Guests

Saifullah Nasar is a young researcher and Lecturer who has previously taught at Quaid-i Azam University and Air University Islamabad.

He has done an engaging ethnographic fieldwork on governmental practices, tribal affiliation and authority in Balochistan which will soon be available for reading in chapter form in a forthcoming edited volume on state and subject formation in South Asia.

He holds a Master degree in Sociology and Social Anthropology from Central European University Budapest, Hungry.

Dr. Barkat Shah Kakar is a man of diverse talents. He is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Pashto in the University of Balochistan. His academic pursuits are in the filed of literature, identity, peace, and multiculturalism.

He is also a human rights, and culture and language rights activist. Currently he is working on an ethnographic atlas of Zhob valley, Balochistan along with researching the construction of the Pashtun’s image in post/orientalist discourses.

Jahanzaib Khan is an Assistant Professor of History at Area Study Center for Middle East and Arab World in the University of Balochistan. He is interested in ethnic politics, tribal authority, and in the history of state formation in both colonial and postcolonial Balochistan.

He is near completion of his PhD dissertation at Quaid-i Azam University on the history of modern state authority in Balochistan. Previously he worked on chronology and cultural transition from 5^th to 3^rd Millennium BCE in Balochistan while completing his Master studies from the same university.

Dr. Adnan Rafiq is a political analyst and author. He holds a PhD in Politics from University of Oxford. Dr. Rafiq advised Interior Ministry and NACTA on Internal Security and counter extremism strategy. He led the technical team that drafted National Internal Security Policy (NISP) 2018. He also edited a book “Pakistan’s democratic Tradition: Change and Persistence” publishes by Routeldge in 2016. He frequently contributes op-ed to major newspapers in Pakistan including Dawn, The News, Express Tribune and Daly Times.

DR. KALEEMULLAH LASHARI, Ph.D., S.l. Dr Lashari is a renowned Archaeologist and heritage conservation expert who has written extensively on the history and architecture of medieval Islamic period in Pakistan beside serving as a senior civil servant in Pakistan Administrative Service.

His landmark study of Chaukundi Graves in Sindh and Balochistan entitled “A Study of Stone-carved Graves” combined detailed analysis of architectural design with local oral histories to place the Chaukhandi style of funerary architecture within the social and political changes taking place in 17th century Balochistan.

His new book Epigraphy of Makli is a multi-volume documentation and exploration of the burial traditions in Makli, the largest necropolis in Asia.

He has served on Chairperson of several national level commissions and committees for heritage preservation including the National Trust for Moenjodaro, Management Board for Antiquities & Physical Heritage (Sindh), Technical Consultants Committee for National Fund of Archaeology and serving as a senior civil servant in Pakistan Administrative Service.

His landmark study of Chaukundi Graves in Sindh and Balochistan entitled “A Study of Stone-carved Graves” combined detailed analysis of architectural design with local oral histories to place the Chaukhandi style of funerary architecture within the social and political changes taking place in 17th century Balochistan.

His new book Epigraphy of Makli is a multi-volume documentation and exploration of the burial traditions in Makli, the largest necropolis in Asia. He has served on Chairperson of several national level commissions and committees for heritage preservation including the National Trust for Moenjodaro, Management Board for Antiquities & Physical Heritage (Sindh), Technical Consultants Committee for National Fund of Archaeology and Management Committee of Sindh Cultural Research.

He was conferred the Sitara-e-lmtiaz by the Government of Pakistan in recognition of his yeoman’s service for the cause of heritage research and conservation in 2019

Manzoor Baloch, Chairman Brahvi dept. University of Balochistan. Writer; columnist; poet and critic. Published 7 books including 3 books on poetry 3 books on ma Brahvi course and one on brahvi critics.He has Phd in Brahvi fiction.

Sultan Zakhpail is a poet from the fertile literary soil of Loralai and a member of Pashto academy and Pashto Adabi Malgari Loralai. He is a poet, translator and announcer at Radio Pakistan. He has compiled a book (Pashto Literature and Peace). He also writes for different Pashto magzines.

