Meeting with Noam Chomsky
Professor Noam Chomsky is indeed one of the greatest thinkers of our time. I was introduced to him for the first time by my English language teacher Sir Zahir Hussain in my hometown of Panjgur in Balochistan. He assigned me Chomsky’s book Necessary Illusions as a reading task. Mr. Hussain had previously introduced me with Bertrand Russell, the biggest philosophical … Continue reading →
From Balochistan to Harvard
I was born and raised in Panjgur, a small Pakistan-Iran border town in Balochistan. Larger than France area wise, the Balochistan region is divided between Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan. In all these three countries, Balochistan ranks as the poorest and the least developed region. My mom is from the Iranian Balochistan while my dad comes … Continue reading →
The Future of Baloch Nationalism After Nawab Marri
By Malik Siraj Akbar Nawab Khair Baksh Marri, the prominent Baloch nationalist leader, finally passed away without brokering a deal with any of the Pakistani governments to end the ongoing conflict in Balochistan. The veteran Baloch leader, who passed away on Tuesday, remained firm on his demand for a free Baloch country. His commitment to his … Continue reading →
Pakistan: The “Last Chance” for Girls’ Education
By Malik Siraj Akbar A religious extremist group that is determined to prevent girls from going to schoolin Pakistan’s Balochistan province left a bizarre warning on Tuesday outside a private school: “This is your last chance,” read a hand-written threatening letter that had been affixed outside the main entrance of the best known local school, the … Continue reading →
The War Against Education in Pakistan
By Malik Siraj Akabr Throughout the years of turmoil and instability in Pakistan, the education sector has remained a central target of all parties engaged in armed conflicts. Enraged over the threats from an underground Islamic extremist organization that led to the forceful closure of girls’ schools in Pakistan’s largest province of Balochistan earlier this month, the … Continue reading →
Pakistan’s Boko Haram
While Pakistan’s federal government continues to give in to the Taliban pressure, women and school children in one small Pakistan-Iran border town in southwestern Balochistan province are offering unprecedented resistance against calls by Islamic extremists to shut down girls’ schools. Pakistan has featured in the recent times in the western media for attacks on girls’ education, destruction of schools … Continue reading →
An Inside Outsider
Naeema Saeed, a journalist for Pakistan’s The Nation newspaper, interviewed me for the Sunday Plus magazine. The interview focused on the Balochistan conflict, the state of the media, my book and the future of Pakistan. It was published on May 25, 2014. You can read the online version of the interview by clicking here.
VOA Interview: Amnesty International Report on Pakistani Media
I appeared on Friday on Voice of America‘s weekly show Access Point with Ayesha Tanzeem to speak about the recent Amnesty International Report about the dangerous state of the media in Pakistan. I mentioned how the intelligence agencies in Pakistan routinely contact journalists for ‘friendly advice’ and then end up threatening them to toe a line that … Continue reading →
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