An Indo-Pak tribute to Amjad Sabri

Posted on June 30, 2016 by beenasarwar
Nitin-Saami-PEM

Nitin Mitta and Naseeruddin Saami with the Saami brothers at Peabody Essex Museum. Photo: Beena Sarwar

My article for Aman ki Asha, “hope for peace”, the India-Pakistan peace initiative launched in 2010 by two media giants on either side, the Jang Group of Pakistan and the Times of India

The morning of Wednesday, 22 June 2016 dawned in New York with shattering news of the target killing of Amjad Sabri in broad daylight across the world in Karachi. The tragedy, devastating for millions of fans, was a personal blow for the legendary classical music maestro Naseeruddin Saami and his sons, on tour in the USA towards the end of their first ever visit to America.  Continue reading →

Filed under: Freedom of expression, Music | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Pakistani qawwals touring USA dedicate performances to Amjad Sabri

Posted on June 29, 2016 by beenasarwar
Saami-PEM-standing ovation

Standing ovation for the Saami Brothers after their performance at Peabody Essex Museum, Salem MA. Photo: Beena Sarwar

Wrote this news report the other day.; working on a more detailed report.

Pakistani qawwals touring USA dedicate performances to Amjad Sabri

Legendary classical music maestro Naseeruddin Saami and his sons, currently on tour in the USA, expressed grief at the target killing of their old friend and colleague the renowned qawwal Amjad Sabri in Karachi. Continue reading →

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Author of travelogue on Pakistan’s Sikh legacy experienced “nothing but love” there, grateful for visa

Posted on June 21, 2016 by beenasarwar
Amardeep Singh-book

Author Amardeep Singh shares a story from his travelogue. Photo: Beena Sarwar

“I experienced nothing but love in Pakistan,” says Amardeep Singh, author of the photo-illustrated travelogue “Lost Heritage – The Sikh Legacy In Pakistan”, published in January 2016 (Himalayan Books).  Continue reading →

Filed under: Culture, History, Pakistan-India, Travel | Tagged: , , | Leave a comment »

Pushing forward the cart that says “Educate Pakistan!”

Posted on May 15, 2016 by beenasarwar

My piece about the TCF fundraiser in Boston last weekend, published in The News on Sunday, May 15, 2016

Adil Najam, Nargis Mavalvala-Ateed Riaz-Beena Sarwar

Adil Najam, Nargis Mavalvala, Ateed Riaz at the speakers table. Photo: Beena Sarwar

Pitching in for education in Pakistan from Boston and beyond

Beena Sarwar

“The Citizens’ Foundation is doing an amazing job, and I’m honoured to be here,” said Nergis Mavalvala, giving the keynote address at the sold-out Third Annual The Citizen’s Foundation (TCF) Boston Fundraiser on Saturday, 7 May, 2016.

Propelled to celebrity status by her role in the recent breakthrough on gravitational waves predicted by Einstein, the Pakistani-American astrophysicist at MIT added, “TCF is fantastic – give generously”. Continue reading →

Filed under: Education, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

Nergis Mavalvala to be keynote for TCF Boston fundraiser

Posted on May 5, 2016 by beenasarwar
Nergis Mavalvala

Nergis Mavalvala: “The key to my success is the education I got as a girl in Pakistan”

Mavalvala to be keynote speaker at fundraiser for high-quality, low-income schools in Pakistan

BOSTON, May 04: Nergis Mavalvala, the Pakistani-American astrophysicist at MIT known for the part she played in the breakthrough on gravitational waves, will be a keynote speaker at the Third Annual The Citizen’s Foundation (TCF) Boston Fundraiser on Saturday, May 7, 2016. Continue reading →

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Sabeen Mahmud: Inclusive spaces and #tree4Sabeen

Posted on May 3, 2016 by beenasarwar

In Karachi last week, I wrote about Sabeen Mahmud and the Creative Karachi Festival held to commemorate her life and work. PRI published it with the title Remembering a Pakistani woman who died because she wanted everyone to have a space to speak freely along with my radio interview with Marco Werman of PRI’s The World. Below is the unabridged text including with more links and photos. Also see our friend Afia Salam’s tribute to Sabeen in The Wire, Why Sabeen Mahmud Will Always Matter.

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A poster with Sabeen’s photo at CKF 2016 on a divider between a stall and walkway at the Alliance Francaise. Photo: Beena Sarwar

Beena Sarwar

Early on Sunday morning in Karachi, a small, eclectic crowd converged at The Second Floor, the iconic coffee shop-cultural hub founded by my young friend Sabeen Mahmud in 2007.  Continue reading →

Filed under: Balochistan, Freedom of expression, Pakistan, Peace, Progressive politics, Resistance | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

Lahore attack: a political context

Posted on April 8, 2016 by beenasarwar

I wrote this for the Huffington Post after the attack on the Lahore park on Easter Sunday.

How Pakistan’s Religious Right Uses ‘Blasphemy’ to (try and) Usurp Political Power

Aamir Qureshi/Getty Images

The horrific suicide bombing at a park in Lahore on Sunday that killed over 70 people, mostly women and children, is one of many assaults by religious hardliners in Pakistan who are striving to remain politically relevant and in the media limelight.

Continue reading →

Filed under: Blasphemy Laws, Freedom of expression, Human rights | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The return of Salmaan Taseer’s abducted son gives Pakistan another ray of hope

Posted on March 11, 2016 by beenasarwar

Very happy to be able to write about some good news – the recovery of Salmaan’s Taseer’s son Shahbaz Taseer, kidnapped nearly five years ago. Wrote this piece on March 8, 2016, for Scroll.in

The return of Salmaan Taseer's abducted son gives Pakistan another ray of hope

The best news coming out of Pakistan this week was about the recovery on Tuesday of Shahbaz Taseer, the abducted son of slain Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer. The businessman, in his early thirties, had been kidnapped in August 2011 as he drove to his office in Lahore. Continue reading →

Filed under: Blasphemy Laws, Human rights | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Stifling dissent in Southasia

Posted on February 24, 2016 by beenasarwar

I earlier posted about resistance to the stifling of dissent in India, and why as a Pakistani it matters to me. The trend is visible in other parts of Southasia too, including of course Pakistan about which I’ve written a fair amount. Here’s an update from Bangladesh, where defamation, sedition cases and the attempts to silence the independent media are underway, as well as Chattisgarh, India.

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Smiles and sedition. Photo: Andrew Biraj, Reuters

Continue reading →

Filed under: Freedom of expression, Gender, Human rights, Southasia | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Farewell, Aslam

Posted on January 24, 2016 by beenasarwar
Aslam-2013-photo beena

Aslam Azhar, Islamabad, 2013. Photo: Beena Sarwar

My personal tribute to a giant of progressive politics in Pakistan, published in The Friday Times on Jan 15, 2016, posted below with links that didn’t make it into the TFT copy. 

By Beena Sarwar

Aslam. That’s what everyone, junior or senior, in the theatre group Dastak called him. He insisted upon it. That was just one aspect of Aslam Azhar, the founding father of Pakistan Television and already a legendary figure in the late 1980s. That was when I joined the theatre group that he had started in 1982 with his close friend and comrade Mansoor Saeed – who also insisted on being called Mansoor. Continue reading →

Filed under: Art and activism, Progressive politics | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

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