by Zameer Abbas In the spring of 2009, Syed Yahya Shah came to see me, a budding government official, in Gilgit. We were working on his citation for a certain award. Our first meeting panned out to much more than the award recommendation. He talked about sectarianism and the narrow interpretation of Islam for nominal gains by the clergy. Gilgit …

Raza Naeem’s tribute to Pakistan’s best-known Marxist, scholar, author and activist on his birth centenary marked on April 10. Stop all the clocks … let the mourners come.— W.H. Auden by Raza Naeem While the world-renowned Marxist sociologist does not need an introduction here in South Asia, my reflections here will chiefly consist of my memories of my lone meeting …

  Progressive Youth Movement Gilgit-Baltistan (PYMGB) has expressed deep sorrow over the tragic death of Farjad Hussain an activist. In a condolence message, the youth organisation stated: “We are devastated and drowned in grief to share the news of Farjad Hussain’s murder, a friend, a comrade and a brave son of Naltar Valley of Gilgit-Baltistan. “In a short meaningful life, Farjad …

AWP observes two-day mourning. CPIM, PWA, PMA and others pay homage to the oldest beacon of Left Movement by Herald Special Correspondent TOBA TEK SINGH/Islamabad: Veteran socialist leader and founding member of the Awami Workers Party Chaudhry Fateh Mohammed, the oldest beacon of Left and peasant movement goes out. Draped in the party’s red and white flag, he was laid to …

Herald Report An Italian hard rock ballad has penned a song to in memory of two young climbers who met a tragic death while pursuing their passion on one of the 14 high mountains in the Pakistani-administered Gilgit-Baltistan region. The tragic end of Italian climber Daniele Nardi and his British colleague Tom Ballard during an ascent on the most difficult …

He was one of Indian cinema’s finest actors and among its most successful exports to Hollywood. He had only just begun, writes Nandini Ramnath.   News Desk Irfan Khan (1967-2020), one of the acclaimed and finest actors of Indian cinema died in Mumbai on Wednesday. He was 53. A veteran of nearly 80 films, Irrfan almost gave up acting in his …

Ismat Shahjehan, president Women Democratic Front holding Mashal Khan’s portrait and other activists at the Student Solidarity March at Islamabad on Friday.–Photo by PrSF by Waseem Altaf   Mashal Khan was my friend on Facebook and would often ask me to recommend him books for reading. He was lynched to death by a group of religious fanatics on this day …

  by Farhatullah Babar   The death of comrade Dr Yasrab Tanvir Gondal, popularly known as Lal Khan for his Marxist views, last Friday is an occasion to reflect on the politics of the Left in Pakistan. Son of an army colonel from Chakwal, Lal Khan was the author of over a dozen books. including Partition – Can it be Undone? He was …

He played tabla with Noor Jahan, Mehdi Hassan Khan, Ghulam Ali, Ghulam Abbas and many more.

Herald Report   Naqeeebullah Mehsud’s father, Muhammad Khan Mehsud, lost his battle to cancer and the system on Monday morning without seeing justice for his son who was killed in a staged encounter by Rao Anwar in January 2018 in Karachi. The Sindh High Court had indicted the former Senior Superintendent of Police for his involvement in the murder of …

Family and friends recall ‘her powerful ability to turn around people’s lives for the better’, reports The Guardian newspaper News Desk The award-winning journalist and broadcaster Tazeen Ahmad has died, her family have said. Ahmad was praised for her work in shining a light on important stories with “care, sympathy, and integrity” across her extensive career, reported The Guardian newspaper. …

By Abu Ayesha Ali Yavar, a former student leader, who passed away on Thursday (September 5, 2019) at the age of 74 at Ziauddin Hospital in Clifton, led a very active life during his student days at the Government College Nazimabad in the 1960s. He became president of the students union in hotly contested elections that turned out to be …

  By Farman Ali Legendary music composer Muhammad Zahoor Hashmi, ‘Khayyam’, best known for his classic melodies such as ‘Wo subha kabhi tu aayegi’ ‘Kabhi Kabhie mere dil mein khayal aata hey’ and Aey dil-e-nadan’ passed away on Monday (Aug 19, 2019) at the age of 92 due to cardiac arrest. He was suffering from various age-related ailments. On July …

In this article, Raza Naeem remembers Khalida Hussain, an esteemed Urdu short story writer who passed away on January 11, 2018.   by Raza Naeem “Somebody speaks inside me day and night: Now it’s your turn…now you will see.” And then as the mystery gets deeper, the story’s mystery. These lines come at the climax of Sawari (Ride), the representative short story …

Raza Naeem offers a translation in which the late Enver Sajjad (1935 – 2019) writes about himself and his art by Raza Naeem Translator’s Note: One of Pakistan’s last true Renaissance men, writer, novelist, artist, actor, dancer and playwright, Dr Enver Sajjad passed away on June 6 last week. He was one of the last Pakistani writers who wrote fiction of an …