The Pakistan Experience

Imaan Zainab-Mazari Hazir, an activist and a lawyer, comes on the podcast to discuss why the comments of Prime Minister Imran Khan about 'Fahashi' are problematic, what women face when they go to the courts after facing harassment, the disinformation around the Meesha Shafi-Ali Zafar case and living as Shireen Mazari's daughter.   From facing backlash online to being in the public eye since she was a teenager, from family debates to learning and growing in public spaces, on this podcast we get into a deep dive podcast discussing the law, harassment, r**e culture, and PTI.   Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.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. He can be found on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tinder.     https://www.facebook.com/Shehzadgs/ https://twitter.com/shehzad89 https://instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikh  Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 1:00 Imran Khan's 'Fahashi' comment 4:00 Rape Culture 5:50 Imran Khan polarizes everyone 7:10 Khooni Liberals 8:00 Objectification of Women 12:32 School, Segregation and Sexualization 16:30 Parents talking to children about how to dress 19:00 Sexual Harassment 22:03 Ali Zafar and Meesha Shafi case 28:07 Harassment and Problematic behaviour 31:00 BTS Army 32:20 What happens when you go to the court? 39:12 The Ayesha Gulalai allegations 40:45 Cynthia's allegations 46:40 Asim Sajjad Akhtar's allegations  49:50 Far Right Co-Opting Cancel Culture  53:50 Facing Backlash Online  1:00:00 Shireen Mazari's daughter 1:05:10 Saad Aziz 1:08:00 Echo Chambers 1:11:00 Disagreeing with Family members 1:16:30 Trevor Noah 1:18:00 Fawad Chaudhry 1:20:00 Maulana Fazlur Rehman 1:29:00 Zartaj Gul and Sexism 1:31:00 Bullying and Punching up 1:34:00 Imran Khan and Sita White 1:36:00 Questioning the credibility 1:38:30 Facing abuse online 1:44:00 The law is patriarchal  1:48:00 State trolls 1:49:30 wHy YoU loOK lIkE b

Tariq Ali is a British political activist, writer, journalist, historian, filmmaker, and public intellectual. He is the author of many books, including Pakistan: Military Rule or People's Power (1970), Can Pakistan Survive? The Death of a State (1983), Clash of Fundamentalisms: Crusades, Jihads and Modernity (2002).    Tariq Ali comes back on the podcast to discuss dynastic politics, the PPP that was, if there is any reason to be hopeful in PDM, 1971, Fatima Jinnah, and the Pakistani left.    Does the left in Pakistan need to consolidate? Does it need to update its manifesto?  Do we need a revolution in Pakistan?  Did India want to take over West Pakistan in 1971?  Watch on this deep dive podcast with the legend himself, Tariq Ali. There is also a hilarious Hamlet story in there.   Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.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. He can be found on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tinder.     https://www.facebook.com/Shehzadgs/ https://twitter.com/shehzad89 https://instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikh

Uzair Younus is a senior fellow at The Atlantic Council looking at the region of South Asia.  Uzair Younus comes back on the podcast to discuss why Bangladesh is surging ahead of Pakistan, the geoeconomics of South Asia, what impact Biden's presidency may have on Indo-Pak relations and if the recent comments by Pakistan suggest a strategic policy shift.   We also discuss the new State Bank provisions, whether Pakistan should have gone to the IMF, food inflation, the eroding purchasing power, the petroleum crisis and rising extremism.   We get into a deep dive discussion about the sociopolitics and the economy of Pakistan - is there reason to be hopeful or are we headed for an economic disaster? What are the biggest economic challenges facing PTI right now? What are the potential solutions?     Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.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. He can be found on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tinder.     https://www.facebook.com/Shehzadgs/ https://twitter.com/shehzad89 https://instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikh

