Contributors

Aasem Bakhshi

An Electrical Engineer by profession who always wanted to be a sociologist or a college teacher. Always wishing to be a book-a-day bibliophile, he is seldom successful in prioritizing things in life. He is good at nothing except escapism and meaningless meandering in cyber-sphere. His interests include religion, philosophy and subcontinental studies. Non Skeptical Essays is his personal blog. He is also a co-editor of PTH.

Feisal Naqvi

Naqvi is a Lahore based lawyer who regularly writes in national and international media. He is a partner in a leading law firm and was trained at the Universities of Yale and Princeton, USA.

Fiza Ishaq

Fiza Ishaq is a cultural psychologist. Her interests include art, poetry, anthropology, development issues, politics and history. She maintains the JTG Art Blog.

Hassan Abbas

Hassan Abbas served as the Sub-Divisional Police Chief in the NWFP from 1996-1998, and was the Deputy Director of Investigations in Pakistan’s National Accountability Bureau from 1999-2000. Currently, he is a fellow at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and is the author of Pakistan’s Drift into Extremism: Allah, the Army and America’s War on Terror. He also manages a blog Watandost.

iFaqeer

A writer, blogger and journalist who currently makes his living as a technical writer. He edited several magazines and newsletters, in Pakistan and in the US. Amongst recent publishing credits are “Spider,” Pakistan’s Internet magazine and a cover story for the Siliconeer. He blogs at iFaqeer, WadiWallah, and Rickshaw and contributes extensively at Urdu-ke-Naam; and PakistanFutures.

Ishtiaq Ahmed 

Dr Ahmed is a professor of political science and a visiting senior research fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS), National University of Singapore.

Kinkminos

In a world beset by internecine violence, this not so angry/young man has chosen to bury himself in the cheesy cultural smorgasbord that is Dubai. Following a lifetime spent mainlining faux western culture, he believes that he is now in a position to comment, from the safety and security of his dubious domicile, on things he knows little or nothing about, including the trials and tribulations of our good-for-taking godforsaken Land Of The Puritanical. He has been known to strut his stuff at mine kampf is your campfire and Poetry in Notion. Minos is also a co-editor at PTH.

Mozaffar

He has little to offer the world, save for a few bits of wisdom stolen from jum’a khutbas. In the meantime, Mozaffar is trying to purge himself of the assorted variety of Nifaq-nuggets he keeps finding in his system. Otherwise, he is completing a doctorate in Islamic Intellectual History. Mozaffar’s Moments is the personal blog of this contributor.

Mystic Soul

A pukka Karachi-ite who blogs on Zindagi-ki-Diary that is a compilation of tales from everyday life while trying to connect the two worlds he is trying to naviagte!

Raza Rumi

A writer and blogger from Lahore, Pakistan: He maintains a blog Jahane Rumi and regularly contributes at Pakistaniat, desicritics and blogcritics. In addition to JR and Pak Tea House, Raza also manages Lahore Nama and Development Industry blogs. He has been writing for the Friday Times, a weekly Pakistani publication and occasionally contributes to other Pakistani publications such as the Herald and the News. Raza is the founder and editor of Pak Tea House.

Samad Khurram

Samad Khurram is student of Government and Economics at Harvard University. He writes regularly on politics and international affairs in his column “Escaping Quicksand” for the Harvard Crimson. Samad is an active member and confidant of many pro-judiciary forces, groups, publications and also runs the Emergency Times Mailing List.

Shaheryar Ali:

Sherry is a student of Philosophy. His interests include arts, politics and history. He also dabbles in poetry and is one of the co-editors of the Pak Tea House.

Soniah Kamal

Soniah Kamal is an established creative writer. At college she received the Susan Irene Roberts award for her thesis based on Vikram Seth’s acclaimed ‘A Suitable Boy’. Since then, her short stories have appeared in various literary journals. She blogs at the blogger and Desilit, reviews books at ReadySteadyBook; and publishes a newsletter Peaks ‘n’ Peeves.

Temporal

t is a small time poet - lives in T.O. with his (one) childhood sweetheart, their two grown sons, three puzzled gouramis, four balding tires supporting an aging van, five near derelict pillars, six…….. t is also “a small time poet who occasionally dabbles where he should not..”

Themrise Khan

A freelance development consultant and occasional writer based in Islamabad. Her interests include, politics, development, media and gender issues. She writes occasionally for The News, Herald, Newsline and the Hoot, among others.

Yasir Nisar

A photographer, travel-writer based in Lahore. A banker by profession, Yasir intends to work on travel books to introduce Pakistan’s beauty to its inhabitants and the world.

Yasser Latif Hamdani

Yasser is a lawyer based in Islamabad who is interested in writing, blogging and advocacy on the ground. He writes at Chowk.com and also blogs at Majpak. Yasser believes in the secular and democratic vision of the Quaide Azam and strives to join citizens’ movements to fight obscurantism and absolutism.