Alefia T. Hussain

Jul 10, 2026

Behind the death of fourteen children is the familiar story of state neglect

Sakina Hassan

Jul 02, 2026

An examination of food sharing rituals and practices during Muharram in Lahore

Ali Raza

Apr 07, 2026

In an era when urban life is increasingly defined by impersonality and transactional relationships, Quetta hotels offer something many people unconsciously seek: genuine human connection.

Sobh Saeed Rid

Apr 03, 2026

Peshawari Ice Cream, nestled in Karachi’s Saddar, is not just any ice cream parlour, it is a litmus test of belonging, especially with many copycat branches spread across the city. Sobh Saeed Rid, who moved to Karachi four years ago, explores the nostalgia of flavour and how an ice cream parlour founded in 1948 continues to foster community.

Kulsum Ebrahim

Mar 26, 2026

Niilofur Farrukh, former CEO and Managing Trustee of Karachi Biennale Trust, reflects on how the organisation has sustained itself for the last ten years, despite overwhelming obstacles, from hosting biennales in a city on the brink of infrastructural collapse to funding precarity.

Mahrukh Murad

Mar 25, 2026

From rishta aunties to matchmaking apps, Pakistan’s youth are caught between tradition and technology, rejecting old formulas yet discovering that swipes and algorithms don’t always deliver love either.

Jawziya Zaman

Mar 10, 2026

The security protocols of banks in Pakistan may or may not protect us from outside fraud, but certainly seem designed to protect us from ourselves

Sakina Hassan

Mar 06, 2026

Family and community is broken. Can it be fixed?

Rana Saadullah Khan

Feb 18, 2026

The 10th Faiz Festival took place in Lahore from 13–15 February, featuring an array of writers, poets, artists and intellectuals. Rana Saadullah Khan found that the festival was a triumphant celebration of Urdu literature.

Nijah S. Khan

Feb 13, 2026

The 14th edition of the Lahore Literary Festival took place from February 6th to 8th, 2026 at the Alhamra Arts Council where writers and artists gathered to explore ideas of cultural and heritage preservation.

Ayza Khan

Feb 12, 2026

The 14th iteration of the LLF returned with a focus on celebrating the region’s cultural heritage.

Sara Danial

Feb 11, 2026

As the 17th Karachi Literature Festival unfolded against the backdrop of a ‘fragile world’, the focus was towards the powerful intersections of migration, media and memory. This year, the festival highlighted a unique cultural phenomenon: the rise of Gulf–South Asian narratives that challenge post-colonial boundaries. Through the lens of filmmakers, journalists and historians, KLF 2026 explored how the shared histories of the outside world and Pakistan are being reimagined for a new generation of readers and thinkers.

Ayza Khan

Jan 29, 2026

Ayza Khan explores the undercurrents of literary and cultural resistance at the ninth iteration of Afkar e Taza ThinkFest held in Lahore.

Furqan Ali

Jan 09, 2026

Nikkay Kay Paye, said to have been established in 1826 in Peshawar, is a favourite haunt for citizens in the colder months. Furqan Ali goes on his annual paye adventure and reflects on the city of Peshawar.

Sara Danial

Jan 07, 2026

Faisal Kapadia’s post-Strings journey shows that evolution does not require erasure. It can be quiet, thoughtful and still powerful. This was evidenced at Phir Milenge, a recent musical tour.

Mashal Rizvi

Dec 19, 2025

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.

Rehman Qadir

Dec 17, 2025

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.

Bisma Ahmad

Dec 09, 2025

A couple of weeks ago, Lahoris woke up to disturbing news — Nasir Bagh was being turned into a (underground) parking plaza. Protests erupted and confusion, naturally, reigned supreme. Urban design practitioner Bisma Ahmad recounts her experience of witnessing the ‘development’ and subsequent assessment of the Lahore Authority for Heritage Revival’s (LAHR) latest project.

S. Mohsin

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.

Alefia T. Hussain

Nov 28, 2025

The proverbial ‘smog season’ is in full swing across Punjab, affecting the lives of millions of people. Anti-smog guns, vehicle emissions certifications and new mapping technologies are the provincial government’s latest interventions. But are they simply shiny, new gimmicks?

Anum Peerzada

Nov 10, 2025

Anum Peerzada presents a visual map of her experience during the 5-day residency, Street Foods: Queens of the Everyday, curated and led by Nahla Tabbaa. Participants mapped, researched, embodied, tasted and listened to the streets of Gawalmandi and Delhi Gate, ending their time with an interactive installation at the Indus Conclave 2025.

Misha Anwar

Nov 05, 2025

One month ago Lahore played host to the Indus Conclave 2025, where artists, writers and intellectuals gathered to rethink balance, belonging, ideas of progress and what it means to build the Global South. Misha Anwar looks back.

Fizza Ghanchi

Oct 29, 2025

The 6th edition of the Gandhara Independent Film Festival recently took place at NAPA, Karachi. With films from over 10 countries and a sizable local contingent, the festival continued to provide a platform for independent voices in cinema.