A lot is said about Partition, Pakistan and the role of Quaid-e-Azam; we had the pre-eminent scholar on Partition, Ayesha Jalal, come on the podcast to set the record straight.   On this deep dive podcast, Ayesha Jalal discusses writing history, 1947, 1971, the role of Bhutto, Fatima Jinnah, the legacy of colonialism, whether writing Peoples History is actually writing History,  The Sole Spokesman, what Pakistan did Quaid-e-Azam want and the division of provinces during Partition.  Ayesha Jalal also responds to other historians who have challenged her work. Despite 30 years passing since its publication, The Soles Spokesman, remains the gold standard in academia on Jinnah.    Ayesha Jalal is a Pakistani-American historian who serves as the Mary Richardson Professor of History at Tufts University, and was the recipient of the 1998 MacArthur Foundation Fellowship Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.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. He can be found on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tinder. https://www.facebook.com/Shehzadgs/ https://twitter.com/shehzad89 https://instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikh Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 0:20 Academic Freedom 2:20 Why are we afraid of history 8:00 Decolonizing the mind 12:30 Imposing Urdu on Bengalis 15:20 Was Bhutto to be blamed for 1971 18:20 Is Fauj to be blamed? 22:20 Fatima Jinnah 24:10 Quaid-e-Azam was not a British agent 27:30 Was Muslim league anti-colonial 28:30 Separate Electorates 32:20 Writing History of the Marginalized 37:10 Quaid-e-Azam and Trial of Ilm-ud-din 38:00 Peoples History and Partition 43:00 The Sole Spokesman 45:12 Responding to Venkat Dhulipala's book 46:30 What Pakistan did Quaid-e-Azam want 50:00 Sikhs and Pakistan 54:00 Aurangzeb 55:20 Dividing Provinces during Partition 58:00 UP, Muslim League and Pakistan 1:01 Did Quaid-e-Azam leave Politics when he was in London? 1:05:00 What forced Quaid-e-Azam's hand 1:06:30 Quaid-e-Azam and Gandhi 1:09:00 Punjabi 1:10:30 Pakistan ko banaya tha Punjabio nay aur Bengalio nay

Kanwal Ahmed is the founder of the Facebook group, Soul Sisters, and the creator of the show, 'Conversations with Kanwal, aimed towards breaking stigma around certain issues and openly talking about them.  Soul Sisters was created as a community and a safe space for women to discuss their lives. Kanwal Ahmed comes on the podcast to discuss her entire journey - from being misunderstood, bullied, labelled and the burn out that comes from managing all of that.  In this deep dive podcast, we discuss the backlash against the Aurat March, online communities, dealing with hate online, Crowdsourcing Conversations with Kanwal and the journey of Soul Sisters.   Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.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. He can be found on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tinder.  https://www.facebook.com/Shehzadgs/ https://twitter.com/shehzad89 https://instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikh  Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 1:00 Why Kanwal Created Soul Sisters 5:00 How to keep spaces safe 7:45 Is Soul Sisters Progressive or Regressive? 13:30 Administering Facebook Groups 18:30 Sourcing Stories from Soul Sisters 22:00 Capitalism and Community Building 25:30 Jealousy in Pakistan 34:00 Do people grow or is it performative? 36:20 How to know your worth 43:20 Crowdsourcing Conversations with Kanwal 50:20 Exploitative nature of media 1:01:00 Emotional Labour 1:13:00 Backlash online 1:18:00 Conversations with Kanwal 1:22:00 Facing hate online 1:39:00 Awareness vs Civic Engagement  1:44:00 Conversations with Kanwal 1:45:10 Talking to Men 1:48:00 SSP is Trans inclusive 1:50:00 Closing remarks