Mr. Sultan is basically a Sociologist by profession  and training with a qualification in the field of Social Development from Denmark. He has 15 years of diverse experience with different national and international organizations in program management, projects engaging Political Parties, parliamentarians and civil society actors about democratic governance, human rights, social/citizen mobilization, culture development, youth policies and peace building specifically with elected representatives in Pakistan.

Shahida Babar is a young published promising Pashto writer and poet who hails from district Killa Abdullah, Balochistan. Her works include ‘Samander da Malghalaro’ , ‘ Nabooda Dunya’, ‘Pashto o Islam’, and ‘Nima Narrae’.

Mr. Qadir Nayel has done his M.A from Baluchistan University in Mass communication. He has been gold medalist and for 15 years he has been as editor in Jung daily News paper as a journalist. He has been chief editor of manjee magazine for several years. His Hazaragi collection of poems is published by the name of Algam. Currently he is member of provincial assembly of Baluchistan. He is being considered as a senior poet in Hazaragi language.

Jawad Azra is a senior poet in Hazaragi Language. He is member of Keblagh e Azergi and his poems are treasure in Hazaragi literature. He has been engaged with poetry gathering since 2004.

Mehdi Enagh is member of Keblagh e Azergi. He has done his F.A from General Muhammad Musa Degree college. Newly he has joined Keblagh e Azergi as a poet and in a short time he has been skillful in poem and literature.

Ali Turani is founding member and president of Keblagh e Azergi. He is the very first initiator of Hazaragi Language movement. He has been chairperson of Espiloni Azergi, Hazaragi Academy and Keblagh e Azergi. He is professional philologist and his scientific book regarding Hazaragi language is under publication. He has been as script writer in Radio Pakistan for 13 years.

Mushtaq Mughul  is founding member of Keblagh e Azergi. Mushtaq mughul has been involved in Hazaragi literature since 2001. He is the first poet who has converted Hazara history into poetic Language. He is a senior political activist of Hazaras. He has high Islamic qualification form Madrasa E Khuyee.

Raziq Kohzad is founding member of Keblagh e Azergi. He has been engaged in Hazaragi literature and poetry since 1998, he is a senior Hazaragi poet. One of his books is published and the second one is about to be published.

Mustafa Elkhani is the founding member of Keblagh e Azergi. He has done his MA from Baluchistan University. He is Senior poet and linguistic activist for Hazaragi Language. His book is about to be published by Keblagh e Azergi.

Ali Hamdam is founding member of Keblagh e Azergi. He has done his MA from Baluchistan University. Ali Hamdam is a researcher in Hazaragi Language professionally in phonology. He is writer and and poet in Hazaragi language. He is chief editor of Manjee Magazine which is monthly publication of Keblagh e Azergi. Ali Hamdam is the head and having leading role in publications of Hazaragi books through Keblagh e Azergi.

Shahid Toofan has written 2 songs yet (Sada-e-abai) and (Dardi dil) realized in Australia. He has written a poem for a short film (victum) also realized in Australia also an active member of Hazaragi Academy.

Qandeel Badr is born in well-known poet Saeed Gohar’s house, and she is the elder sister of the young poet Danial Tarreer. She has got her basic education from Quetta city. Now she is doing Phd from NUML.

She has written “Urdu Ghazal in Balochistan” in her M.phil thesis. She is Assistant Professor at SBK Women University.
She has recently published her poetry “Dhaji Dhaji Roshni”.

Error The Band is a Quetta based ROCK BAND that happens to be the first ever Experimental Rock Band of Balochistan. With their music the band has made Balochistan proud on multiple platforms and are determined to do so in the future.

They are the only boy band from Balochistan whose songs have been  aired on BBC ASIAN NETWORK INTERNATIONAL RADIO and they have also appeared in auditions for PEPSI BATTLE OF THE BANDS.

They have yet managed to bring about 6 tracks for their audience which are all based on their unique bold experimental rock sound.

Error has performed at various locations in Quetta and have also performed in Nawabshah in a solo concert. They have also gone for PTV Bolan twice. Hanoob, the vocalist and guitarist of the band has an experience of mentoring some students in Islamabad as well.

