

The Pakistan Experience
The Pakistan Experience
The Pakistan Experience is a podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan, and Pakistanis, through the lost art of conversations.
https://www.youtube.com/c/ThePakistanExperience
Also available on Spotify, Google Podcasts and Apple Podcasts.
Hosted by Shehzad Ghias Shaikh
https://www.youtube.com/c/ThePakistanExperience
Also available on Spotify, Google Podcasts and Apple Podcasts.
Hosted by Shehzad Ghias Shaikh
Episodes
Mentioned books

Feb 14, 2024 • 3h 11min
Election Analysis 2024 with Uzair Younus, Tamkenat, Fasi Zaka, Mosharraf Zaidi and Rafiullah Kakar
Chapters
0:00 Introduction/Monologue
12:24 Uzair Younus Joins - Who will form the Government?
22:43 Mandate, Free and Fair Elections and voters voting pro and anti PTI
28:00 Forming Government, Opposition and Coalition
35:30 Will International Organizations/Countries intervene - What is Washington's appetite
43:30 Who will be the Finance Minister and PML-N's future politics
48:30 Audience Questions

Feb 8, 2024 • 1h 18min
Developing the Population of Pakistan - Javed Hanif - MQM Leader - Karachi - #TPE 329
Javed Hanif comes on The Pakistan Experience to talk about rethinking the Population of Pakistan as an asset, Developing Karachi, Local Governments, Housing, Public Policy, Census, Digital Economy, Urbanization and more.
Muhammad Javed Hanif Khan is a retired Grade 20 officer of the Pakistan Administrative Service, who later joined politics and served as a member of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh from August 2018 to August 2023.
The Pakistan Experience is an independently produced podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan through conversations.
Please consider supporting us on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/thepakistanexperience
To support the channel:
Jazzcash/Easypaisa - 0325 -2982912
Patreon.com/thepakistanexperience
And Please stay in touch:
https://twitter.com/ThePakistanExp1
https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperience
https://instagram.com/thepakistanexpeperience
The podcast is hosted by comedian and writer, Shehzad Ghias Shaikh. Shehzad is a Fulbright scholar with a Masters in Theatre from Brooklyn College. He is also one of the foremost Stand-up comedians in Pakistan and frequently writes for numerous publications.
Instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikh
Facebook.com/Shehzadghias/
Twitter.com/shehzad89
Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
1:30 Census and Karachi
5:45 Population, Owning Karachi and Youth Bulge
12:30 Satellite Towns and the Digital Economy
21:01 Developing Karachi and Pakistan
26:00 Resources, Urbanization, and Public Policy
39:00 KMC and Local Governments
43:30 Housing Problems, Provincial and Local Governments
50:00 SMOG
54:00 Jobs and Schools
59:30 Population Dividend, Health and treating Pakistanis as an asset
1:06:00 Women Emancipation
1:10:00 Climate Resilience