Ali Usman Qasmi, Professor (History) at LUMS comes on the podcast to unpack the history of Pakistan, starting from discussing the varied perspectives of Muslims pre-1947. On this podcast we discuss the Pakistan Resolution, the Punjabi Identity, whether Muslim League was a movement of the elites, how Pakistan came to be, the anti-Ahmadi riots, election rigging, Fatima Jinnah, Ayub Khan and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.  Qasmi sahab also goes into detail of the Ahmadi issue as we unpack the history of Pakistan 1940-1971.    Ali Usman Qasmi, Associate Professor (History) at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, joined LUMS in January 2012. He received his PhD from the South Asia Institute of Heidelberg University in March 2009. Before joining LUMS, he was a Newton Fellow for post doctoral research at Royal Holloway College, University of London. He has published extensively in reputed academic journals such as Modern Asian Studies and Journal of Islamic Studies. He is the author of Questioning the Authority of the Past: The Ahl al-Qur’an Movements in the Punjab (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2011). His second monograph, The Ahmadis and the Politics of Religious Exclusion in Pakistan (London: Anthem Press, 2014), was the recipient of Karachi Literature Festival (KLF) Peace Prize in 2015. Dr. Qasmi has co-edited several edited volumes as well, which include Revisioning Iqbal as a Poet and Muslim Political Thinker (Heidelberg: Draupadi, 2010), The Shi‘a in Modern South Asia: Religion, History and Politics (New Delhi: Cambridge University Press, 2015) and Muslims against the Muslim League: Critiques of the Ideas of Pakistan (New Delhi: Cambridge University Press, 2017).    Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.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. He can be found on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tinder.   https://www.facebook.com/Shehzadgs/ https://twitter.com/shehzad89 https://instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikh   Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 3:00 Muslims Against the Muslim League 6:20 The model of the nation state 10:30 How was Pakistan imagined? 13:40 Pakistan: Provinces or sovereign states?  14:00 Pakistan Resolution 17:00 Two State Theory 20:30 Anti-Democratic Traditions 25:00 UP kay laundo kee saazish 33:10 Was Muslim League an elite movement? 35:00 Separate Electorates  36:30 Punjabi identity and Inferiority Complex 50:00 Dividing Provinces during Partition 58:00 Quaid-e-Azam's 11th August Speech 1:01:00 Was Quaid-e-Azam sidelined? 1:06:30 Liaquat Ali Khan  1:08:30 1953 Anti-Ahmadi riots 1:20:00 Ahmadi conspiracy theories 1:25:00 Allama Iqbal's Conspiracy Theory 1:26:40 The Ahmadi Question 1:36:00 Bhutto and Ahmadis 1:40:00 Ahmadis and the law 1:54:00 History of Election rigging 2:01:30 Ayub Khan

Sami Shah is a Pakistani Stand-up comedian who has now moved to Australia to become one of the top performing comedians in the country. Sami is also an author, after winning numerous awards for his autobiographical work, "I Migrant", Sami ventured into fantasy fiction with 'Earth Boy' and 'Boy of Fire and Earth'.   Sami Shah comes on the podcast to discuss how he found his voice performing Stand up comedy - Sami discusses being on the scene of the Karsaz bomb blast reporting live then going to perform a packed comedy show just days later.    We get into a deep dive discussion about unresolved trauma, the sad clown troupe, comedy and depression, suicidal ideation, living as a Shia in Pakistan, immigration and the hate asylum seekers get.   There is also some reminiscing of the Karachi Sami remembers.   Sami tweets at:  https://twitter.com/samishah     Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.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. He can be found on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tinder.  https://www.facebook.com/Shehzadgs/ https://twitter.com/shehzad89 https://instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikh   Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 1:15 How I started doing Stand up comedy 5:30 Organizing shows in Pakistan 7:15 Comedy as Catharsis 11:00 People going after Comedians online 15:00 Writing Satire in Pakistan 19:00 Aurat March in Australia and Pakistan  22:30 Reporting on the Karsaz Bomb Blast 27:10 Comedy as a coping mechanism 30:00 Unresolved Trauma and Toxic masculinity 40:00 Refugees and Asylum Seekers 49:00 Living with death threats  53:00 Humainzing through Comedy 55:00 Criticizing Australia as a Pakistani 59:30 Doing Comedy over Zoom 1:02:30 Opening for Sami Shah 1:03:30 Being comfortable yourself on stage 1:11:00 Nanette and the evolution of the form  1:19:15 Suicidal Ideation 1:20:30 Comedy and Depression 1:33:22 Atheism  1:40:00 Ex Muslims and Islamophobia 1:53:00 On Grief 1:55:00 Fantasy Fiction writing 2:03:00 The Creative Process 2:13:00 Expats 2:15:30 Remembering Karachi 2:18:00 Musharaf's enlightened moderation 2:24:00 Building a Comedy culture

