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Old Man Prays
He believed he was old enough to suffer anything more. He was too old for any new pain. His legs couldn’t bear his weight, how could he bear a new pain? He was sure about God letting him go now because he prayed for the release too hard. But things don’t happen that way. Neither…
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The Curious Case of ‘Evidence’ in Pakistan
Rape: Four witnesses. Or a video in good print. DNA test is a big no. Forced Conversion: A video message at gun point to dismiss the case instantly. Murder: First of all, a dead body. Then it depends on the murderer. 444 can’t convict. 1 can. Treason: A tweet would be enough. Blasphemy: A blame…
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9th May – The First Anniversary
Jinnah remained homeless in the city. The city, which gave home to everyone in history, was unable to provide shelter to the father of the nation. But history didn’t stop even after his death. Lahore kept on finding a suitable home for the very suitable Jinnah. On the auspicious day of May 9th, 2023; hundreds…
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Dil Se… (1998)
Entire Bollywood on one side, and Dil Se would stand taller on the other side. The story, dialogues, frustration, love, music, songs, and everything is remarkable. All India Radio. What if we change it with Radio Pakistan? How relatable it can be? Imagine going to Balochistan or western belt of KP or any other periphery of…
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Society of the Dead
The Local Graveyard Committee of the Dead was called before dawn, not unusual as graveyards work in moonlight. It was an emergency case, though not a new one. The elders thought it was enough. The eldest of the graveyard cried that they were unable to do anything even when they could see all that happened…
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You Missed Me?
You missed me? I did not. With so many ATL references that one cannot not miss, liar! Such a lousy user of words. ATL? Above the line. It’s a marketing and advertising term. You market and advertise yourself? Subconsciously. Step by step. Person by person. With already marketed references of glamorous impact. That’s BTL. Whatever.…
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Who let the dogs out?
I thought I would leave these topics for some time but then they do something, and you cannot miss the content. And if nothing, I am blessed to see the comedy of bureaucrats on routine. And I love that. I would choose this comedy any day over Abhishek Upamanyu. Kidding. That was sarcasm. A language…
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Eid & Tragedy
If a tragedy strikes during the Eid days, all the remaining Eids become tragic afterwards, till death do them apart. Eid brings pain and nothing else afterwards. Be it Eid of Summers or Winters. It hurts. A traffic warden died yesterday. On chand raat, while on duty. Had a three-year-old daughter who was taken away…
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Walli – Chapter & Year No. 10 (from Jinnah Library)
If you get the nerve of the universe, the way it operates and functions, you will know that Walli wasn’t insane. He was a bit odd at times – fine, all the time – but not insane. He was there, passing through the Mall Road in 1866 when the foundation was being laid – just…
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Toba Tek Singh
Toba Tek Singh incident proves that we are as fucked up as those brother and father are. I don’t want to mention the details, and I don’t want to mention why they murdered that lady. Sometimes, you can’t even type the fucked-up scenario this country puts you in. So, I wrote what I wrote yesterday…