Aqeel Ahmad

Jun 12, 2026

A seventy-year old photo of Ava Gardner, darling of the Golden Age of Hollywood, standing on a railway platform with a crowd of South Asian men and women behind her, often does the rounds on social media accounts that look back at the ‘good old days’. The story behind the photo, though, is one of exploitation and racist filmmaking. Aqeel Ahmad takes a look at Bhowani Junction, the 1956 film that brought Hollywood stars to Lahore.

Hassan Kamal Wattoo

Jun 12, 2026

While the 7-day Okara-Sahiwal war of 2026 did not happen, it did not stop millions of viewers from engaging with, and enjoying, the incident.

Khadija A. Malik

May 26, 2026

No matter how visually compelling, a PR exercise does not make for meaningful cinema

Ali Raza

May 26, 2026

The Turkish TV series’ wild popularity in Pakistan has enabled a disturbing visual grammar for violence

Misha Anwar

May 19, 2026

Urdu may be ours, but it is becoming increasingly unfamiliar to our children, our cities and our lives

Mashal Rizvi

May 18, 2026

Behind a small screen, viewing short form content, is how we increasingly access news. How does it impact how we show up in the world?

Sarah K. Cheema

May 15, 2026

𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘗𝘶𝘯𝘫𝘢𝘣 is not only about preserving the past, but about imagining a future through the past, and will determine who the cultural future of the province belongs to

Shahira Khan, Ahmed Khan

May 07, 2026

Pakistan’s economic challenge is not a shortage of labour. It is a shortage of productivity. While the country remains demographically expansionary, the slowly declining fertility rate means that the current youth bulge represents a narrowing window. In this piece, Ahmed Khan and Shahira Khan from the Punjab Skills Development Fund opine on a path forward.

Sakina Hassan

Apr 30, 2026

To understand our cultural attitudes around sexual intimacy, one need only look at contemporaryPakistani dramas, and how they push the boundaries of what is deemed acceptable

Ibrahim Tanweer

Apr 13, 2026

As the US contends with its crumbling imperialism, is Hollywood incurring one political debt after another?

Shmyla Khan

Mar 30, 2026

In a society where desire of any kind is heavily policed, a show exclusively centred on finding your own partner while the country watches held potential - but did end up living up to that potential?

Hassan Kamal Wattoo

Feb 26, 2026

A close reading of the judgement raises grave concerns about the current state of civil rights in Pakistan

Maheen Azmat

Jan 30, 2026

Maheen Azmat looks at the traditional South Asian aangan as a laboratory where competing visions of South Asian womanhood were actively produced in response to colonialism and nationalism.

Furqan Ali

Dec 19, 2025

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.

Arslan Athar

Dec 16, 2025

The exponential rise of humans delegating some of the most basic tasks to Artificial Intelligence has worried some, while others have welcomed it warmly. However, does having platforms such as ChatGPT resolve our friends’ problems, be our therapists and matchmakers taking away our humanity?

Aamir Ali Shah

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.

Sara Danial

Nov 28, 2025

Mobile phones now serve as a primary point of access to the internet (and thereby to a global community) across many regions. However, women in low and middle income countries continue to face substantial barriers in gaining this access. Closing the gender gap in mobile and internet access for women in Pakistan can be a boon for the economy.

Muhammad Haris Hassan

Nov 13, 2025

The announcement of Lahore’s Yellow Metro Line project was met with government enthusiasm and civil society disapproval. Months later, what is the status of the project and why the secrecy regarding its execution?

Shahira Khan

Oct 24, 2025

As Pakistan confronts urgent development imperatives, the fiscal burden of debt servicing leaves little space for action. Can debt swaps provide a path forward to transform crisis into opportunity?

Aamir Ali Shah

Sep 10, 2025

In the race to package and promote South Asian fashion to the world, India is sprinting ahead, often with items that have roots on both sides of the border. These crafts were never confined by the Radcliffe Line, but their identity politics now are. Aamir Ali Shah explores the fight for claiming textile heritage and the role of GI tags.

Furqan Ali

Aug 28, 2025

With the first meeting of the 11th National Finance Commission scheduled for 29th August, 2025, and three previous Awards being inconclusive, Furqan Ali wonders if the upcoming 11th Award will break the curse.

Madeeha Maqbool

Jul 31, 2025

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.

Mahnoor Khan

Jul 07, 2025

A childhood favorite Punjabi film offers unexpected insights into contemporary Punjabi society

Aamir Ali Shah

Jun 05, 2025

Under colonial influence, the visual grammar of our past—soft silhouettes, draped fabrics, floral motifs, jewelry worn by men with ease—was stripped away. What remains is a masculine rigidity suspicious of any sartorial playfulness

Zainab K. Durrani

Apr 29, 2025

From the ban on X (formerly known as Twitter) to the arrests of activists over speech, PECA has allowed the state to exercise the most arbitrary set of controls over Pakistani citizens’ use of the vast playground of the internet

Aamir Ali Shah

Mar 27, 2025

Given that a vast majority of women in Pakistan already wear long tunics, full sleeves, and dupattas, is modest fashion just a repackaging of what already exists?

Haneya Zuberi

Feb 10, 2025

Any attempt at adapting a literary giant’s work for the screen - especially one as stylistically and visually experimental as Marquez - is going to be a lofty mission

Sana Tahir

Feb 04, 2025

Pakistani brides increasingly opt for the luxe aesthetic without the price tag, but not without judgment

Ilma Qureshi

Jan 21, 2025

This Islamic cultural figure from 13th century India took liberties with language that have turned into the conventions of our present

Ibrahim Tanweer

Jan 21, 2025

Calls for a boycott for this year’s season bring us back to the question of the very legitimacy of Coke Studio as a platform for Pakistani music

Tehmina Khan

Jan 21, 2025

Dharti Dhar Dhar Dharke Gi: Artist As Witness, COMO Museum’s show curated by Salima Hashmi, is a searing homage to the artist’s testimony of a world rife with systemic violence

Nauman Faizi

Jan 21, 2025

A self-avowed devotee and admirer of Nusrat’s artistry remains largely unmoved by his posthumous album ‘Chain of Light’

Amel Ghani

Jan 21, 2025

Heera Mandi might have been famous for the singing and dancing women, but in the midst of all this, it was also home to the tradition of classical music - a tradition that is now dying

Aamir Ali Shah

Jan 21, 2025

The burgeoning perfume industry in Pakistan is largely a copycat factory, dominated by clones of internationally well-known designer fragrances. Will we see a turn towards innovation soon?

Haneya Zuberi

Jan 21, 2025

How did a humble spice, used in home kitchens and ayurvedic medicine mostly in South Asia for centuries, suddenly become a global super food?

Sara Javed Rathore

Jan 21, 2025

Daniyal Tahir

Jan 20, 2025

An explainer on Pakistan’s electricity shortfall

Aamir Ali Shah

Jan 10, 2025

While the pandemic thrust many Pakistani fashion brands into e-commerce, a deeper look reveals that the foundations of this industry—logistics, customer support, and post-sale service—remain alarmingly shaky