menu_open Columnists
Nadeem F. Paracha

Nadeem F. Paracha

Naya Daur

We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

SMOKERS’ CORNER: AFGHANISTAN'S ENDURING MYTH?

SMOKERS’ CORNER: AFGHANISTAN'S ENDURING MYTH?

The phrase "Afghanistan is the graveyard of empires" is perpetuated by the Taliban as a way to mythologise the image of the 'invincible' Afghan.

previous day 30

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: A HOLLOW MARCH

SMOKERS’ CORNER: A HOLLOW MARCH

Sectarian outfits in Pakistan, such as the TLP, remain outsiders to the ideological lineage of the Palestinian struggle they claim to defend.

19.10.2025 10

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: HASHTAG HEROES

SMOKERS’ CORNER: HASHTAG HEROES

From activists to politicians — societies routinely construct, romanticise and discard their chosen symbols of virtue and rebellion.

12.10.2025 10

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: ISLAMIC OR MUSLIM?

Constant interchangeable usage of the terms "Islamic" and "Muslim" in public discourse has resulted in an inability amongst most to understand the...

05.10.2025 10

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: WHEN SECULARISM BECOMES SACRED

Secular ideas, when imbued with sacred meaning, turn politics into a ‘moral mission’ and reshape democracy’s character in the

28.09.2025 70

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: POLITICS OF THE PITCH

Cricket, whether one likes it or not, is inescapably linked to the turbulent waters that Pak-India relations tread and to suggest

21.09.2025 50

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: THE HYBRID JUDICIARY

Years of ‘judicialisation’ have expanded courts’ role far beyond adjudication in Pakistan. Letters, lectures and public spats

14.09.2025 50

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: THE WATER WARS

From the Indus to the Rio Grande, rivers are no longer just lifelines — they are now battlefronts. As climate change shrinks and

06.09.2025 100

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: KARACHI AND THE PROVINCE QUESTION

Calls for new provinces in Pakistan often resurface with promises of solving governance crises. But Karachi’s long, tumultuous

31.08.2025 40

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: THE MYTH OF POPULIST UPRISINGS

From Washington DC and Brasília to Islamabad, populist uprisings have been framed as revolts of the people against

24.08.2025 40

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: THE SPECTRE OF 'WESTERNISATION'

For decades, Pakistan’s political and cultural discourse has been framed as a struggle against ‘Westernisation’. But the real

17.08.2025 100

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: PERCEPTIONS AND POPULARITY

The PPP’s hold over Sindh, despite what some may argue, isn’t because of weak opposition — it is the result of electoral functiona

10.08.2025 40

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: ISRAEL AND BALOCHISTAN

History offers examples of separatist movements succeeding with foreign help — but most often, they become pawns in geo-political rivalries. Is the...

05.08.2025 20

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: ISRAEL AND BALOCHISTAN

History offers examples of separatist movements succeeding with foreign help — but most often, they become pawns in geo-political

03.08.2025 60

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: THE MYTH OF THE 'ISLAMIST NATIONALIST’

Pakistan’s ideological evolution, from Muslim nationalism to Islamic nationalism, has often been misunderstood. Now, the

27.07.2025 40

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: THE EMERGING NEW GLOBAL ORDER

While Western nations and institutions still cling to a fading post-WWII framework, even as the ground beneath them shifts,

20.07.2025 70

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: DECODING PARTY POLITICS

The evolution of modern political parties, from groups created to protect the interests of the elite into structures that precip

13.07.2025 40

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: A RIVER BY ANY NAME

Like most fed only on Pakistani textbooks, the former minister of information Fawad Chaudhry is woefully ignorant about

06.07.2025 40

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: OLD MYTHMAKING FOR A NEW WORLD

As globalisation frays the fabric of civic nationalism, nation-states from India to Russia are embracing an older identity model — the...

29.06.2025 70

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: ISRAEL'S ALL-WEATHER ALLY

US-Israel relations are a pragmatic, policy-driven marriage that is now straining under growing criticism and domestic misgivings in the US.