The Band’s original song Sawaal was a hit on social media in Quetta. Alongside the band has some rock covers, all of which were much appreciated by their audience for being bold and unique. More originals by the band are lined up in 2019.

Kainat Azhar is a CSP who happens to be a writer, artist and mental health advocate. Her work can be found in various national and international e-journals and print media. Literature, music and art – her escape routes once – are now her best pals.

Naeem Dilpul is a lecturer at National College of Arts, Lahore and a  singer from Turbat. He teaches Communications and Literature. His work realm is human interaction and integration of people from diverse backgrounds on linguistic grounds.

His academic work and musical sensibilities work on same line. His Inclination is on folk music with a blend of pop and sufi touch. His aim is  to break barriers of musical boundaries through music endeavours. His music is inspired from Balochi folk music and Bollywood semi-classic music.

His proclivity on academic front is  assimilation of people regardless of linguistic lines. He strongly advocates the idea of celebrating the diversity rather than considering it a threat to unification.

His music preaches the same philosophy of building a community of artists who believe in the purity of art and music. As he says “for me music comes from soul and those who connect to soul are spiritual. Spirituality is honesty and moving inches to explore one self”.

Mahreen Siddiqui, M.phil and PhD in clinical psychology, consultant clinical psychologist Agha Khan hospital and institute of clinical psychology Karachi.

Meher Murshed was born into a family where religion was not a divide. His father is a Sufi Muslim and his mother a Goddess Kali worshipping Hindu. Meher grew up in a school run by Jesuit priests in Kolkata. As a child of a mixed marriage, he saw how one religion was suspicious of the other. Religious tolerance is his core. Music is his passion. He became a journalist in the early 1990s and covered politics, crime, Mother Teresa and music. He reported on religious riots — the violence haunts him even now. Meher then moved to the Middle East and is a senior editor. His love of music led him to the Chishti Sufi Dervish, Nizamuddin Auliya, who lived in the thirteenth century, and his favourite disciple, the court poet of the sultans of Delhi and master musician, Amir Khusro. It was there that he uncovered a riveting story of religious tolerance, compassion, love, lust, intrigue and deceit. The heart of it is a song …

Shakila Haider , a Lahore based Pakistani artist uses her art practice to tackle issues of cultural injustice. Following her graduation from NCA Lahore in 2013 specializing in miniature painting, she worked as an independent artist and is now using her artistic abilities to explore issues of immigration, persecution, refugees and peace.

As an artist she feels that her duty is to look deeper into issues rather than simply observe; one must consider the consequences that each event will have on society as a whole. Political instability, the contentious issue of asylum seekers, and racial discrimination all play a part in her analysis as she acutely draws on personal experience to communicate her thoughts.

She has exhibited in several solo and group shows. She has participated in artist talks at several platforms including BQ residency and Khayal festival. In 2015 she was also named as Beacon house Emerging Artist of the year at the Lahore literary festival. She is twice was nominated from Pakistan for the prestigious ‘Sovereign Asian Art Prize’. and once selected as one of the finalist. She has done several art exhibitions and  solo shows in Rohtas Art gallery. She has earned prominence as young emerging artist in Lahore. She has participated in TCF Art for education in Milan Italy where her work was exhibited in Museo Diocesano Milan 2018. Another of her art piece is in Cross border Swiss embassy Islamabad 2019. Her another work is displayed in Zurich named as Space in Time . She was one of the miniature artist participated in Lahore Binnale’s Maktab Project.2018

Currently she is doing her M.Phil in Art education from BNU Lahore  and teaching in Lahore grammar school.

Ammar is a researcher and lecturer who teaches development studies at Quaid e Azam University & has previously taught public policy at the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics. He is also a Research Associate at Heartfile and has in the past worked with Alif Ailaan, Oxfam GB and FBR. Much of his research work is on the political economy of education, health, housing and public finance in Pakistan.

Emancipation of human mind and celebration of self is the core philosophy that echoes from the lyrics and melody of the musical works that Saif Samejo, the lead vocalist and founder of The Sketches creates.

Samejo is a musical activist, and his musical journey has been about bringing to the audience thought-provoking works with an underlying message to create a conscious awareness to curb the evils gnawing at our society today. His music is an insignia of humanism and love, and for him, music is free of all boundaries, caste and religion. It speaks a universal language, uniting the whole of humanity with its honesty.

