Our essential reads for the week
On the Bandung Conference, which became the starting point of the Sino-Pakistan entente cordiale.
Zeenat Hisam’s Tamannaon Ke Deyaar Se is an anthology of translated poems from North American women poets. Rana Saadullah Khan wonders why the translations have not found a wider audience and muses on Perveen Shakir’s enduring influence on Urdu literary creatives.
There are multiple obstacles to transforming public libraries in Pakistan into spaces that can foster a sustainable literary ecosystem. The tragedy unfolds on many levels, ranging from the economic to socio-behavioural aspects. Reinvigorating this crucial public institution requires thoughtful reimagining that puts libraries at the centre of a community.
The Sunday Book Bazaar in Lahore, located along the footpaths on the corner of the historic Anarkali and Mall Road, provides a distinctive lens into how reading culture and knowledge access are shaped by urban informality, economic stratification and spatial politics.
From at least the early 19th century, South Asian ayahs (nurses and ladies’ maids) were hired to accompany British families on ocean journeys between India and Britain. The essay focuses on the travelling ayahs and the racist attitudes experienced by them, especially on board seafaring vessels.
The imaginations of Pakistan's top brass appear to be unable to conceive of anything beyond foreign direct investment as the only hope for the country and tax incentives as the only means to attract it.Taxes, though, are not the sole, or even the primary factor in attracting investment.
By Saba Imtiaz
By Umair Javed
By Maryam Jillani
By Haroon Sethi
Stories, Cultures, and Landscapes
Reflecting on the Zeitgeist
The latest fashion revolution in Pakistan (and abroad) is the style influencer-turned-creative entrepreneur pipeline. What does it mean for the Pakistani fashion landscape? Are influencers and creatives more in tune with what the people want? Does visibility always mean viability? Aamir Ali Shah explores the recent rise of the creator-led brands.
Nov 28, 2025
Who is the ideal citizen in Pakistan today? Activists, academics, artists and attorneys endevaoured to answer this at the People’s Assembly for Political Rights, organised by the Progressive Student’s Collective.
Nov 28, 2025
The latest fashion revolution in Pakistan (and abroad) is the style influencer-turned-creative entrepreneur pipeline. What does it mean for the Pakistani fashion landscape? Are influencers and creatives more in tune with what the people want? Does visibility always mean viability? Aamir Ali Shah explores the recent rise of the creator-led brands.
Nov 28, 2025
Who is the ideal citizen in Pakistan today? Activists, academics, artists and attorneys endevaoured to answer this at the People’s Assembly for Political Rights, organised by the Progressive Student’s Collective.
Nov 28, 2025
Zeenat Hisam’s Tamannaon Ke Deyaar Se is an anthology of translated poems from North American women poets. Rana Saadulla...
Rabih Alameddine’s The True True Story of Raja The Gullible (and His Mother) recently became the first Arab-American wor...
Lahore in Motion: Infrastructure, History and Belonging in Urban Pakistan (UCL Press, 2025), edited by Ammara Maqsood, C...
In Adrian A. Husain’s second collection of sonnets, Knife of the Tide (The Peepul Press, 2025), recollection is not mere...
Georgette Heyer, writing between the 1920s and 1970s, may in fact have invented the ‘Regency Romance’ sub-genre. What se...
Mahreen Sohail’s debut book, 𝘚𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘚𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 (A Public Space, 2025), is a collection of short stories that can only...
In a country plagued with literacy problems and lack of institutional support, can book reviewers be the catalysts in nu...
Mother Mary Comes To Me by acclaimed author and activist Arundhati Roy is not just a memoir about a complicated mother —...
SPORTS
For a country where young people make up a majority of the population, the potential of gaming as a career path remains...
SPORTS
What explains Padel’s recent explosive popularity in urban Pakistan?
Debt-for-climate swaps are no longer boutique transactions, but are being pitched as a central tool to help countries break free from the vicious cycle of debt distress and climate vulnerability. Can the G77+China succeed in making them more than symbolic, clever deals on the margins?
The USA, for decades, has been at the forefront of cutting edge research and tech development; the H-1B visa has arguably played a major role in this, as global talent gravitates towards leading American institutions, whether in tech, medicine or academia. With President Trump’s new $100K talent tariff policy, the world wonders whether this will lead to a brain drain away from the USA.
The 19th International Architecture Exhibition, titled 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘴. 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭. 𝘈𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭. 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦., curated by Carlo Ratti and organised by La Biennale di Venezia opened in May 2025. A team of eight dedicated Pakistani architects and researchers presented (𝘍𝘳)𝘈𝘨𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘚𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘴, while facing bureaucratic hurdles, visa and shipment delays and the four-day war back home. Zoya Gul Hasan walks us through the installation and ponders Pakistan's future at international art biennales.
