The Pakistan Experience

Arieb Azhar as a multi talented artist who has made significant contributions to the music and cultural scene of Pakistan. As a musician he was a pioneer in interpreting and performing Punjabi Sufi on the guitar for urban audiences. As a festival organizer, Arieb co-founded the highly successful 'Music Mela Festival of Islamabad' and curated its first three editions and later established his own festival platform 'Art Langar'. From 2018 to 2020 he served as Executive Director of T2F Karachi during which time he also curated the 3rd edition of the Creative Karachi Festival. Arieb also conceived and produced the award-winning feature documentary 'Indus Blues', directed by Jawad Sharif which shed light on the rich musical heritage of Pakistan. His latest achievement has been the highly successful production of the theatre play 'The River's Daughter', directed by Kulsoom Aftab of which Arieb was the playwright and producer while also playing the villainous role of Pir Tota Sain. Having grown up in the 80-s left movement of Karachi, and later spending 13 years in Croatia where he first hand witnessed the dissolution of Yugoslavia, Arieb's artistic expression is imbued with a sociopolitical sensibility and a love of folk culture. 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/ThePakistanExp1https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperiencehttps://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 1:16 Theater & Live Performance, folk music, Shamrock Rovers, Sports, Zagreb and war 9:48 Hardship & songs, humor and political correctness, how music & dance are natural, and the power of words like Ohm 20:25 Training your ear, journey of an artist, social media and its ills 29:28 Cultures and identity in Pakistan, spread of molvism, differences & insecurity 38:56 Aurangzeb, Wahhabism and “culture”, our harmonious cultural history, where “India” comes from 48:36 Atheism and finding spirituality, psychedelics, UK & drunk behavior, Tolkien & Celtic mythology and Irish Music 1:01:07 Our history of song & dance, lost legends, Pakistan’s lack of archiving, radio Pakistan, and his father Aslam Azhar 1:11:58 Audience Questions

Dr. Umar Saif comes on the podcast for an extremely informative discussion on the state of Information Technology in Pakistan; from why Pakistani Universities are failing to produce high level graduates to how political instability is destroying Pakistan's progress, on this deep dive podcast we discuss I.T., India, I.I.Ts, Higher Education, LUMS, PITB, Punjab Government, ITU, and how I.T. was used in Government projects in Punjab. Dr. Umar Saif is the founder and CEO of aiSight.ai (formerly SurveyAuto.com). He is the CEO of Khudi Ventures, Pakistan's largest venture studio. He works as the Chief Digital Officer of the Jang/Geo group. He is also an advisor to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Pakistan. Previously, Dr. Saif was a cabinet member in Government of Punjab and served as the Chairman of the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB). His work led to a radical digital transformation of the government in Punjab and several of his initiatives were replicated throughout the country. He was the founding Vice Chancellor of ITU and established it as one of premier technology universities in Pakistan. Dr. Saif founded Plan9, Pakistan’s first government-backed startup incubator, as well as Punjab’s e-rozgaar program. He is often cited as one of the main forces behind Pakistan's startup ecosystem. Dr. Saif received his PhD in Computer Science in 2001 at University of Cambridge and worked at MIT for several years before returning to Pakistan. He was the first Pakistani to be named as one of the top 35 young innovators in the world by the MIT Technology Review (TR35) and the first Pakistani to receive a Google faculty research award in 2011. He was selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2010. He has received the MIT Technovator Award, Mark Weiser Award, IDG Technology Pioneer Award and the British Council Outstanding Alumni Award. Dr. Saif was awarded Sitara-i-Imtiaz in 2014, one of the highest civil awards by government of Pakistan. He was named among the 500 most influential Muslims in the world consecutively between 2015-2020. In 2018, he was awarded the UNESCO Chair for using ICT for Development. Dr. Saif has founded several technology companies and serves on the board of various private, public and financial institutions. 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/ThePakistanExp1https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperiencehttps://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 2:07 His PHD from Cambridge, being a professor at LUMS, teaching at MIT, and why Pakistan is left behind compared to Indian IITs 19:14 What our universities lack, his IT university, and how universities work abroad, the quality of our PHDs 29:46 Why he felt he could make a difference and how he joined the government 43:01 Government Issues & Punjab’s digitization of land records 55:55 Shahbaz Sharif and sales tax crowdsourcing, black economies, UPI and digitization 1:09:28 How India has digitized, importance of cash in Pakistan and India’s demonetization, and our lack of import substitution 1:17:59 Atoms and how they started, IT exports, remittances, tech industry in India vs Pakistan 1:33:31 What’s stopping PayPal in Pak, unicorn culture in India, 1:38:55 Audience Questions

