The three exploitations

4Frontier

Reviewed by Zubeida Mustafa

Given the crisis that Pakistan faces today, it is important that political analysts make an effort to understand in the light of scholarship the factors that have contributed to pushing the country to the brink. We tend to look at the contemporary situation, especially the interplay of political forces, and draw up conclusions that lead to “false analyses”, to use the words of the renowned author of The Taliban, Ahmed Rashid. In that context, Frontier of Faith by Sana Haroon, is a book that must be read. It will certainly add to the reader’s understanding of the north-western regions of Pakistan that have spawned the militancy and extremism that is the bane of the country today. Continue reading The three exploitations

Telling The Untold Story

A People's Untold History

By Zubeida Mustafa

PEARL S. Buck, the American author who rose to fame because of her graphic and insightful novels on pre-revolutionary China, once remarked, “If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday.” But can you understand yesterday if what you learn about it is warped and one-sided?

That is inevitable when information of the past comes in the form of history written with a colonial construction. It portrays events through the prism of the powerful classes who owe their power to the colonial rulers of yesteryear. It was in this context that I found the film titled A People’s Untold History by Deneb Sumbul so remarkable. Continue reading Telling The Untold Story

Volunteerism In Decline

By Zubeida Mustafa

THERE are two seemingly unrelated issues which have been the subject of public debate time and again that need to be viewed from a holistic perspective.

One is the common complaint that volunteerism is dead in Pakistan. People no longer want to give time to those in distress who stand to gain from the attention and care of the better-endowed. Continue reading Volunteerism In Decline