How to Pakistan

We're back! Why is Malala Yousafzai a feminist icon? Why is Firdous Ashiq Awan not a feminist icon? The punches. The stupidity. The genius. How to Pakistan's first episode in over a year. Come back!

Journalist Nadir Hassan died on April 30, 2020 at the age of 37. He was a prolific writer, clear headed, unambiguous and intellectually gifted. Fasi and Mosharraf talk about Nadir, and his generation of writers, academics and public intellectuals in Pakistan, with Omar Waraich and Shakir Husain.

On Episode 03 of How to Pakistan's Season of Covid-19 we talk about the demolition of illegal settlements in Islamabad, the Corona virus attacking members of our little How to Pakistan family in the UK, and whether this represents a moment of real, substantive change, or just a speed bump in our collective global dysfunction.

Our Season of Corona continues with Episode 02, in which we talk to economist and the former Chairman of the Board of Investment, Haroon Sharif. How does an economy like Pakistan's survive this pandemic? We talk about sugar cartels, the role of the bureaucracy, the opportunity for reform, and the future of economic diplomacy. We also discuss Haroon's recent paper for the Jinnah Institute, which you can read here: https://jinnah-institute.org/publication/india-pakistan-and-the-pandemic-community-of-shared-future/?doing_wp_cron=1586709661.1415810585021972656250

Everything has changed. So we have too. Our Season of Corona begins with Episode 01, where we try to establish how to talk about this pandemic. Our first How to Pakistan with video - clips of which will be uploaded on our Twitter handle. If you love us, you'll find it. Meanwhile, the Dave Chappelle clip referenced in this episode, upon the mention of Care Bears? Here it is: https://youtu.be/VfgwEpVSsEo Spread love. Be lovely.

The global conversation around sexual violence has created the space to engage on vital issues of justice, equality and fairness. The manifestations of the #metoo movement in Pakistan, such as Jami's allegations, often get entangled with other, concurrent but unrelated power dynamics. How do we engage with the issues? How do we fulfill our responsibility to protect? How do we avoid unfairness or libel? We asked the head of the Digital Rights Foundation, WEF Young Global Leader, and renowned activist Nighat Dad (pronounced Daad) for her help. This is the bilingual conversation that ensued. Digital Rights Foundation - https://digitalrightsfoundation.pk

Fasi and Mosharraf are joined by lawyer Umer Gilani and strategic affairs expert Hassan Akbar of the Jinnah Institute. They discuss the General Musharraf verdict, the imminent Indian attack on Pakistan and the state and fate of Prime Minister Imran Khan. Umer Gilani has studied law at the Lahore University of Management Sciences and the University of Washington, Seattle. He is an Advocate of the High Courts of Pakistan and practices in Islamabad. Syed Hassan Akbar is Director Programs at Jinnah Institute. Akbar has co-authored and supervised several nationally representative research studies on democracy, governance, gender and poverty alleviation. He studied at Columbia University and the Lahore University of Management Sciences.

Zaka and Zaidi summarise Pakistan's week: hair extensions, rage against Dawn, Britishstani terrorists, and much much more.

After the Shaheen Chemist raid, Fasi and Mosharraf discuss other similar cases of service provision failures in Pakistan, and how the public response to such outrages only tackles our need for InstaGrat, or instant gratification. But shutting down drug stores or pharmacies, or penalizing private schools, or terminating restaurant licenses does not actually produce regulatory effectiveness. It only assuages the hunger for InstaGrat. That's why so many Real Outrages, manufacture only Fake Outcomes.

Fasi and Mosharraf return to the podcast to explore how to talk about Imran Khan, Nawaz Sharif, the economy and the meat of the matter.

How do we navigate the terrain where the conversation becomes impossible? Thirteen dead citizens. A post conflict zone. A military that has won a war that seemed over just five years ago. Vultures all around. Compassion. Humanity. Compromise.

The news from Pakistan doesn't sound great. The economy is supposedly in a shambles. But are things really as bad as the mass media makes them out to be? Is Pakistan really in a such bad place? What happened to PTI's promise of reform? All this & more...

Welcome to Season Four of How to Pakistan! Pakistan's former Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar joins Fasi & Mosharraf to discuss mayhem in the skies above Pakistan & India, the impact of Pulwama, Balakot, and hopes for peace.

A conversation with Shaan Taseer

The new government is now approaching a full month in power. How well has it done? What has been good? What has been unnecessary? Was the Economic Advisory Council fiasco avoidable? Fasi and Mosharraf examine this government's predilection thus far, for unforced errors.

By popular demand, Omar Waraich is back on How to Pakistan, and he is joined by Salman Naveed Khan, a political analyst based in Islamabad. We discuss the election results, and whether the country is poised for a stable era of Imran Khan and PTI.

Fasi and Mosharraf talk to two iconic Pakistani journalists. Ziauddin Sb is an institution in journalism with stops as editor of Dawn and Express Tribune. Asma Shirazi is one of the country's most recognized television talk show hosts. We talk about press freedom and the elections that may make Imran Khan prime minister.