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/ThePakistanExp1https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperiencehttps://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 3:00 Imran Riaz Khan 5:00 Media 8:54 What led up to the current crisis 38:00 The Current Crisis 50:00 Is this fascism unprecedented? 1:00:00 Can PTI defeat the Establishment

A harrowing and dark episode of The Pakistan Experience, where Dr. Summaiya Syed Tariq talks about the "bowels of our society"; as the Karachi Police Surgeon, she deals with all kinds of violent crime, Gender Based Violence, and Crime. On this episode, she discusses police procedure, assault, laws, the two finger test, taboos, child abuse, the Dua Zehra Case, Baldia Town Tragedy and the PIA Crash. Dr. Summaiya Syed Tariq is the Karachi Police Surgeon. She is a Forensic Consultant and an expert on Clinical management of assault and GBV. Reach out to her on https://twitter.com/DrSueTariq Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 2:18 Gender based violence, known assaulters, police procedure, r*pe laws and their shortcomings 12:01 2-finger test, consent under duress, the process of filing a complaint and the anti-r*pe act 21:28 The Taboo for males and minors, sensitivity and empathy, the surrounding culture and attitude 34:30 How she sleeps at night, her first postmortem, court cases and living in the bowels of society and mansplaining 44:42 child sexual abuse, views on women and izzat, Qandeel Baloch, ostracizing of victims, and our disposable population 56:50 Repression, the Zainab alert, mistrust and fear of courts and police, prevalence of domestic violence 1:08:10 mental health pandemic, apathy for violence, financial independence, avenues for women, Dua Zehra’s case and Baldia Town fire 1:20:21 PIA crash victims’ families complaints, body disposal, Karachi’s medico-legal offices, dealing with the pressure 1:27:21 Dealing with sexism and being a woman in the field, and news media’s interference 1:31:04 Q&A

Activist and Journalist Aslam Khwaja comes on the podcast to discuss his book, "People's Movement of Pakistan", that goes into the details of the torture camps during Zia-ul-Haq's dictatorship, PPP, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the Movement for the Restoration for Democracy, Politics and the current political climate. Born in Hyderabad, Sindh on 25th December 1962, Aslam Khwaja joined Left politics in late 1970s, during General Zia Martial Law with the students wing of Communist Party of Pakistan. Aslam Khwaja has also written and translated more than two dozen books in Sindhi, Urdu and English. 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/ThePakistanExp1https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperiencehttps://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 01:55 Khwaja’s Book, Zil e Shah, Zia’s cruelty and MRD, leaders standing with their workers 17:39 Rawalpindi Conspiracy Case, first elections, and Radio Pakistan Dhaka’s resistance 27:02 West Pakistan’s apathy, hypocrisy of PTI, and why didn’t the awam resist in 1971 35:55 Bhutto’s role in creation of Bangladesh, his anti-people actions, his role in bringing politics to the people, and Liyari 53:00 Bhutto’s legacy, abandoning leftist ideals, why there weren’t nationwide protests 1:04:59 Dictators attempting to turn politicians, Musharaf’s state funeral, Nusrat Bhutto and anti-Zia politics 1:17:44 Why PPP’s Sindh isn’t like PMLN’s Punjab, Sindh Cafe, Benazir’s return in 1986, separation of state and its people 1:26:33 Difference between now and then, alignment of movements for unified resistance, PTI’s attempt to reverse 18th amendment 1:37:39 PTI’s politics, Benazir’s rise and MRD’s role 1:46:06 How Aslam Khwaja was arrested, meeting his torturer, and seeing humanity even in distress 1:57:23 Audience Questions