He began his journey in 2003, and as of now his band has released two albums: Dastkari and TU (YOU). He has collaborated with several acclaimed Pakistani and international musicians over the years. He is founder and producer of weekly Lahooti Live Sessions that envisions at reviving and keeping alive the tradition of folk music and preserving and carrying a rich legacy of indigenous musicians and traditional musical instruments symbolic to different provinces of Pakistan. LAHOOTI MELO, the biggest music festival of Pakistan, has been happening since 2016 at Jamshoro. The festival is a brain child of Saif Samejo, that brings international and local artists together under one roof.

Maheen is the author of ‘The Mercurial Mr Bhutto and Other Short Stories’. She has worked for both print and electronic media.
Maheen has written on and made feature reports on human smuggling, refugees, minorities, health, education, culture and heritage, video portals and environment.

Maliha Khan Bazai is an English published poet and a blogger from Quetta. She completed her BS in English Literature and Linguistics in 2018.

She started composing poems back in 2018 and share them online on different social media platforms. In May 2019, she published her first book titled “When the Sun died”

She seeks to work further on her writing career as a poet and is currently working on her second book.

Neelum Afridi is a published poet and a prose writer. By profession, she is a government official and performs her duties as a lecturer in English at Government Girls Degree College, Peshawar. Moreover, she presided Young Women Writers’ Forum, Peshawar and is one of the founding members. Not only this, Neelum is a freelance editor and writer when she has previously performed the said duties for several magazines and newspapers. Apart from that, she attended Islamabad Literature Festival 2017, Quetta Literary Festival 2018 as well as Lahore Literature Festival 2019 as a speaker. Many of her poems and articles are printed in magazines and on online blogs. Neelum also writes a blog named “The Nightingale.” Not only this, one of her poems, “An Arrow” was presented in an international conference conducted at Germany in 2015. Furthermore, Neelum is a social activist who works to play her part not only in the betterment of the society but primarily for herself for she believes if we improve ourselves, only then we can help improve our society.

Razi Ahmed is the Founding Director of the independent Lahore Literary Festival, an annual not-for-profit event. Ahmed has curated seven editions of the LLF in Lahore since 2013, four in New York in partnership with Asia Society, and three in London in partnership with the British Library.

Ahmed served on the five-member jury of the 2015 DSC Prize for South Asian fiction, which was announced at the Jaipur Literature Festival.

Ahmed has written opinion pieces for DAWN, dissent, Huffington Post, and Open Democracy.

With degrees in Political Science (and a minor in Economics) from the University of Chicago, and international affairs from SIPA, Columbia University, Ahmed works full-time at Associated Group, a family-run business in Lahore.

Nizam uddin Salrzai is an journalist turned activist and politician from the most populated district of the Tribal Areas – Bajaur. After working for international and local magazines and dailies he went on to be a founding member of Tribal Youth Jirga – an umbrella Organization for 20 youth and students body demanding FATA’s merger with KP that eventually happened through 25th constitutional amendment. He’s currently heading the Youthwing of Pakistan Muslim League N and is also a member of its new organising body.

Ramsha Ashraf has received an honorary fellowship in writing, as Fall Resident of the International Writing Program 2017, at the University of Iowa. She has a collection of poetry, Enmeshed (2015), publishes poems on her blog Escritura 415 and elsewhere, and contributes to literary magazines.

She has been collaborating with different organizations but has recently taken an independent initiative titled as ‘Sukhan Braey Aman’ (Arts for Peace) for the promotion of different forms of art and literature. At the Foundation University’s Rawalpindi Campus she teaches writing courses, develops arts curricula and produces visual media. In 2017, she participated in the City of Asylum as writer-in-residence. A strong proponent of human freedom and social justice, Rimsha owns humanism as her political and social doctrine.

Fazal Baloch is a Balochi writer and translator with a keen interest in Balochi fiction. He has translated several Balochi poems and short stories into English. His writings published in Daily Times, weekly Friday Times, Viewpoint Online and Balochistan Times. First anthology of his translations “God and the Blind Man” (Selected Balochi Short Stories of Munir Badini,) is going to be published later in this year.
Currently he is serving as a lecturer at the Government Atta Shad Degree College Turbat.