Join us as we discuss the prospects of the various parties in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. To help us navigate the amazing diversity of the province, we were joined by Imran Khan (not THAT one) and Najiullah Khattak. Both offered superb insights on the province.

Join us for a conversation with Omar Waraich. Waraich has covered Pakistan for TIME Magazine and The Independent. He has reported from South Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. He has also written for The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Slate, Sports Illustrated, The Caravan, Al-Jazeera America, Roads & Kingdoms, The Guardian, The New Statesman and The Economist Intelligence Unit.

Political pollster and researcher Azeema Cheema returns to the podcast, and Dr Ali Cheema, joins for the first time. Dr Cheema is Associate Professor of Economics and the Head of the Economics Department. He is a former Rhodes Scholar and a PhD from Cambridge University. Both Azeema and Ali have worked on political opinion polls and surveys for the last several years, with Ali's most recent work published by Herald. https://herald.dawn.com/news/1398605 https://www.dawn.com/news/1421699 Join Fasi and Mosharraf for an in-depth conversation on the polling, what it means, and what it doesn't mean. Spoiler: Neither Azeema nor Ali could be goaded into making any predictions!

Another devastating weekend. Fasi and Mosharraf try to talk about Mastung. A place where terrorists murdered over 200 Pakistanis. A place far, far away. How can we make such places closer to us? How can we be closer to places like Mastung?

In an increasingly fractured public discourse with extreme positions, deep injury, legitimate grievances, and excessive emotions defining the competing political narratives, it is hard to have reasoned and sincere conversation. We initiated this podcast to have exactly these conversations. Thank you for taking this journey with us. Don't give up on each other. Don't give up on us. Don't give up on you. This is How to Pakistan.

Fasi and Mosharraf speak to Adil Najam, Dean of the Pardee School at Boston University, former Vice Chancellor of Lahore University for Management Sciences (LUMS). Professor Najam is a UET Lahore alum, with a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He founded the All Things Pakistan blog, and has worked on a range of policy issues in Pakistan, including the national environmental policy framework in the 1990s, and higher education reform from 2000 to 2003. Today we speak to Professor Najam about his latest labour of love, the UNDP National Human Development Report that he has co authored with Dr Faisal Bari on the challenges and opportunities facing Pakistani youth. We hope you enjoy the conversation - and make sure you read the report on May 2. #PKyouth #NHDRpk

We open with Krewella - an awesome duo of sisters who are Americans of Pakistani origin. They are definitely not the Benjamin Sisters. But they are super 2018. Fast is also super 2018, with a full Pashto language joke that is most inappropriate. WARNING: There is at least one bad word in this podcast. Some coverage of Krewella (which was repeatedly mispronounced by Mosharraf). https://www.teenvogue.com/story/krewella-interview-ammunition https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/20-best-things-we-saw-at-electric-daisy-carnival-new-york-2015-20150526/best-rock-show-krewella-20150526

What will the 2018 be like? Fasi and Mosharraf discuss heavyweights and lightweights in Pashto. And they talk about Kasur and the rape and murder of Zainab. Some of the articles mentioned in the podcast: Valerie Khan and Chris Cork on @etribune https://tribune.com.pk/story/1608063/6-child-sex-abuse-reframing-narrative/ Xari Jalil for @dawn_com https://www.dawn.com/news/1384248 Khurram Husain for @dawn_com https://www.dawn.com/news/1385039 And Mosharraf for @thenews_intl https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/271761-the-outrage-in-kasur-and-beyond

Fasi and Mosharraf discuss whether the Faizabad dharna and its conclusion was the product of deprivation, or ideology, or conspiracy. Join us.

Fasi and Mosharraf discuss the recent engineering effort in Karachi and how it matches, or does not match the efforts and phenomenon across the rest of the country. We also debut Danish Ali's brilliant new Agent Lover to open and close the podcast!

Fasi and Mosharraf discuss the coming together of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement - Pakistan and the Pakistan Tehrik e Insaaf. What does it mean for politics and the political process? What does it mean for democracy? What does it mean for tabdeeli? Find out.

Fasi and Mosharraf talk about Donald Trump's speech on Afghanistan, and wish everyone a happy bakra Eid!

Historic judgement at the Supreme Court as Nawaz Sharif is disqualified. The justices go the full five-nil on him. Not over the London apartments, but over his falsified declaration of wealth/assets. Fasi and Mosharraf are joined by legal expert Asad Rahim Khan.

Fasi and Mosharraf talk about how we talk about things. Ramadan, Ramzaan, Yadav Jhadav, ICJ, ICC - its all happening!

Chris Cornell. Dead at age fifty two. Fasi and Mosharraf talk about his sound, and the sounds of their youth.

The Supreme Court announces its judgement in the supposedly landmark PanamaGate case. And reflections on the murder of Mashal Khan at Abdul Wali Khan University.

We are back with Season 03. Today we talk about the PSL Final. We loved it. Hope you did too. (The podcast, not the PSL thingy!)