Feb 6, 2024 • 1h 50min
Democracy vs Dictatorship: Unpacking Pakistan’s Power Structure - Dr. Ilhan Niaz - #TPE 328
Dr. Ilhan Niaz comes on The Pakistan Experience to discuss the Political System of Pakistan, on this deep dive podcast we talk about Democracy, Dictatorship, Civil Service, The Establishment, Learning from Africa, Cuba, Nehru and more.
https://youtu.be/66X3mV147JQ?si=CjhmcvyH6IGxQx-e
Dr. Ilhan Niaz is the author of several books including The State During the British the Raj: Imperial Governance in South Asia, 1700-1947 (Oxford University Press, 2019), Old World Empires: Cultures of Power and Governance in Eurasia (New York: Routledge, 2014; South Asia edition by OUP), The Culture of Power and Governance of Pakistan, 1947–2008 (OUP, 2010), and An Inquiry into the Culture of Power of the Subcontinent (Islamabad: Al- hamra, 2006). His work has been published in leading international academic journals in- cluding The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Asian Affairs, Asian Profile, The New Zea- land Journal of Asian Studies, South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, and The Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. He also occasionally contributes articles and reviews to leading national news publications. The Culture of Power and Governance of Pakistan was awarded the Best Non-Fiction Book of 2010 at the Karachi Literature Festival and has also received the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan award for Best Book in Social Sciences, Arts, and Humanities for 2010. Old World Empires: Cultures of Power and Governance in Eurasia received the HEC national award for Best Book Publica- tion in Social Sciences, 2013–14. Niaz is also the recipient of the Kodikara Award for 2013 (RCSS, Colombo). He is presently working on the manuscript of his next book, New World Empires: Cultures of Power and Governance in the Americas, presently accepted by Rout-
ledge. Niaz is Associate Professor of History at the Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad.
The Pakistan Experience is an independently produced podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan through conversations.
Please consider supporting us on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/thepakistanexperience
To support the channel:
Jazzcash/Easypaisa - 0325 -2982912
Patreon.com/thepakistanexperience
And Please stay in touch:
https://twitter.com/ThePakistanExp1
https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperience
https://instagram.com/thepakistanexpeperience
The podcast is hosted by comedian and writer, Shehzad Ghias Shaikh. Shehzad is a Fulbright scholar with a Masters in Theatre from Brooklyn College. He is also one of the foremost Stand-up comedians in Pakistan and frequently writes for numerous publications.
Instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikh
Facebook.com/Shehzadghias/
Twitter.com/shehzad89
Chapters
0:00 Introduction
1:30 What Pakistan can learn from African Countries
5:07 Democracy vs Dictatorship in Pakistan
18:45 Pakistan’s Civil Service and failures of the Political Class
30:14 Political acumen of the initial Political Class
42:46 Political Elite in Post Colonial States and East Pakistan Leadership
51:20 Establishment Politics vs Popular leaders
59:50 What did Nehru get right
1:06:08 What can Pakistan learn from South America
1:15:20 Decolonization and Nationalism
1:20:00 What is Cuba doing right
1:26:21 Audience Questions

Feb 5, 2024 • 52min
Pakistan’s First Domestic Payment Scheme - Paypak - Umer Ansari and Shaista Abdullah - #TPE 327
A special podcast on Pakistan’s first Domestic Payment Scheme, Paypak.
On this episode we discuss, Payment Gateways, Transaction Charges, Banks, Financial Inclusion, Digital Payments, State Bank, Buying Pakistani and more.
Mr. Umer Ansari is the Head of Business Development at 1LINK (Pvt.) Ltd. He is a seasoned banker having spent almost two decades in the sector. He has held several management positions in major national and international banks – Bank AL Habib Limited, United Bank Limited, Union Bank and Citibank, in disciplines of sales, marketing, product and retail. He holds an MBA from Pakistan Institute of Management.
Ms. Shaista Abdullah is a senior experienced professional with expertise across multidisciplinary skills like, Digital Transformation, Digital Strategy, Customer Experience and Loyalty, Business Process Reengineering, Customer Value Management, Customer Retentions and Loyalty and Omni Channel Strategy development & execution.
International Consulting experience & industry expertise in Telecommunications, Banking & Fintech. Worked with Deloitte Consulting, Vodacom South Africa (Vodafone group), Telkom South Africa, PTCL Pakistan & Khushhali Microfinance Bank as Chief Digital Officer & led the Digi-Agri finance transformation Program in partnership with IFC. Worked with Munsalik Digital (Fintech start up in the NBMFC sector) as Head of Strategy & Communications. Currently serving as Head of Digital Payment Products and PMO at 1LINK.
The Pakistan Experience is an independently produced podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan through conversations.
Please consider supporting us on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/thepakistanexperience
To support the channel:
Jazzcash/Easypaisa - 0325 -2982912
Patreon.com/thepakistanexperience
And Please stay in touch:
https://twitter.com/ThePakistanExp1
https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperience
https://instagram.com/thepakistanexpeperience
The podcast is hosted by comedian and writer, Shehzad Ghias Shaikh. Shehzad is a Fulbright scholar with a Masters in Theatre from Brooklyn College. He is also one of the foremost Stand-up comedians in Pakistan and frequently writes for numerous publications.
Instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikh
Facebook.com/Shehzadghias/
Twitter.com/shehzad89
Chapters
0:00 Introduction
2:20 Why Paypak
5:30 Transaction charges on digital payments
10:46 Paypak cards in the market
16:30 Need for a Domestic Payment Scheme
20:20 Why opt for Paypak
25:10 The financial model of Paypak and the 1Link process
33:30 Data protection, State Bank and Policy
41:45 Financial Inclusion for the Unbanked
47:30 True Pakistani