Dr. Rauf Raz holds a PhD Degree in Balochi Literature. He is the first ever Balochi PhD from Allama Iqbal Open University Islamabad. He wrote his Doctoral thesis on Balochi fiction.
He contributes literary articles, mainly on fiction to various literary journals. He has also translated a number of Balochi short stories in Urdu.
At present he is serving as a lecturer in Balochi at the Government Atta Shad degree College Turbat.

Kayenat Hameed Khan

Author of the book “A Decade of Delight”, Kayenat Hameed Khan is Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s first spoken word artist who debuted for Words and Metaphors and Young Women Writers Forum Peshawar Chapter.
She has also worked as a narrator in several projects, including her recent narrations for Peshawar Museum and is currently working on a project of representing Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s archeological sites and tourism spots through her narrations and storytelling in collaboration with Ministry of Tourism KP.
Her book “A Decade of Delight” is receiving a great response from the masses and she has been acknowledged by KP Minister of Culture, Art, Tourism, Sports, Archeology and Youth Affairs, Mr. Muhammad Atif Khan for her success.
Kayenat works with multiple organizations in multiple capacities and has also been associated with multiple literary and social organizations including as a volunteer, core team member and a beneficiary trying to make difference through art and literature.

A R Dad is a Balochi poet, fiction writer, critic and a translator. He is known as the proponent of modern views in Balochi literature. So far he has authored twenty five books. His book “Dar Kessahi Labzank” (Non Fiction) was awarded the Mast Taukali Award by the Pakistan Academy of Letters in 2017.

He is a faculty member at the Department of Balochi at the University of Balochistan Quetta.

Muhammad Amir Rana is the director of Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS). He was a founder member of PIPS when it was launched in January 2006 and had previously worked as a journalist with various Urdu and English daily newspapers from 1996 until 2004. He has worked extensively on issues related to counter-terrorism, counter-extremism, and internal and regional security and politics.

He has published widely in national and international journals, professional publications and magazines. He writes regularly for Dawn, Pakistan’s leading English newspaper. He has also been invited to appear as an expert on the electronic media, including CNN, BBC World, Al Jazeera English, Voice of America, Al-Arabia and other Pakistani and international news channels.

He is also the editor of Pakistan Annual Security Report, PIPS’ English research journal ‘Conflict and Peace Studies’ and Urdu monthly magazine “Tajziat”. He also heads Narratives, a publishing and media production house engaged in the production and dissemination of alternative, or counter-extremism, argument and narratives.

Muhammad Hamza Waseem has studied electrical engineering at the University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore. He has worked with major international science journals and magazines targeting high school and undergraduate students. He co-founded Spectra, an online magazine which aims at producing a generation of popular science writers and science journalists in Pakistan.

Hamza has also been a key player in organizing Lahore Science Melas initiated by Khwarizmi Science Society. He is interested in optics, magnetism, and history and philosophy of science. His research has been published at reputable venues. Recently, Hamza has been awarded the Rhodes Scholarship to study physics at the University of Oxford.

Bilal Zahoor is the founder and Editorial Director of Folio Books, a Lahore-based independent publishing house. He studied chemical engineering from University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, but did not let his academic training obstruct his passion for establishing an independent publishing platform in Pakistan. Zahoor aspires to contribute to a more socially just world by publishing works bucking the neoliberal trends and authoritarian tendencies. He is the editor of Rethinking Pakistan: A 21st Century Perspective (Folio Books, 2019).

Sabookh Syed is an Islamabad based journalist, who started from Radio Pakistan Peshawar and is the founder member of Pakistan’s fist digital Radio station at Peshawar.

He is an anchor person and political and religious analyst with 19 years of experience of working with leading media houses of the country.

He is editor of ibcurdu.com, a leading Urdu language news website of Pakistan. These days he has been working with Aap News where he hosts a show “Mutabadil Bayania” (Alternative Narrative).

He worked with Geo News as Special Correspondent and Anchorperson for 10 years. He covered religious political parties and Jihadi organisations for Geo News.

