Chowraha

In his recent launch of new book, Imran Khan spoke to an auditorium full of supporters and fans at the UCL on what the purpose and message of his book was. Mr. Khan explained that the book dedicated to the youth of Pakistan aimed to unravel the realities behind the world post 9/11. In a country constantly faced with militant attacks, drone attacks,suicide bombs, target killings and American warnings and threats as we have only most recently witnessed, it is no exaggeration to say that Pakistan is one of the biggest victims of the world post 9/11. The problems faced above and the repercussions to these is both an international affair and of domestic significance too. In the increasingly globalised world thanks to means of communications, trade and media, it would be naive to assume that the two are separate from each other especially in a country sandwiched between India, Afghanistan, Iran and China. Where do we begin then? It's only logical we begin at home. How so? It makes...

Fiza asked me "What are your thoughts on the Arab Spring?" To be honest, I didn't see it coming. From the students I talked to/debated with at the American University in Cairo (AUC) to the man on the street who sold fruit to me, I didn't see it coming. From the students, I heard bitterness in their voices but never enough anger to start a revolution. After all, you do need a certain amount of anger to fuel yourself to camp out on the streets, risk your life and your loved ones too. Maybe anger is the wrong word, but you do need something inside of you to become part of a revolution. And while I constantly heard Egyptians expressing their unhappiness with the state, they all seemed to have such a defeatist attitude in the end. I remember arguing with one AUC student proclaiming that change is possible, that with hope anything can be possible. I was obviously reeking of typical American idealistic values. I probably could have just worn a sign around my neck sa...

Monday morning, last day of bank holiday weekend, and I was sleeping in late when a message from a friend in Egypt woke me up - "Osama bin Laden is dead" it read.  Being my mother's daughter, any such news on TV and my first reaction is to run to the TV and staye glued to it for the next several hours, if not the next few days, flicking between news channels and hearing every political analysis possible. My first reaction? I thought Osama bin Laden died a few years ago! The next slightly saner reaction? Pakistan is screwed now! But the more and more I think about it, the conspiracy theorist within me continues to stare back at me saying "The war on terrorism is so not over...it might just be the beginning!" Victory is like an opium you get addicted to. The death of bin Laden is a symbolic victory as many are calling it, but it is a huge symbolic victory which makes his enemies feel more addicted to winning, and definitely invokes a stronger self-belief in th...

As I sit here breathless in London, flicking channels between Al Jazeera English, BBC, CNN and France 24, in anxiety and excitement to see what Hosni Mubarak will announce within the hour, I cant help but realize what the last 14 days with Egypt has taught me. It's been a rush of emotions, for me in the last few hours, a non-Egyptian, feeling in one with the Egyptians standing on Tahrir Square, and all the revolutionaries around the world. I have been going to work every day but keeping my browser tabs open to Twitter, Al Jazeera English Live stream and BBC live stream following closely what the youth in Cairo and Alexandria were achieving by the mere power of their unity and patience. Power of People Hundreds of people sacrificed their lives in this struggle but it only strengthened the resolve of the activists from Maidan Tahrir (Liberation Square). Noam Chomsky has spoken about people power being a power to reckon with, that when united can confront the political-economic p...

Note: This was originally posted on "Project: Carousel" a student led online community working under the auspices of The Centre for Media and Film Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) Any form of speech used for pulling communities together to criticize a government or ruling group’s action has historically met with tightening of laws, suppression of freedom and unjust actions at the hands of the rulers. Growing tensions in Tunisia over the dissatisfaction of Tunisians over poverty and soaring unemployment coupled with the unproportional wealth of the ruling elite in their country are increasingly catching much needed attention but perhaps still not as much as is necessary. Only very recently has the international world begun to take notice of the disturbances in Tunisia and it could be thanks to the cyber world ensuring the protests make it to the eyes of the outside world. Anti-goverment protests triggered after  young unemployed university graduate...

The extremely sad assassination of Salman Taseer has shocked Pakistanis throughout the world and is a shrewd reminder of how Pakistan’s state of affairs have reached a point that not a day goes by without a disturbing news. Living outside of Pakistan, I am trying as quickly as possible to hover all the details, and reactions about the tragic death of a well-renowned governor of the country. There are articles over the net discussing groups that hold the assassin as a hero and others condemning the vileness that is attached with any murder. The incident is a sombre reminder of where Pakistan is coming from, and the direction in which things are leading. For me, it is an episode of bafflement, a reminder that things in the country are no longer wrong or right, they are chaotic and we have ended up in this in a complicated trail of events because of our own short-sightedness and lack of sensitivity. There are speculations on whether the murderer acted under the instructions of a bigge...