Feb 3, 2024 • 1h 24min
TTP, Afghan Taliban, Refugees and Pakistan - Iftikhar Firdous - Khorasan Diary - #TPE 326
Dr. Iftikhar Firdous comes on The Pakistan Experience to provide an alternative perspective to state narratives, on this deep dive podcast we discuss Covering Conflict Zones, the Khorasan region, Role of the State, Afghan Refugees, IDPs, TTP, Taliban, Afghanistan-Pakistan border, the Northern Region, Drone Attacks, Osama Bin Laden, PTM and Political Disenfranchisement.
Dr Iftikhar Firdous has been editor for two major publications in Pakistan. His career spans over 15 years reporting from conflict zones. He has a degree in psycholinguistics and is an author of several research papers analysing the discourse surrounding transnational terrorist organisations. He is also an accomplished author who has contributed to published academic anthologies on conflict, governance and policy. He is the founder of The Khorasan Diary.
The Pakistan Experience is an independently produced podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan through conversations.
Please consider supporting us on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/thepakistanexperience
To support the channel:
Jazzcash/Easypaisa - 0325 -2982912
Patreon.com/thepakistanexperience
And Please stay in touch:
https://twitter.com/ThePakistanExp1
https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperience
https://instagram.com/thepakistanexpeperience
The podcast is hosted by comedian and writer, Shehzad Ghias Shaikh. Shehzad is a Fulbright scholar with a Masters in Theatre from Brooklyn College. He is also one of the foremost Stand-up comedians in Pakistan and frequently writes for numerous publications.
Instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikh
Facebook.com/Shehzadghias/
Twitter.com/shehzad89
Chapters
0:00 Introduction
1:00 Why call it the ‘Khorasan’ Diary
4:30 Iftikhar Firdous’s background
7:30 Mental Health of Journalists in Conflict Zones
11:26 State narratives and alternative perspectives
17:15 Refugees, IDPS and TTP
26:09 Can you do a deal with TTP?
33:30 Afghanistan-Pakistan border
38:30 State policies in Northern Areas
42:30 Drone Attacks and Osama Bin Laden
50:30 Raheel Sharif and Nawaz Sharif tension and National Action Plan
58:00 Political Disenfranchisement in KP, PTI and PTM
1:03:30 is TTP back? And Afghan Taliban
1:14:10 Audience Questions

Feb 1, 2024 • 1h 56min
Radio, Music, Top 5 Rock Bands, Guns N Roses and Taylor Swift - Fasi Zaka - #TPE 325
Fasi Zaka is a Pakistani political commentator, columnist, radio talk show host, and television anchor.
Fasi Zaka comes on for a fun episode of The Pakistan Experience where we reminiscence about Fasi's radio days and News, Views and Confused on AAJ TV, on this episode we talk about the News TV Model, How to Pakistan, PTI, Revolutions in Pakistan, Top 5 Rock Bands, Appetite for Destruction, Battle of the Bands, Coke Studio, Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars, Prince and more.
The Pakistan Experience is an independently produced podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan through conversations.
Please consider supporting us on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/thepakistanexperience
To support the channel:
Jazzcash/Easypaisa - 0325 -2982912
Patreon.com/thepakistanexperience
And Please stay in touch:
https://twitter.com/ThePakistanExp1
https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperience
https://instagram.com/thepakistanexpeperience
The podcast is hosted by comedian and writer, Shehzad Ghias Shaikh. Shehzad is a Fulbright scholar with a Masters in Theatre from Brooklyn College. He is also one of the foremost Stand-up comedians in Pakistan and frequently writes for numerous publications.
Instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikh
Facebook.com/Shehzadghias/
Twitter.com/shehzad89
Chapters
0:00 Introduction and News, Views and Confused
5:53 News TV Channel Model, Newspapers and Spotify
23:00 How to Pakistan and Flying under the Radar
28:00 PTI and Revolutions in Pakistan
35:50 Top 5 Rock Bands, Guns N Roses, Rap and Music Evolution
50:00 Pakistani Music and Battle of the Bands
1:00:16 Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, Bruno Mars and Prince
1:07:00 Guitar Players
1:15:30 Radio Days of Fasi Zaka
1:30:00 Idiosyncrasies of Pakistan
1:41:09 Audience Questions