He also covered conflict in Baluchistan, military operations in swat, Wazirstan, Red Mosque and OBL operation for the channel. These days, he is affiliated with University of Virginia as Pakistan based research coordinator. He is selected as Iqbal Research Fellow at IRD and will write a book as part of the fellowship.

He has been writing for different national and international newspapers and magazines and has also been appearing on different TV channels as expert on religious and political issues and jihadi organizations.

Barrister Nawabzada Saifullah Magsi is a tribal chieftain, lawyer, politician and agriculturist from Jhall Magsi, Balochistan. Saifullah was schooled at Aitchison College in Lahore and Wellington College in England. He completed his law degree from University College, London and was Called to the Bar at Lincolns Inn in 2005.

He was admitted as an advocate of the High Court of Balochistan in 2006. Saifullah was a part of the caretaker cabinet in Balochistan in 2007/2008 and was a Minister for Planning and Development, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Inter-Provincial Coordination and Prosecution.

Saifullah has remained a member on the Board of the Privatisation Commission of Pakistan from 2011 – 2013.

In 2012, Saifullah was elected to the Senate of Pakistan for a six-year term. He was a member of various Standing Committees of the Senate during his tenure including Planning and Development, Water and Power, Law and Justice and CPEC.

Saifullah also has valuable diplomatic experience being a part of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly where he represented Pakistan at various international forums as well as being engaged in Track 2 diplomacy with our neighbouring countries.

Saifullah Magsi is an independent legal practitioner with over 13 years of experience and divides his time between his constituency in Jhall Magsi and Quetta.

Khumariyaan was born in the age of Talibanisation, sectarian violence, military operations and neo-imperialist expansions, in the region which is a gateway to Central Asia, in the city of Peshawar.

A band of musicians whose tunes are based on their native music, with a tinge of other native music of the world as well, our audience is the educated youth of Pakistan, and our mission is to enlighten the youth with all-encompassing aesthetics and performing arts. Our focus is to elevate music to medium of peace of being, and musically, break the tradition of the South Asian vocal based musical culture, thus we are an instrumental band.

Faiz Ullah Khan has been associated with journalism since 2005. He has served NNI and Samma TV as reporter and these days he is working with ARY as a senior reporter. In 2014, while he was covering a story on Taliban he was arrested for entering in Afghanistan illegally. Although, he was sentenced by the military court but after the intervention of Pakistan Government, journalist, political leaders and international journalist associations along with the efforts of Malala Yousafzai, he was freed. After which he wrote the book ‘Prisoner of Durandline’ which was read and appreciated a lot by many around the globe.

George Fulton has over 18 years’ experience in public relations, television production and broadcast journalism.He has overseen external communications roles for the British Council, the Qatar Foundation and the Atlantic Partnership acting as an advocate for these organisations to senior politicians and stakeholders in Pakistan, Qatar, US and UK, as well as to the press and media. George has also been the executive producer, writer and presenter of television programmes in Pakistan; including Kiran aur George and George Ka Pakistan. He also has produced HARDtalk Pakistan and Question Time Pakistan for BBC World News. He currently runs a digital content platform called Desi George and works for Indus News.

Hafeez Jamali holds a Ph.D. in Social Anthropology from the Department of Anthropology at the University of Texas at Austin and is currently serving as the Director of Balochistan Archives at Quetta. His research focuses on the anthropology of globalization and development, the history of Indian Ocean Trade, and the politics of identity and place in Balochistan. His doctoral research examines how Pakistani Government’s investment in mega development projects such as transnational gas pipelines and commercial ports has affected the lives and transformed the political attitudes of local Baloch people.

Rafiullah Kakar is a public policy and development consultant. He has rendered policy advice to governments in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and the Pacific region on a range of issues, particularly youth entrepreneurship, development and countering violent extremism. He is a Rhodes Scholar and holds two Master’s degree from the University of Oxford in Public Policy and Global Governance. He writes on Politics and Development in different English national news dailies.

