Pakistan: The Road to COP21

(Published in Crisis Response Journal)

The COP21 this year aims to put countries on the same page in the fight for the planet, and Pakistan needs to be making its own contribution – but as the author notes, it most likely will not. Can a developing country that is routinely battered by climate change still pretend that it isn’t a problem? That is the question.

Source: Pakistan: The Road to COP21

Female Genital Mutilation: Pakistan’s well kept secret

(Published in The Nation Pakistan) It is a little known fact that it is also secretly practiced in Pakistan, primarily by the Bohra Community, who are thought to have brought the practice over from Africa and whose leaders consider it a religious duty. Girls of 7 or 8 years are made to undergo this violation of their rights, often performed by medically untrained women. However, the Bohra community now claims that trained health practitioners perform the practice. The Sheedi community is also thought to practice it and they too brought them over from Africa.

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Why does celebrating Halloween in Pakistan scare the wits out of Islamists?

(Published in The Nation Pakistan) Please do not tell the rest of us how to live our lives based on your idea of religion. Because that is not religious freedom, that is religious privilege and we are not going to soothe your fears by holding ourselves back.  Or to paraphrase Jon Stewart, “We are not going to censor ourselves to comfort your ignorance”.

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No, India did not cause the heat wave in Karachi

(Published in The Nation Pakistan)

Developing countries like Pakistan should contribute to global mitigation efforts, but more importantly, Pakistan needs a solid adaptation plan that will ensure that human and natural systems are made resilient to the impacts of a warming world.

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If there is no compulsion in religion then why can’t I eat in public during Ramazan?

(Published in The Nation Pakistan) Enforcing “respect” for religions cannot and must not come at the cost of not respecting human rights. This isn’t about respect.  It is about forcing people to follow one ideology and it is time that we left such ideas behind.

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If praying means others do not matter, then you are doing it wrong

(Published in The Nation Pakistan) I fail to understand why it is necessary to make things difficult for others so one can perform one’s religious obligations. Aren’t Muslims taught that “Huqooqul Ibad” are very important? So when did we get to the point where consideration for your fellow human is something alien to us?

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Blasphemy and blood money

(Published in The Nation Pakistan) This and many other Shariah laws have no place in the world today. And any demand to impose them over society, instead of secular laws, is not an idea that we should accept. And therefore, we must step up and be vocal about their abrogation. This is because most of these laws exponentially favour some people and are not very considerate to women, minorities and the poor.

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