Jan 30, 2024 • 1h 48min
Nawaz Sharif, Imran Khan and the Establishment - Absar Alam - Journalist - #TPE 324
Absar Alam is a Journalist and former Chairman of PEMRA.
Absar Alam comes on The Pakistan Experience to discuss Journalists having a political opinion, Polarization, General Faiz, General Bajwa, Imran Khan, Nawaz Sharif, the Establishment, The Elite, the Military, Hybrid Regime, Parliamentary Democracy, Media Management, PEMRA and more.
The Pakistan Experience is an independently produced podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan through conversations.
Please consider supporting us on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/thepakistanexperience
To support the channel:
Jazzcash/Easypaisa - 0325 -2982912
Patreon.com/thepakistanexperience
And Please stay in touch:
https://twitter.com/ThePakistanExp1
https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperience
https://instagram.com/thepakistanexpeperience
The podcast is hosted by comedian and writer, Shehzad Ghias Shaikh. Shehzad is a Fulbright scholar with a Masters in Theatre from Brooklyn College. He is also one of the foremost Stand-up comedians in Pakistan and frequently writes for numerous publications.
Instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikh
Facebook.com/Shehzadghias/
Twitter.com/shehzad89
Chapters
0:00 Introduction
1:30 Journalists having a political opinion and Polarization created by the Media
6:00 Judiciary and Bureaucracy compromising with the Establishment
16:00 Establishment, The Elite and The Political Class
23:30 Punjabi Elite, Baloch Leaders and The structure of the Federation
33:00 The Institution of the Military vs the People involved
38:00 Media working for the Establishment to spread Propaganda
46:30 Is Nawaz Sharif now the new Hybrid Regime? How Democracy can win?
56:00 Coalition Government vs a Fresh Mandate; How a consensus can be built?
1:03:30 Kya Nawaz Sharif ko Laya ja raha hay? And Parliamentary Democracy
1:14:43 Media management by the Military
1:22:40 Absar Alam being made Chairman PEMRA
1:33:15 Audience Questions

Jan 28, 2024 • 1h 37min
Understanding the Central Problems of Balochistan - Rafiullah Kakar - #TPE 323
Rafiullah Kakar is a Public policy and development specialist from Balochistan, he comes on The Pakistan Experience to discuss the Central Problems of Balochistan, on this episode we talk about Pushtoons in Balochistan, the Annexation of Kalat, the Sardari System, Colonialism, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Constitution, General Pervez Musharraf, Murder of Akbar Bugti, Baloch Insurgency, Sardar Akhtar Mengal, Urbanization, CPEC and more.
The Pakistan Experience is an independently produced podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan through conversations.
Please consider supporting us on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/thepakistanexperience
To support the channel:
Jazzcash/Easypaisa - 0325 -2982912
Patreon.com/thepakistanexperience
And Please stay in touch:
https://twitter.com/ThePakistanExp1
https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperience
https://instagram.com/thepakistanexpeperience
The podcast is hosted by comedian and writer, Shehzad Ghias Shaikh. Shehzad is a Fulbright scholar with a Masters in Theatre from Brooklyn College. He is also one of the foremost Stand-up comedians in Pakistan and frequently writes for numerous publications.
Instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikh
Facebook.com/Shehzadghias/
Twitter.com/shehzad89
Chapters
0:00 Introduction
2:30 Pushtoons in Balochistan
6:24 Annexation of Kalat
8:42 How Baloch Sardari system was created
18:51 Balochistan’s Central Problems
26:02 Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Balochistan and The Constitution
35:00 Representation of Balochistan
42:21 Musharaf’s murder of Akbar Bugti and changing nature of Baloch Insurgency
51:30 Sardar Akhtar Mengal’s Issues
53:00 Urbanization of Baloch Insurgency and Missing Persons
1:02:30 Relationship of Balochistan with Pakistan Proper
1:08:00 CPEC
1:17:00 Audience Questions