Its 2017! We talk about new beginnings, and then dive into a Pakistaniat quiz, where Mosharraf tests the bona fides of Fasi's patriotism. Judge for yourself if he passes!

It is the end of the year. We talk about 2016, Pakistan's demographic dividend, and our favorite How to Pakistan guests. Join us!

Junaid Jamshed passed away in the tragic accident that befell Pakistan International Airlines Flight 661, en route from Chitral to Islamabad. Fasi and Mosharraf talk about their memories of Junaid. This episode closes with the exceptional in-memoriam rendition of Yaad Kerna by Shehzad Roy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WrWwaudU0w)

Columnist, TV talk show host, social media superstar.... Zarrar Khuhro is in the How to Pakistan house. There is laughter. Join us!

Spencer Ackerman talks to How to Pakistan about President-Elect Donald Trump and the world awaiting us. Ackerman is national security editor for Guardian US. Ackerman was part of the Guardian team that won the 2014 Pulitzer prize for public service journalism. A former senior writer for Wired, he won the 2012 National Magazine Award for digital reporting. He tweets at @attackerman.

Imran Khan announced the cancellation of Islamabad Lockdown whilst we were recording this episode. Interruptus indeed. Join us.

The PTI lockdown of Islamabad is imminent. The only people against locking down the capital city are corrupt, pro Nawaz Sharif evil doers. Join Fasi and Mosharraf as they try to analyze the evil.

Ahsan I. Butt is an Assistant Professor at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. His main research interests lie in nationalism, international security, and South Asia. He is currently writing a book on separatist violence. In this episode we discuss civ mil disequilibrium, PM Sharif's failures, and the history, present and future of Kashmir. Join us! http://schar.gmu.edu/faculty-staff/faculty/ahsan-butt/

As newsroom and social media warriors take the rhetorical battle to new lows, How to Pakistan will continue striving to find higher roads for a region and peoples that the world should expect more from. Today we talk to the UK Royal United Services Institute's Shashank Joshi. Shashank is a prolific writer and analyst and one of the sharpest India watchers in the West. His profile: https://rusi.org/people/joshi

After the Uri attack in Kashmir, many in India have called for punitive military measures by India. Among the people who think that strategic restraint is an outdated and losing proposition for India, is Wall Street Journal columnist, Sadanand Dhume. Join us as we discuss the viability of war, and the possibilities for peace.

23 Pakistanis killed by a suicide bomber in Mohmand Agency MQM leader Khawaja Izhar arrested in Karachi Arresting SSP Rao Anwar suspended for the arrest Pakhtuns, Mohairs, Pakistanis of all colors, all shapes and all sizes, aggrieved. Welcome to How to Pakistan

We wish all our listeners a very happy Eid! Eid ul Adha Mubarak! In this episode we discuss our own experiences of Eid ul Adha, or Bakra Eid. We also talk about Abraham, the consumption of beef and the compulsion to eat certain kinds of meat, or not. Join us! And once again, Eid Mubarak!

China is the everything-all-the-time old new thing (and new old thing) in Pakistan. Andrew Small is the Senior Transatlantic Fellow at the German Marshall Fund in Washington DC. His book, The China-Pakistan Axis: Asia's New Geopolitics, is a widely acclaimed reading of the complex and oft-misunderstood strategic alliance between Pakistan and China. Join us as we discuss all things China with a China expert that has specialized his study of that country through the lens of Pakistan. We talk about Yao Ming, about the leadership dynamic in Beijing under President Xi Jinping, and best of all? We keep our promise of not talking about CPEC! Andrew's book: http://www.andrewsmall.org/the-book/

In this episode we discuss the Orlando shooting in which fifty were killed by a man named Omar Saddiqi Mateen, an American of Afghan origin.

In this episode we discuss the health of the prime minister, and some related issues. Join us! (We apologize for the low sound quality).

University of Oklahoma professor Aqil Shah is the author of "The Army & Democracy: Military Politics in Pakistan", and more recently of a Washington Post oped titled, "Drone blowback in Pakistan is a myth. Here's why". Three days after his oped was published, Taliban leader Mullah Mansour Akhtar was killed in a drone attack in Pakistan. The drone debate is open again. Fasi and Mosharraf talk to Dr. Shah about his research on drone strikes, the concept of nationalism, the quality of public discourse, and in true How to Pakistan tradition, identity. Join us! "Drone blowback in Pakistan is a myth. Here's why." - by Aqil Shah, Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2016/05/17/drone-blow-back-in-pakistan-is-a-myth-heres-why/ "The Army & Democracy: Military Politics in Pakistan" - by Aqil Shah, Harvard University Press http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674728936

Note: This episode contains substantial portions in Urdu (and some sparse sprinklings of Pashto). In Episode 04 of Season 02 Fasi and Mosharraf discuss the life and times of Saleem Safi, one of Pakistan's most compelling journalistic voices. He describes his life's journey, his evolution as a journalist, the role of the Islami Jamiat e Talbaa in shaping him, the illusion of Islamism, and the humility that everyone should invest it, whenever and however they can. A fascinating conversation with a fascinating man. Join us!