature…
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The secret war in Balochistan
In the aftermath of the bomb attacks in Quetta, I wrote a piece for the New Statesman explaining the situation in Balochistan, the lawless province in Pakistan’s south-west. Balochistan is…
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Pakistan’s political theatre
On 15 January, Tahir ul Qadri’s “long march” reached Islamabad and camped outside Parliament. While it stopped short of the 1m people he’d promised, a good 30,000 or so turned…
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Recent writings
The picture on the left is one I took during a visit to a small village on the outskirts of Karachi, for a piece about water sanitation. Below is a…
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Pakistan’s problem with tax
The big political story in Pakistan last week was a report released by investigative journalist Umar Cheema, which found that 70 per cent of parliamentarians did not file a tax…
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Pakistan’s problem with tax
The big political story in Pakistan last week was a report released by investigative journalist Umar Cheema, which found that 70 per cent of parliamentarians did not file a tax…
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Religious minorities and the mob mentality
I wrote a piece for the New Statesman about a series of violent acts against religious minority communities: Taken together, these ostensibly unrelated incidents provide a disturbing snapshot of the…