Jan 26, 2024 • 2h 15min
Sahil Adeem on his interpretation of Islam, Democracy, Portals and Pakistan - Sahil Adeem - #TPE
Sahil Adeem comes on The Pakistan Experience to discuss Hadith, TLP, Islamic Interpretation, Science, Black Holes, Portals, What is a Muslim, Democracy, the Youth, Imran Khan, Illuminati, and more.
The Pakistan Experience is an independently produced podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan through conversations.
Please consider supporting us on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/thepakistanexperience
To support the channel:
Jazzcash/Easypaisa - 0325 -2982912
Patreon.com/thepakistanexperience
And Please stay in touch:
https://twitter.com/ThePakistanExp1
https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperience
https://instagram.com/thepakistanexpeperience
The podcast is hosted by comedian and writer, Shehzad Ghias Shaikh. Shehzad is a Fulbright scholar with a Masters in Theatre from Brooklyn College. He is also one of the foremost Stand-up comedians in Pakistan and frequently writes for numerous publications.
Instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikh
Facebook.com/Shehzadghias/
Twitter.com/shehzad89
0:00 Introduction
1:30 Is Sahil Adeem an Islamic Scholar
8:10 TLP, Hadith and categorization of Zaif
14:50 Islamic Jurists and Jurisprudence
20:30 What is a Muslim
28:00 Sahil Adeem’s Interpretation of Islam
45:40 Portals, Black Hole, Science and Islam
1:03:00 Democracy and the Democratic Process
1:16:30 Youth movement, Imran Khan and Democracy
1:25:08 Is Youtube monetization haram?
1:28:35 Illuminati
1:33:04 Audience Questions
1:59:29 Ending on a good note

Jan 24, 2024 • 57min
Population, Gender Based Violence and Human Rights - Dr. Luay Shabaneh - UNFPA Pak Rep - #TPE 321
Dr. Luay Shabaneh is the Pakistan Representative of UNFPA, Dr. Luay comes on The Pakistan Experience to discuss Palestine, Population Management, Gender Based Violence, Women Emancipation, The Potential of Pakistan and the Rights of the Youth.
The Pakistan Experience is an independently produced podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan through conversations.
Please consider supporting us on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/thepakistanexperience
To support the channel:
Jazzcash/Easypaisa - 0325 -2982912
Patreon.com/thepakistanexperience
And Please stay in touch:
https://twitter.com/ThePakistanExp1
https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperience
https://instagram.com/thepakistanexpeperience
The podcast is hosted by comedian and writer, Shehzad Ghias Shaikh. Shehzad is a Fulbright scholar with a Masters in Theatre from Brooklyn College. He is also one of the foremost Stand-up comedians in Pakistan and frequently writes for numerous publications.
Instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikh
Facebook.com/Shehzadghias/
Twitter.com/shehzad89
Chapters
0:00 Palestine and the United Nations
5:22 The importance of Data and Statistics
11:15 Supporting people rather than ‘controlling’ Populations
15:38 Conflating Culture with Religion in Pakistan
18:47 Supporting the Pakistani people
25:00 Economy vs Population numbers
29:30 Bangladesh, Malaysia and the importance of Education
35:00 Reproductive Education and Double standards around Women
42:30 Gender based Violence
52:00 The Rights of the Youth