Kanwal Feroze is a Pakistani scholar, poet, writer and journalist. He was born in 1938 in Ferozpur, India, and migrated to Sargodha, Pakistan. He moved to Lahore in 1958 and has since been playing an important role in the literary activities of the city. [1]
He is the Chief Editor of the monthly Urdu language journal Shadaab, which is an independent, socio-political and literary magazine which has specialized in minority issues and promoted inter-religious peace and harmony since 1969. [2]
He holds a Ph.D. in Community Journalism. [3]
In February 2005, he was honoured by the Pakistan Academy of Letters. [4]
In 2009, he was awarded the Tamgha-i-Imtiaz (President's Medal of Excellence) in Literature by the Government of Pakistan. [5] Feroz belonged to the Christian community. [1]
His poetry has been published in four volumes:
Karachi is the capital city of the Pakistani province of Sindh. It is the largest city in Pakistan and the 12th largest in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast and formerly served as the capital of Pakistan. Ranked as a beta-global city, it is Pakistan's premier industrial and financial centre, with an estimated GDP of over $200 billion (PPP) as of 2021. Karachi is considered Pakistan's most cosmopolitan city, and among the country’s most linguistically, ethnically-, and religiously-diverse regions, as well as one of the country’s most progressive and socially liberal cities.
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. Islamabad is the nation's capital, while Karachi is its largest city and financial centre. Pakistan is the 33rd-largest country by area, 9th largest in Asia and the second-largest in South Asia. Bounded by the Arabian Sea on the south, the Gulf of Oman on the southwest, and the Sir Creek on the southeast, it shares land borders with India to the east; Afghanistan to the west; Iran to the southwest; and China to the northeast. It shares a maritime border with Oman in the Gulf of Oman, and is separated from Tajikistan in the northwest by Afghanistan's narrow Wakhan Corridor.
Islamabad is the capital city of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city with a population of over 1.2 million people and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Built as a planned city in the 1960s and established in 1967, it replaced Karachi as Pakistan's official national capital.
The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) is the aerial warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces, tasked primarily with the aerial defence of Pakistan, with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and Pakistan Navy when required, and a tertiary role of providing strategic airlift capability to Pakistan. As of 2021, as per the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the PAF has more than 70,000 active-duty personnel and operates at least 1370+ aircraft.PAF stands as the eight largest Air Force in the world. PAF is the largest Air Force of the Muslim world in terms of aircraft fleet. Its primary mandate and mission is "to provide, in synergy with other inter-services, the most efficient, assured and cost effective aerial defence of Pakistan." Since its establishment in 1947, the PAF has been involved in various combat operations, providing aerial support to the operations and relief efforts of the Pakistani military. Under Article 243, the Constitution of Pakistan appoints the President of Pakistan as the civilian Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), by statute a four-star air officer, is appointed by the President with the consultation and confirmation needed from the Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Faiz Ahmad Faiz was a Pakistani poet and author of Punjabi and Urdu literature. Faiz was one of the most celebrated, popular, and influential Urdu writers of his time, and his works and ideas remain widely influential today in Pakistan and beyond. Outside of literature, he has been described as "a man of wide experience", having worked as a teacher, military officer, journalist, trade unionist, and broadcaster.
Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi is a Pakistani former cricketer and captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. An all-rounder, Afridi was a right-handed leg spinner and a right-handed batsman.
Sayyid Abdullah Shah Qadri, known popularly as Baba Bulleh Shah and Bulleya, was a 17th and 18th-century Punjabi revolutionary philosopher, reformer and a Sufi poet, universally regarded as the "Father of Punjabi Enlightenment". He spoke against powerful religious, political and social institutions. He lived and was buried in Kasur.
Aamir Liaquat Hussain was a Pakistani politician, columnist and television host. Hussain was a top ranking TV anchor and was listed three times in The 500 influential Muslims worldwide, and was among 100 popular personalities of Pakistan. He was criticized on media numerous times due to his controversial comments about superstars. He was a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from August 2018 to June 2022.
The culture of Pakistan is based in the Indo-Persian cultural matrix that constitutes a foundation plank of South Asian Muslim identity. The region has formed a distinct cultural unit within the main cultural complex of South Asia, Middle East and Central Asia. There are differences in culture among the different ethnic groups in matters such as dress, food, and religion, especially where pre-Islamic customs differ from Islamic practices.
