Shakil Durrani

Jun 27, 2024 | thefridaytimes.com | Muhammad Toheed |Shahzad Naveed |Arshad Yousafzai |Shakil Durrani

Qari Fazal Wahab, a 45-year-old Imam and Quranic scholar from Swat has been tirelessly working to protect the environment and wildlife. Under his self-funded initiative, he has personally planted over 10,000 trees in different locations, intending to reach 100,000 trees soon. In addition to his role as the Imam of Mingora Mosque, he also teaches students. Swat has recently faced devastating changes, including deforestation and environmental degradation, which have severely impacted its beauty.

Jun 16, 2024 | thefridaytimes.com | Akbar Ahmed |Saeed Shafqat |Yasser Latif Hamdani |Shakil Durrani

How do you begin a speech for an audience of one, which consists of Her Royal Highness (HRH) Princess Diana? Motivational speakers have posted dozens of short videos introducing the best method to start a speech and capture the listeners in those first crucial moments. Some recommend a short story. Others advocate the use of humour. The question of course is what short story to select? A personal story or something from literature?

Jun 6, 2024 | thefridaytimes.com | Yousuf Nazar |Shahid Rahim |Shakil Durrani |Tariq Aqil

Massimo Taparelli, Marquess of Azeglio, was a Piedmontese-Italian statesman, novelist, and painter. When a unified Italy was born in 1861 out of a union of principalities and statelets, he famously wrote in his memoirs: "L'Italia è fatta. Restano da fare gli italiani," translated colloquially as "We have made Italy. Now we must make Italians.”  It took a long time for Italy to emerge as a nation, distinct from Venetians, Sicilians, Piedmontese, and others.

May 31, 2024 | thefridaytimes.com | Huzaima Bukhari |Shahid Rahim |Shakil Durrani |Umer Farooq

"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You’re on your own, and you know what you know. And you are the guy (or gal) who’ll decide where to go.”—Dr. Seusse Under the social contract between the state and its citizens who are supposed to submit themselves to the command of laws enacted by elected representatives, if one starts jotting down the obligations of the state towards its citizens, the list would be quite long.

May 20, 2024 | thefridaytimes.com | Zalmay Azad |Shakil Durrani |Mohammad Ali Mahar |Adeel Daniel

In South Waziristan, a district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that borders Afghanistan, suspected militants recently targeted a girls' school in the village of Karikot, near Wana City. This marks the second such attack this month. The overnight explosion damaged a newly constructed schoolroom, but fortunately, no casualties were reported.