Afrah Jamal

Published by Global Affairs / June 2017 Because the dark side does not get enough exposure. Though this is where all the good Samaritans, the creative giants, crusading angels and intellectual powerhouses reside. It is where genius flourishes hoping to break free of type casting. It is where Oscar winners and Nobel laureates go once they have scaled the summit and conquered cultural biases and social disparity. A vat of vice and wickedness amid a sea of green turbans? But their victories are somehow viewed in isolation. They are seen as outliers - their great accomplishments relegated to the shadows in favor of unflattering headlines beamed across the globe that slyly remove the context and reduce the country to one giant misogynistic, intolerant, vat of vice and wickedness amid a sea of green turbans. While the worst of humanity hogs the limelight – our most prized assets go unheralded. And tragedies like Mashal Khan and mafias in religious guise along with shady men with offs...

Published in Daily Times / 09 March 2013 under the title MISSION I(A)MPOSSIBLE Author(s) : Lorenza Raponi and Michele Zanzucchi Translated from Italian by Lorraine Buckle Reviewed by: Afrah Jamal Described as an ‘ agent of change ’ and a shining example of ‘ humanitarian Islam ’ by one author and hailed as a modern day ‘St. Francis of Assisi’ by another - the simply dressed old gentleman who sits unobtrusively in the front row is merely on a stop-over before he runs off again to save some lives. Many present at the launch of ‘Half of Two Paisas - The Extraordinary Mission of Abdul Sattar Edhi And Bilquis Edhi’ - co-authored by Lorenza Raponi and Michele Zanzucchi, are already part of the ‘Edhi’ admiration society. Lorenza and Michele met ‘The Edhis' during a trip to Pakistan in 2005. The philanthropist on the frontline of poverty who founded the Edhi Foundation and charmed the visiting Italians has been playing the part of the savior for over six decades. Ms. Raponi ...

PUBLISHED IN THE POST JULY 18, 2007 AS OPERATION SILENCE - THE AFTERMATH No crystal ball was needed to predict that violent or peaceful, the end would come for the anti-State movement initiated from the Islamabad mosque. It was also very apparent that all the patience in the world or negotiations for that matter will not prevent many from affixing the label of ‘Brute’ on the State. Barely had the operation ended the critique began. The fact that such negotiations could have lasted for 51 days without any positive outcome, like the Waco Texas incident of 1993, suddenly became inconsequential; as did the rescue of some 1350 people. The collateral damage however brought the clerical group on the streets. It was between the gun and the gallows for the identified militants in any case. The State will argue that it proceeded with extreme caution and much has been said about their delaying tactics but suddenly, and not surprisingly, the fortitude of 6 months has become an ineffective tru...