Fasi Zaka is a media commentator and satirist in Pakistan. He began his media career as a host of a counterculture music programme on MTV Pakistan, continued with a satire news quiz show on Aaj TV, then hosted a dedicated TV programme on education for PTV and most recently was Co-Host of Do Raaye on Dawn TV covering politics. He has written extensively for the press, and has had regular columns in The News, Express Tribune, Herald and The Friday Times. He was selected as a Young Global Leader for his work in the media and development sector by the World Economic Forum, and was previously a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University. Fasi Zaka is from Charsadda in KP where he was educated at Edwardes College, Peshawar and the University of Peshawar. His most recent publication is a contributing chapter for the book Rethinking Pakistan: A 21st Century Perspective on Hate Speech.

Iftikhar Firdous is a senior journalist, who has been working on violence and conflict in Pakistan, and the gaps in governance caused by them for more than a decade. Recently he started working as the national director of communications for the Emergency Operation Centre, devising a communication strategy to get Pakistan polio free. However, language and literature are his first love.

Wusat Ullah Khan is a working journalist for the last thirty six years. He is attached with BBC Urdu Service since 1991. He covered 2003 Iraq war. He was in Beruit during 2006 Isreal- Hizbollah war in Lebanon. He also reported 2004 & 2009 Lok Sabha elections while touring 13 states of India. He travelled extensively during 2005 Pakistan earthquake. His work on 2010 floods published as ‘Sailab diaries’ by Pakistan Study Centre, University of Karachi. Wusat writes a weekly column ‘Batt say Baat’ for BBC Urdu Service since 1998. He also contributes a Weekly Column for Daily Express Pakistan. He is a Co-host of Dawn News daily talk show ‘Zara Hut Kay’.

Dr. Ali Madeeh Hashmi is a psychiatrist, writer and translator. He is currently Tenured Associate Professor of Psychiatry at King Edward Medical University. Dr. Hashmi is the author of five books on poetry and literature including the first (and only) biography of his grandfather, the celebrated poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz published in 2016. His essays about mental health, literature, poetry and history have been published in scientific journals, magazines, newspapers and literary journals in Pakistan, India and the United States. He writes a fortnightly column for The News on Sunday and his writings have also been published in the Daily Times, the daily Dawn, the weekly Friday Times and many other publications.

Mubashir Zaidi has 26 years of experience in journalism. He’s a former editor of Dawn TV and currently co-hosting Zara Hut Kay on Dawn TV, In the past he has worked for BBC, LA Times. Herald and Hindustantimes. He is also writing for The Hindu.

Zarrar Khuhro is a Pakistani journalist who has worked in print and electronic media and currently co-hosts a show on Dawn News called ‘zara hut kay’. He also writes a regular column for Dawn and just about anyone who will pay him.

Jamal Shah is a Pakistani actor, director, painter, and a social worker. He was born into a Pashtun Syed family in 1956 in Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan. In 1992 Jamal made his acting debut in K2, directed by Franc Roddam. Jamal Shah obtained a Master’s in English literature from Balochistan University, Quetta, Balochistan in 1978 and in 1983 an NDA, National College of Arts, Lahore. He later obtained a Masters in Fine Arts from the Slade School of Art in London. Being an actor, he performed in many TV serials as well as a renowned mini series titled Traffik produced by Britain’s Channel 4 about illegal drugs and the role of Pakistan, Germany and Britain in its production, transportation and usage. Traffik was nominated for six BAFTA Awards, winning three. It also won an International Emmy Award for best drama.

Salman Rashid is Pakistan’s most widely travelled travel writer with few places in the country that do not carry his footprint. Acclaimed as ‘the most erudite travel writer of the country’, he is the author of eight books that include anthologies of his newspaper articles. This book is the outcome of nearly a quarter century of the Deosai romance over several visits to the plateau. His recent book, ‘A Time of Madness: A Memoir of Partition’ reminisces the partition from a completely different perspective.

(PC: Mobeen Ansari) Born to Sagarveena player, Noor Zehra Kazim, Ali Hamza is recognized as a luminary in Pakistani music for his work spanning almost over two-decades as a singer and songwriter.

From creating seminal pieces of unplugged guitar and vocals as an undergraduate student at LUMS; to founding Pakistan’s quintessential rock band ‘noori’ with his brother, Ali Noor, Ali Hamza’s association with music has always been about emotively communicating meaningful ideas.