The Insurgency in Balochistan is an insurgency or revolt by Baloch separatist insurgents and various Islamist militant groups against the governments of Pakistan and Iran in the Balochistan region, which covers the Pakistani province of Balochistan, Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchestan, and Balochistan of southern Afghanistan. Rich in natural resources, this is the largest, least populated and least developed province in Pakistan and Iran, and armed groups demand greater control of the province's natural resources and political autonomy. Baloch separatists have attacked civilians from other ethnicities throughout the province. In the 2010s, attacks against the Shia community by sectarian groups—though not always directly related to the political struggle—have risen, contributing to tensions in Balochistan. In Pakistan, the ethnic separatist insurgency is low-scale but ongoing mainly in southern Balochistan, as well as sectarian and religiously motivated militancy concentrated mainly in northern and central Balochistan.
The Catholic Church in Pakistan is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the pope in Rome.
Mohammad Younis Khan PP SI is a Pakistani professional cricket coach and former cricketer and captain of the Pakistan national cricket team in all three formats of the game, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest middle-order batsmen in Test cricket. Khan is the only Test cricketer in the history of the game to score a century in all 11 countries that have hosted Test matches. Under his Captaincy Pakistan won the 2009 World Twenty20.
The insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, also known as the War in North-West Pakistan or Pakistan's war on terror, is an ongoing armed conflict involving Pakistan and Islamist militant groups such as the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Jundallah, Lashkar-e-Islam (LeI), TNSM, al-Qaeda, and their Central Asian allies such as the ISIL–Khorasan (ISIL), Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, East Turkistan Movement, Emirate of Caucasus, and elements of organized crime. Formerly a war, it is now a low-level insurgency as of 2017.
Lieutenant General Muhammad Masood AslamHI (C) HI (M) SJ Imtiazi Sanad AFWC PSC is a retired three-star general who served in the Pakistan Army for 39 years. His last post in the Army was serving as the commander of the XI Corps, fighting TTP forces in the North-West Pakistan region from 2007 to 2010. He also held the post of Colonel commandant of the Punjab Regiment from March 2008 to April 2010. Masood played a key role in the management of crucial operations against the Tehrik-i-Taliban, including directing and commanding the First Battle of Swat, operations Zalzala, Sherdil, Rah-e-Rast and Rah-e-Nijat.
The Ahmadiyya branch of Islam has been subjected to various forms of religious persecution and discrimination since the movement's inception in 1889. The Ahmadiyya Muslim movement emerged within the Sunni tradition of Islam and its adherents believe in all of the five pillars and all of the articles of faith required of Muslims. Ahmadis are considered non-Muslims by many mainstream Muslims since they consider Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the movement, to be the promised Mahdi and Messiah awaited by the Muslims.
Mian Raza Rabbani is a Pakistani politician and lawyer who served as the 7th Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan from March 2015 to March 2018. He has been affiliated with the Pakistan Peoples Party since 1968.
The Pakistani Taliban, formally called the Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan, is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed militant groups operating along the Afghan–Pakistani border. Formed in 2007 by Baitullah Mehsud, its current leader is Noor Wali Mehsud, who has publicly pledged allegiance to the Afghan Taliban. The Pakistani Taliban share a common ideology with the Afghan Taliban and have assisted them in the 2001–2021 war, but the two groups have separate operation and command structures.
Immigration to Pakistan is the legal entry and settlement of foreign nationals in Pakistan. Immigration policy is overseen by the Interior Minister of Pakistan through the Directorate General Passports. Most immigrants are not eligible for citizenship or permanent residency, unless they are married to a Pakistani citizen or a Commonwealth citizen who has invested a minimum of PKR 5 million in the local economy.
The Muhajir people are Muslim immigrants of various ethnic groups and regional origins, and their descendants, who migrated from various regions of India after the Partition of India to settle in the newly independent state of Pakistan. The community includes those immigrants' descendants, most of whom are settled in Karachi and other parts of urban Sindh. The Muhajir community also includes stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh who migrated to Pakistan after 1971 following the secession of East Pakistan in the Bangladesh Liberation War.
The Pakistan Armed Forces have been criticized for eroding democratic processes in Pakistan, for being the largest business conglomeration in the country and for excessive control over the domestic and foreign policies of Pakistan. Critics of the Pakistan Army, such as human rights activist Manzoor Pashteen, have been jailed while like-minded Pakistani citizens are warned against criticizing the military establishment. In Pakistan, the military is considered a part of what is known as The Establishment; they control the state through a backdoor and are a part of a working deep state.