Saher Sohail

Oct 24, 2025

An art exhibition, curated by Saher Sohail, as a companion to the Indus Conclave 2025.

Nijah S. Khan

Oct 24, 2025

The Indus Conclave 2025 gathered writers, artists, intellectuals and activists from the Global South and beyond in Lahore to discuss the most pressing issues of our times.

Zainab Mohiuddin

Oct 20, 2025

In the heart of Bahadurabad, Kokan Family Park stands as a beacon of hope, where public parks are increasingly endangered by urban development and government neglect. Managed by a dedicated neighbourhood committee, the park is more than a patch of green—it is a crucial part of a community’s day.

Marium Naveed

Sep 12, 2025

A green, public space off the Islamabad Expressway in the leftover land between a highway, a looping exit ramp and an underpass, technically known as a ‘cloverleaf island’, has become a makeshift park for hundreds of people who frequent it. Marium Naveed wonders what this makeshift park tells us about the city the public wants and needs.

Muhammad Zain Ahmad Bilal

Sep 09, 2025

The streets of Lahore buzzed with excitement, while loudspeakers boomed with praises of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), as crowds gathered to express their undying love for their Prophet on his 1500th birthday. Muhammad Zain Ahmad Bilal, on assignment for Dunya Digital, follows the 12th Rabi-ul-Awal festivities in various parts of Lahore.

Zainab Najeeb

Sep 01, 2025

An anthropologist’s fieldwork takes her to Peshawar, where she becomes an unwitting observer of her own life—and the dynamics of inhabiting a new city—as she dines solo. What was once taken as granted or a vessel to romanticise her own life becomes a negotiation to (re)claim space and a sense of self.

Mehvash Amin

Sep 01, 2025

Publisher, Pushcart nominated poet and erstwhile editor of prominent lifestyle magazines in Pakistan, Mehvash Amin shares her journey as a woman in Pakistan’s publishing sphere—a personal account of navigating the obstacle course laid out for her as she publishes 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘭𝘦𝘱𝘩 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸, as well as highlighting her work with PAWPE.

Umaima Tanweer Khan

Aug 13, 2025

In Urdu Bazaar Lahore, the symbols of Independence Day stand for more than just patriotism, they represent livelihoods and whole communities that revolve around them.

Sara Danial

Aug 12, 2025

Where politics build walls, art builds bridges. Sara Danial speaks with Mauj., a Karachi-based theatre collective behind the recent production of Ramayana that has had social media buzzing on both sides of the Pak-India border.

Fizza Ghanchi

Aug 04, 2025

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.

Nazuk Iftikhar Rao

Jul 31, 2025

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

Alefia T. Hussain

Jun 24, 2025

Even as the local economy has come to rely on tourism, Gilgit-Baltistan faces grave ecological, cultural and social challenges as a result of the recent surge

Faraz Aamer Khan

Jun 03, 2025

A Lahore-based visual artist encapsulates our distorted relationship with hope during these troubled times. Hope is represented by an ever-present balloon that accompanies us as we follow the artist during a regular day, reminding us of its constant presence, even if it seems just beyond our grasp.

Alaina Asim

May 31, 2025

While most citizens of Karachi do not have access to cultural spaces, the well-heeled enjoy the vast expanses of country clubs, spaces reminiscent of the colonial era that function as a soft mechanism of exclusions, making it clear who is deemed to deserve leisure and comfort in the city.

Alefia T. Hussain

Apr 22, 2025

The government’s project to ostensibly revitalise the river and “develop” its surrounding areas has drawn sharp criticism from local residents and activists

Rahmat Tunio

Mar 06, 2025

Pakistan is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change in the world, and agricultural and fishing communities of Sindh are paying the price with their lives uprooted and livelihoods decimated

Nijah S. Khan

Feb 24, 2025

This year’s edition of the Lahore Literary Festival may not have lived up to the hype and star power of LLFs past, but it still remains a crucial and thriving space for cultural dialogue

Kulsum Ebrahim

Jan 21, 2025

Across five venues, KB24 stirred Karachiites out of complacency with art that implicated its audience in the climate crisis we face today

Rutaba Tanvir

Jan 21, 2025

Masshal Saif, Yusra Alvi

Jan 20, 2025

Two women journey through the city of Lahore, their new chosen home, through their friendship with each other

Amna Chaudhry

Jan 20, 2025

Beauty workers in large Pakistani urban centres face a distinctive set of struggles with little recourse

Aisha Khan

Jan 20, 2025

Decisive and effective policies to address the existential threat of rapidly deteriorating air quality is long overdue

M. Bilal Hassan

Jan 11, 2025

A city with a complex history, a confluence of cultures, and an exciting future

Mariam Tareen

Nov 15, 2024

Climate activist and expert Dawar Butt speaks about the underlying causes and potential solutions to the cataclysmic air pollution in Pakistan