Journalist and Editor Badar Alam joins us on The Pakistan Experience to discuss Print Journalism, The Media Industry, Censorship, Herald, the business of News, Channel Owners, Advertising and the state of Journalism today. Muhammad Badar Alam has been a journalist since 1992. He worked as the editor of Herald magazine, Pakistan’s premier current affairs magazine, from June 2010 to July 2019 – until the magazine was forced to close down as a punishment for its independent editorial policy and fearless reporting. He then co-founded loksujag, an independent digital news media outlet dedicated to public interest investigative journalism, and worked as its chief editor between April 2020 and November 2022. He has also worked as a bureau chief, a reporter, a foreign correspondent and a deputy editor for different news outlets. He, similarly, has vast experience in journalism training and research. 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/ThePakistanExp1https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperiencehttps://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 0:52 Shehzad @ The Herald, why print journalism is dying, business and political interests of media owners 14:58 censorship and the dangers of journalism, taking a stand 24:22 delayed salaries and bullying by big media, ad revenue dictating policy, Bahria Town, serving public interest and journalism ethics 34:17 Bias in media and the purpose of journalism, propaganda, and misuse of power 44:55 judgement in absence of evidence, verifying information, Military involvement in parliamentary voting under PTI 58:18 journalists overcompensating in search for balance, are only politicians corrupt, and the IK situation 1:10:15 May 9 and its impact on PTI, can anyone get a majority, engineered power, and the legislative success of politicians 1:20:46 disruption of democracy, lawyers movement and APS attack, and no democracy in political parties 1:29:12 dynastic politics, hate for politics, resistance and protesting for demands, killing of regional identities, Mithi vs Kasur 1:38:43 BTK and PPP, marginalization of rural populations, creating ghettos, and remembering the Herald 1:54:41 Audience Questions

Pakistan Lost is a series of audio essays on history exploring the choices that were made that impacted millions of people for decades to come. Episode 8 of the series looks at the creation, election and selection of Imran Khan, how the military used Imran Khan against the Charter of Democracy. Watch all the episodes of Pakistan Lost: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HVcorSr-vM&list=PLlQZ9NZnjq5qRLMfNjRNQyCTBkT0etuaZ 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/ThePakistanExp1https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperiencehttps://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

Anurag Minus Verma joins us on a fun episode of The Pakistan Experience discussing JNU, Comedy, Satire, Caste and Culture in India. On this deep dive episode, we discuss Extensialism, Devang Patel, Kafka, White Vloggers, Marxism, Adnan Sami, Anti-National, Gaanja, Anti-Caste, Memes, Culture and BC Sutta Na Mila Anurag is a multimedia artist. He studied Art and Aesthetics at JNU, Delhi, and film editing at FTII, Pune. His video diaries and character videos have gained a substantial social media following. His films have been screened at prestigious festivals and museums worldwide. In addition to his video work, Anurag writes opinion pieces. His popular podcast invites global thinkers and artists to discuss pressing issues. Anurag has been invited to share his journey at renowned institutions like Harvard, the University of Michigan, and Brandeis University. 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/ThePakistanExp1https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperiencehttps://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 1:40 Why are you called Anurag Minus Verma 4:30 The importance of Names 9:00 Caste and Culture in Urban India 19:50 Satirizing your own class 23:0 Finding the universality in the unique 27:00 Bollywood creating Culture and culture creating Bollywood and Dil Se 33:30 Issue based content and Cancel Culture 36:00 Vloggers and Foreigners in Pakistan 41:30 Cinema and Music in Pakistan 45:30 Sutta Na Mila and Ad Parody 48:30 Devang Patel 51:40 Existentialism and Roadies 55:30 Memes 1:00:00 JNU, Political Songs and Coffee 1:12:21 Audience Questions

Pakistan Lost is a series of audio essays on history exploring the choices that were made that impacted millions of people for decades to come. Episode 7 of the series looks at the dismissal of Benazir Bhutto's first Government on August 6th, 1990. Watch all the episodes of Pakistan Lost: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HVcorSr-vM&list=PLlQZ9NZnjq5qRLMfNjRNQyCTBkT0etuaZThe 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

Imran Khan vs the COAS - Has PTI been Dismantled? Is the Party Over? 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/ThePakistanExp1https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperiencehttps://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