Afrah Jamal

Published in Daily Times / 23 June 2014 ‘ Come, it is an opportunity to meet people – the kind you don’t get to see anymore .’ Mekel Waqar’s invitation leads to Côté Jardin located inside the French Cultural Centre. A week ago it had hosted a lovely little exhibition by Pakistani / French artists . The cosmopolitan heart of Karachi has been in retreat; it now thrives behind fortified walls, and eyes the changing landscape with increasing wariness. Mekel, the go to person for visiting / resident foreigners brings the twain together. His mission is to roll out the welcome wagon, arrange mixers, and help expats navigate the cultural divide with ease. He is an InterNations Ambassador tasked with overseeing the Karachi Chapter, while manning the bridge linking city dwellers with the invisible expat community. InterNations was founded in 2007 by a trio of Germans (Malte Zeeck, Christian Leifeld, Philipp von Plato) and is a global network of expatriates with a presence in 190 count...

Book Review: Cutting Edge PAF WOMEN in the PAF: AN ENSEMBLE CAST by Afrah Jamal - Appeared in HILAL (Pakistan Armed Forces Magazine) Feb 2010 PAF: Both Sides of the COIN Published In HILAL(Military Mag) Jan 2010 INTERVIEW: What makes a Fighter Ace? Book Review: Three Presidents and an Aide - Life, Power and Politics by Ambassador Arshad Sami Khan SJ Appeared in Daily Times 9 Jan 2010 EVENT: It Happened This Morning.. VIEW: You can’t handle the truth? Book Review: Milestones in a Political Journey By M Asghar Khan PUBLISHED IN DAILY TIMES 23 JAN 2010 Sajad Haider Saved my Life - i think. UNPUBLISHED (so far) Book Review: FLIGHT OF THE FALCON Story of a Fighter Pilot by S. Sajad Haider PUBLISHED In Daily Times 16 Jan 2010 VIEW: A BASE FOR AN EYE (PUBLISHED IN GEO NEWS BLOG) VIEW: SPOOKS in the Dog House (Published in SHE Magazine June 2011) VIEW: An Inconvenient Truth — According To A Little Bird VIEW: Faisal Shahzad — the (un)true back story VIEW: No More Sit...

Author: Abdul Salam Zaeef Translation by: Alex Strick Van Linschoten and Felix Kuehn Reviewed by: Afrah Jamal Thanks to Liberty Books for the review copy Published in Daily Times / Saturday, July 17, 2010 The Afghan Taliban’s claim to fame: obliterating 6th century monuments at Bamian, reactivating a medieval code of conduct and hosting the US’s most wanted man. Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) has been lambasted for grooming this force of nature and further accused of aiding and abetting it after 2001, but if one founding member is to be believed, they have little to do with the set up. The Taliban were already in their gestation phase and simply moved in to fill the (moral) void left by outgoing invaders and incoming outlaws. This is the story of the singing, dancing mujahideen that evolved into a dreaded inquisition squad which ran Afghanistan for five years, as told by Mullah Zaeef — who was once a high profile member of the said squad. But he is ...

PUBLISHED IN THE POST MAY 24 ,2007 Reviewed by: Afrah Jamal How a little known Middle Eastern fighter pilot came to wield such influence over Presidents, Prime Ministers and Senior Government Officials? Intrigues are not always within the confines of the palace even if the instigator happens to be a royal. Bandar Bin Sultan answered his calling of a fighter pilot, performed diplomatic duties as a Prince and crossed the threshold to a world of Intrigue when required, a world where the East and West unite when bound by common interests. William Simpson’s biographical account of Prince Bandar Bin Sultan, son of the Saudi Defence Minister, revisits well known historical events, directing attention towards the unacknowledged facts of history and hitherto unseen involvement of a Prince in matters of national (Saudi) interest and international significance. Though a Prince, Bandar Sultans beginnings were anything but ‘Princely’ but the controversy shrouding his birth could not bar ...

PUBLISHED IN Daily Times /February 06, 2010 REVIEWED BY: Afrah Jamal Jamsheed Marker belongs to an exceptional cadre of Foreign Service officers entrusted to keep things on an even keel on the diplomatic stage. Providence chose him to fill the void brought on by a sudden influx of newly independent nations and the subsequent need to expand diplomatic service during the 1960s. A stellar career in fostering global diplomacy as the longest serving ambassador has earned him a special place in history. This veteran Pakistani diplomat has a striking resume. With ten posts and nine accreditations, his name appears in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the only person to have served as ambassador to more countries than anyone. He took his curtain call when Pakistan declared him Ambassador at Large in 2004, and has been on the faculty at Eckerd College, St Petersburg — Florida as Diplomat-in-Residence. He ended his tenure with a wry observation, ‘the batting card on the scoreca...

Published in Daily Times / 9 Jan 2010 Author: Ambassador Arshad Sami Khan SJ Reviewed by: Afrah Jamal MY DEAR COUNTRYMEN - three ‘nation altering words’ followed by some standard lines that come from an equally standard speech typically associated with the beginning or ending of a takeover. In Pakistan anyway. It is an increasingly familiar pattern, an unfortunate legacy and a well acted performance from otherwise green actors – that every generation gets to experience, analyze, dread and crib over for the remainder of their lives. It is also one that they seldom understand fully, can never challenge and forever speculate about. The camera eventually pans away from the triumphant or vanquished knight in fatigues! – the haze of mystery surrounding the men who wielded a nation’s fate in their hands oh so casually, remains. What happened next – is always more interesting than scripted moments of history. As an Aide-de-Camp (ADC), Arshad Sami Khan was perfectly positioned with a...