By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn
IN the midst of a general sense of insecurity spawned by terrorist attacks and the gloom spurred by spiralling inflation, something rejuvenating happened in Karachi last week.
The Pakistan Publishers and Booksellers Association held its Fourth Karachi International Book Fair much to the delight of bibliophiles.
Continue reading Creating a book culture?
By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn
AT a time when the media in India and Pakistan is virtually driving South Asia to the brink of war, it is sad that journalists’ professional bodies have failed to moderate the hype that has been created. The only voice of sanity to be raised was that of 22 editors from the region — only three from Pakistan — in the form of a release issued by Kanak Mani Dixit, the editor of the South Asian magazine Himal (Kathmandu).
Continue reading Media’s role in war and peace
By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn
IT wasn’t such a long time ago when a simple, soft-spoken man dressed in khaddar wearing dark-rimmed glasses used to be a familiar figure in Dawn’s office.
He would drop by for a chat to tell us about his social engineering experiments he was undertaking in Orangi, once described as Asia’s largest slum. Whether it was the drainage scheme, the school programme or the health plan he was dilating on excitedly, his zeal was always infectious. It compelled you to visit his projects to learn about them.
Continue reading Fading dream of social justice
By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: The WIP
Peace activists in Pakistan and India are attempting desperately to be heard above the din raised by warmongers – elitist by all counts and claiming to be patriotic as well – in the wake of the Mumbai carnage. Jingoism is in the air – be it from so-called nationalists (posing as analysts on television) advocating a nuclear attack for the defense of their country, or the man on the street. Be they from Pakistan or India, they speak of war with great abandon as if it is child’s play. For the electronic media it is a race for sensationalism.
Continue reading No Time for War: A Call for Peace Amid Rising Nuclear Tensions between Pakistan and India
By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: The WIP
Pakistan has been hit by severe food price inflation – the worst in its 61-year history. The prices of many basic food items have more than doubled in the last year and poor families are now spending two thirds to three quarters of their monthly income on their meals alone.
Continue reading Defeating Food Price Inflation: A Kitchen Garden in Every Home