Spotlight

Our essential reads for the week

From Cold War to Cold Shoulders (1950-1962)

Continuing to explore the origins and evolutions of the Pak-China partnership, Aima Khosa focuses on a period of estrangement, spanning roughly from 1950 to 1962, which represents one of the most paradoxical chapters in the history of the ‘Iron Brotherhood’.

Guerrilla Filmmaking and the Pakistani New Wave

The trio of friends behind the short film Karmash speak to us about dropping out of film school, premiering at the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes and their creative process.

A Heatwave for the Homesick

For columnist Saba Imtiaz, a European heatwave became the key to evoking memories of home and remedy for her creative block.

Of Light

With construction on the River Ravi underway, the Kamran Baradari becomes a reminder of the vicissitudes of time.

Lost in the Code

Government officials in Pakistan put great faith in IT oriented solutions for every problem, from seeking justice to simply obtaining character certificates. But, is this faith justified? Can embracing IT work as a panacea for governance failures?

The Year Ahead: Budget 101

With the new financial year underway in Pakistan, we break down the Budget for FY25/26 in order to explain how the year ahead will be.



Columns


PAKISTAN EXPLORED

Stories, Cultures, and Landscapes


Comment

Reflecting on the Zeitgeist

Guerrilla Filmmaking and the Pakistani New Wave

The trio of friends behind the short film Karmash speak to us about dropping out of film school, premiering at the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes and their creative process.

By Fizza Ghanchi

Aug 04, 2025

Article Image

Lost in the Code

Government officials in Pakistan put great faith in IT oriented solutions for every problem, from seeking justice to simply obtaining character certificates. But, is this faith justified? Can embracing IT work as a panacea for governance failures?

By Haroon Sethi

Jul 21, 2025

Guerrilla Filmmaking and the Pakistani New Wave

The trio of friends behind the short film Karmash speak to us about dropping out of film school, premiering at the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes and their creative process.

By Fizza Ghanchi

Aug 04, 2025

Lost in the Code

Government officials in Pakistan put great faith in IT oriented solutions for every problem, from seeking justice to simply obtaining character certificates. But, is this faith justified? Can embracing IT work as a panacea for governance failures?

By Haroon Sethi

Jul 21, 2025

Article Image

The Year Ahead: Budget 101

With the new financial year underway in Pakistan, we break down the Budget for FY25/26 in order to explain how the year ahead will be.

By Madeeha Maqbool

Jul 31, 2025


Books

Trial by Fire

In September 2012, over 250 workers perished in a fire at Ali Enterprises, a garment factory in Karachi working for a Ge...

The Many Lahores of Manan Ahmed Asif

‘What is and was Lahore? How has it changed in its thirteen disruptions?’ These are among the many questions that flaneu...

The Sins of James

Satire aims to provoke, but does Percival Everett’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel go far enough?

Banu Mushtaq’s Muslim Women

𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘓𝘢𝘮𝘱, the first ever book translated from Kannada shortlisted by the International Booker Prize, is a collection o...

A Flat Place by Noreen Masud

In our increasingly media-saturated landscape, in thrall of an attention economy that strategizes attracting eyeballs an...

Dreaming Of A Different World

Nobel Prize Winner Han Kang’s oeuvre may be be celebrated due to her status as a novelist “for the times”, but what sepa...


SPORTS

Should Pakistan Hope Again? SPORTS

Should Pakistan Hope Again?

In recent years Pakistan has seen a bleak period in the T20I cricket arena. However, does the series clean sweep against...

Ahsan Iftikhar Nagi

WORLD

Unconditional: How American Campaign Finance Enables Israel

In contemporary America, the system of financing election campaigns has become a vast, institutionalised behemoth that ensures elected officials are more accountable to their wealthiest donors than to their constituents. Therein lies the not-so-secret to bipartisan, unconditional support for Israel

By Staff Reporter

Apr 22, 2025

The Axe Forgets, but the Tree Remembers: From Gaza to the World

From the encampments of Columbia University to the rubble-strewn streets of Gaza, an unprecedented sense of solidarity unites the world even as Israel strengthens its own dark alliances

By Zarrar Khuhro

Jan 17, 2025

The Space Around A Painting: An Afternoon At The Louvre Abu Dhabi

A personal meditation on the distinction between art and luxury, beauty and gloss

By Dua Abbas Rizvi

Jan 16, 2025


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