Junaid Fazal runs a cosmetics distribution business and an investment company that funds SMEs, Junaid found religion after graduating and has been on a spiritual path ever since.    Junaid also happens to be an old friend of mine, I invited him on the podcast to discuss misconceptions about the Aurat March that ended up being a much wider conversation about how religion is misused in our society.   The social media echo chambers make it seem like there are two Pakistans: A liberal one and a conservative one but both groups have a lot more in common than they have to hate each other, something they will find out if they just talk to each other.   The two Pakistans are fully in conversation this week as Junaid and I discuss the propaganda against the Aurat March, how anchors use outrage for clicks/views, how we have pushed militancy, "the religion card", Islamic banking, and how Junaid found God.     Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.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. He can be found on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tinder.  https://www.facebook.com/Shehzadgs/ https://twitter.com/shehzad89  https://instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikh Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 1:08 Misconceptions about the Aurat March 10:31 Womens Rights 15:44 Propoganda against Aurat March 19:30 Madrassa Education  23:50 Riyasat of Madina and Capitalism 26:50 Intolerance  28:44 Islamic Banking  38:00 Shariah and Science 42:00 Islam and socialism 50:00 Tax Evasion and Charity 58:45 Secularism and the Islamic state 1:07:30 Economic strife and Extremism 1:16:00 Misinformation 1:23:55 Polarization and Politics 1:31:30 How Junaid found God 2:04:53 The guilt of the artist 2:08:55 Reminiscing LUMS

Lilith and Mariam Shafqat Goraya join us to co-host the special podcast on the Aurat March. We are also joined by Amna Shafqat, Sajeer Shaikh, Ekta Shaikh and Usman Rana with other special guests dropping by.  Maleeha Mengal from Shirkat Gah comes to talk about marginalized communities organizing together.  Qurrat Mirza, organizer Aurat March Karachi, comes on to discuss the labour of organizing the Aurat March. Moiz also drops by here.  Maria Malik, organizer Aurat March Islamabad, joins to talk about the left, the state and ressistance.  Manal Faheem Khan (Journalist - Formerly working at Cutacut) and Hamna Zubair  (Journalist - Formerly working at DAWN) talk about Journalism, how these movements are covered by the media, and the coverage of the #MeToo movement in Pakistan.  Aisha Khan, Stand-up Comedian, comes on to discuss notions of divorce we have in our society. Areesha Banglani (Anthropologist specializing in Gender) also joins us.  Preh Memon of RantsinyourPants on Instagram talks about creating feminist content and imposter syndrome.   Finally, Khaya Ahmed joins us for some wholesomeness and we end with our signature Bachodiyan!

Lilith and Mariam Shafqat Goraya join us to co-host the special podcast on the Aurat March. We are also joined by Amna Shafqat, Sajeer Shaikh, Ekta Shaikh and Usman Rana with other special guests dropping by.  Maleeha Mengal from Shirkat Gah comes to talk about marginalized communities organizing together.  Qurrat Mirza, organizer Aurat March Karachi, comes on to discuss the labour of organizing the Aurat March. Moiz also drops by here.  Maria Malik, organizer Aurat March Islamabad, joins to talk about the left, the state and ressistance.  Manal Faheem Khan (Journalist - Formerly working at Cutacut) and Hamna Zubair  (Journalist - Formerly working at DAWN) talk about Journalism, how these movements are covered by the media, and the coverage of the #MeToo movement in Pakistan.  Aisha Khan, Stand-up Comedian, comes on to discuss notions of divorce we have in our society. Areesha Banglani (Anthropologist specializing in Gender) also joins us.  Preh Memon of RantsinyourPants on Instagram talks about creating feminist content and imposter syndrome.   Finally, Khaya Ahmed joins us for some wholesomeness and we end with our signature Bachodiyan!