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Dec 5, 2024 | 
thefridaytimes.com | Farida Gul
The knock on the door was so harsh that it startled everyone inside. Hurra opened it immediately, only to find her aunt’s husband standing outside with a gun, accompanied by a man named Shahid holding a grenade. His voice was loud and slurred. “Where is my wife? You’ve hidden her here. Call her out!” he shouted. Hurra, shaken, called her mother and grandmother for help. The man was intoxicated, his aggression unrelenting. Sensing danger, Hurra quickly called the police.
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Aug 30, 2024 | 
thefridaytimes.com | Farida Gul
Quetta, often referred to as "Little London," is located in the southwestern part of Pakistan, cradled within a valley surrounded by majestic mountains on all sides. It is a city of stark contrasts, where the rugged beauty of nature meets the vibrant hues of diverse cultures.
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Jul 11, 2024 | 
thefridaytimes.com | Muhammad Toheed |Nilofer Qazi |Farida Gul |Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro
Pakistan has over 250 million people who live within its borders. Not all of these residents are recognised as citizens- for a variety of reasons. Invisibility only serves those who require a grey area to prey. Accessing a National Identity card, I believe is a foundational fundamental right for every Pakistani. Getting a card in Pakistan becomes even more difficult when you are non-literate and poor.
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Jul 11, 2024 | 
thefridaytimes.com | Muhammad Toheed |Naveed Rehan |Farida Gul |Raza Rumi
DH Lawrence’s Studies in Classic American Literature is an extraordinary collection of essays on eight American writers—Franklin, Crèvecoeur, Cooper, Poe, Hawthorne, Dana, Melville and Whitman. The book is quite contentious; Lawrence himself referred to it as “this ten-barrelled pistol of essays of mine,” and described them to Amy Lowell as “very keen essays in criticism—cut your fingers if you don’t handle them carefully.” That is indeed the impression one gets after reading this book.
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Jun 25, 2024 | 
thefridaytimes.com | Meezan Zahra Khwaja |Farida Gul |Raza Rumi |Adeel Daniel
“Maktub” means “it is written” in Arabic and is a book by Paulo Coelho formed out of a series of stories that he wrote as a daily column for the Folha de São Paulo and the Manual of the Warrior of Light. Coelho says the book may be read as a companion to his famous work The Alchemist. The stories are deep, thought-provoking and spiritual – and Margaret Jull Costa has translated them exquisitely. Each one has a specific purpose and meaning to exchange life’s experience and touch the human heart.
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Jun 24, 2024 | 
thefridaytimes.com | Talal Faisal Ismaili |Farida Gul |Ishtiaq Ahmed |Rabia Ahmed
We all know what it feels like to be out in the open air. Yet once we try to pin it down within established categories and conventions of thought, no experience could be more elusive. What is the open air? Does it circulate in the sky or the atmosphere? Are these the same or different? If the atmosphere surrounds our planet, and the sky arches above our heads, then in what shape or form can the earth exist in relation to the sky?
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Jun 13, 2024 | 
thefridaytimes.com | Farida Gul |Malik Achakzai |Tariq Aqil |Raza Rumi
After having crossed the border from India into Pakistan, I was looking forward to visit the famous towns Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro which are two places from the Indus civilisation built around 2600 BC. Both towns are in the south of Pakistan, therefore going all the way north again to get to the border with Afghanistan will be a large detour. Although completely deserted, I have a look at both sites which are quite a distance from each other.
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Jun 8, 2024 | 
thefridaytimes.com | Fatima Bhutto |Shahzad Naveed |Farida Gul |Saeed Shafqat
“The pain runs deep in my veins, deeper than the cuts from the bricks I haul day in and day out. Despite my toil, the brick kiln owner sees fit to degrade me with the term ‘choora’ (sweeper), a reminder of my lowly status,” Daim lamented. “Once my family was briefly freed from the shackles of agricultural bondage, I harboured aspirations of attending school.
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Jun 8, 2024 | thefridaytimes.com | Fatima Bhutto |Shahzad Naveed |Farida Gul |Saeed Shafqat
“The pain runs deep in my veins, deeper than the cuts from the bricks I haul day in and day out. Despite my toil, the brick kiln owner sees fit to degrade me with the term ‘choora’ (sweeper), a reminder of my lowly status,” Daim lamented. “Once my family was briefly freed from the shackles of agricultural bondage, I harboured aspirations of attending school.
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Jan 12, 2024 | 
thefridaytimes.com | Tariq Aqil |Hasan Zafar |Farida Gul |Zahid Hussain
Since independence in 1947, there has been a fierce debate in the country about the medium of instruction in our educational institutions. Many educationists, linguists, psychologists and experts have argued for the use of the national language Urdu as the medium of instruction. Others have spoken for different mother tongues in different areas of the country while many have spoken for the importance and necessity of first learning and then teaching the English language.