But more than anything, Ali Hamza is a mystic at heart. Life changing experiences have resulted in powerful expressions as and when he has gone out of his comfort zones and explored the tradition of the ascetic.

From his unannounced journey to Sufi shrines and folk hubs of Pakistan, to churning out memorable performances of Sufi/Folk Kalaams [Aik Alif, Hor Vi Neeva Ho, and Paar Chana De] Ali Hamza has felt the most fulfilled whenever he ventures into the realm of the spiritual.

In his own words “with every iteration of such experiences, sporadic as they may have been in my life, I have only ‘received’ confirmation of my own purpose and trajectory. I just hope and pray that I have the strength and capability to stay on track.”

Sarmad Khoosat is a Pakistani actor, film/TV director, producer and screenwriter best known for directing the TV dramas and films. Academically, he graduated from Government College University (Lahore) and earned a master’s degree in Psychology and a gold medal. He also was a member of the Debating Society of GCU.

He rose to prominence during the late 1990s, when he created the sitcom Shashlik which ran for over three years on PTV, while his first television drama as a director was Piya Naam Ka Diya in 2007, in which he acted opposite film star Saima Noor and Irum Akhtar. Sarmad then served as executive director for a soap serial named Mujhe Apna Naam-o-Nishan Milay, directed by his sister Kanwal Khoosat. Khoosat’s TV drama, Kalmoohi that he wrote and directed, began airing on PTV in early 2010, also got good reviews. In 2011, he gained significant prominence and acclaim with the TV drama Pani Jaisa Piyar that aired on Hum TV. It won him the best director award for it on LUX Style Awards. He directed Jal Pari, which was aired on Geo TV. He went on to direct Humsafar for Hum TV, which became an overnight success. His serial Shehr-e-Zaat was especially popular with women.

He conducted a workshop at the Lahore University of Management Sciences’s annual amateur film festival in June 2011. He has directed episodes for Faseele Jaan Se Aagay and Ashk.

Khoosat directed the remake of the original Pakistani film, Aina, as a telefilm. In 2016, he completed shooting Mein Manto. In October 2018 he delivered a 24-hour-long live act, No Time To Sleep, enacting the last 24 hours of a death row prisoner’s life, a performance which earned him critical appreciation. He wrote the script for Saqib Malik’s upcoming production Ajnabee Sheher Main, while he has two upcoming feature films as director, writing one as well.

Hashim Nadeem is a Pakistani-Urdu novelist, drama writer, poet and fiction writer. He has also produced 27 telefilms and 11 drama serials as first private producer, among four of them have won different awards, in which he was also writer and director.  His films include Abdullah, and his famous novels are Bachpan ka December and Khuda Aur Muhabbat. He has been awarded the Tamgha-e-Husn-e-Karkrdagi by the Pakistani government.

Nur Nasreen Ibrahim, a fiction writer from Lahore, works as a news producer for Netflix’s Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj. The Peabody award-winning TV show is widely known for its coverage of Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, the growth of Hindu nationalism, and other international issues. Previously, she was a producer for Comedy Central’s The Opposition with Jordan Klepper and Al Jazeera English’s The Stream.

She has twice been a finalist for The Salam Award for Imaginative Fiction. She has written essays and reviews for Catapult, The Millions, The Collapsar, Dawn, The News on Sunday, and other publications. Her fiction is forthcoming in Salmagundi and Barrelhouse and has appeared in The Gollancz Book of South Asian Science Fiction (Hachette India), Specter Magazine, Platypus Press, and Aleph Review

Musharraf Ali Farooqi is an author, translator, and publisher. His novel “Between Clay and Dust” was shortlisted for The Man Asian Literary Prize 2012 and longlisted for the 2013 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature. Farooqi’s second novel “The Story of a Widow” was shortlisted for the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2011, and longlisted for the 2010 IMPAC-Dublin Literary Award. He is the CEO of KITAB (Pvt.) Limited, and the Founder of the ‘Kahani Se Kitab Tak’ graduated reading program, focused on children’s literature in particular.