22.06.2025 20

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: BRANDING IN THE AGE OF POLARISATION

As societies grow increasingly divided along political and cultural lines, and as consumer identities rapidly change, brands must

15.06.2025 40

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: THE LIES WE TELL OURSELVES

From Pakistan’s political myth-making to India’s media-fed fantasies of war, the truth is currently struggling against a tide of

06.06.2025 40

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: NATIONS AT CROSSROADS

If history is cyclical, as posited by some generational theorists, is Pakistan about to enter a new era of optimism and prosperit

01.06.2025 50

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: MIDDLE CLASS INDIA'S IDENTITY CRISIS

Indian social media posts babbling about alpha males, and the larger confusion in the country’s polity, are the result of a

25.05.2025 80

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: INDIA'S FAILED GAMBIT

India stoked a war expecting a ‘fractured’ Pakistan to crumble. Instead, it was met with unexpected national unity, military push

18.05.2025 50

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: BETWEEN DOGMA AND SURVIVAL

In an age of rising populism and fragile states, Pakistan’s ‘hybrid system’ may be less about democratic ideals and more about

11.05.2025 20

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: SEDUCED BY THE SPOTLIGHT

From viral videos to populist protests, fame in today’s world is fast, frequent and fleeting. But the pursuit of attention,

04.05.2025 30

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: MANUFACTURING POPULISM

Far from being a spontaneous uprising of the people, modern populism has evolved into a carefully curated performa

27.04.2025 10

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: THE DEATH OF FEUDALISM

Contrary to popular mainstream narratives, feudalism in Sindh has long been in decline as a new middle class

20.04.2025 60

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: SWALLOWING THE LEFT

The middle classes, in both the Global North and South, have co-opted the Left’s ideological tools to serve their own upwar

13.04.2025 20

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: THE FREE SPEECH PARADOX

The concept of ‘free speech’ is celebrated as a cornerstone of democracy, yet history shows that it has always been controversial

06.04.2025 40

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: HARD STATE, SOFT STATE

For decades, nations plagued by terrorism and political instability, such as Pakistan, have tried to project a ‘soft image’ to the world.

30.03.2025 60

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: THE BLA RECKONING

The banned Balochistan Liberation Army’s journey from radical student activism to a well-equipped militant force mirrors the

23.03.2025 50

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: YEAR ZERO IDEOLOGY

In an age where historical narratives are increasingly weaponised and distorted to serve contemporary agendas, are we

16.03.2025 50

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!

Cricket’s greatest captains have always harboured the ability to galvanise their teams when the odds seemed to be against them.

09.03.2025 30

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: REPEATABLE TRANSGRESSION

History has shown that transgressions by and against the state, when left unpunished, tend to resurface with greater

02.03.2025 70

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: FAITH IN FALSEHOODS

Despite the progress of science and reason, myths and conspiracy theories continue to thrive — even among educated people.

23.02.2025 50

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: THE END OF HISTORY?

Fukuyama’s famous thesis was meant to signal liberal democracy’s ultimate victory over all other political ideologies. But

16.02.2025 90

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: BIG TECH'S BIG RUSH

Technological advancements come with the notion that they are liberating people from the old, soulless forms of capitalism. But

09.02.2025 50

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: ROMANTIC NATIONALISM AND FAKE HISTORY

Pseudo-archaeology has played a big role in constructing mythical histories that feed into imagined pasts that ultimately only aid the political aims...

02.02.2025 30

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: ROMANTIC NATIONALISM ANDFAKE HISTORY

Pseudo-archaeology has played a big role in constructing mythical histories that feed into imagined pasts that ultimately only

02.02.2025 60

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: WESTERN BLIND SPOTS

As the far-right gains momentum across the West, Western academics long fixated on ‘fragile democracies’ in the Global

26.01.2025 20

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: POPULARISING POPULISM

Populism thrives as a political style rather than a concrete ideology, merging theatrics and emotional appeal to captivate the

19.01.2025 50

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: THE POLITICS OF BOYCOTTS AND BUYCOTTS

As youth-driven activism links consumption with ethics, many local alternatives are thriving by aligning themselves with

12.01.2025 50

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: THE CURSE OF 'COLLAPSOLOGY'

For over a decade now, several books have claimed that one country or the other is on the verge of ‘collapse’. Most of these books are about China....

05.01.2025 40

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: THE SELF-COUP

There’s an interesting term in political science called ‘self-coup.’ A self-coup is when an elected president or prime minister tries to retain or...

29.12.2024 30

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: THE SEIF-COUP

There’s an interesting term in political science called ‘self-coup.’ A self-coup is when an elected president or prime minister tries to retain or...

29.12.2024 8

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: THE MYTH OF 'WESTERNISATION'

In the April 1968 edition of a now defunct English daily, Business Post, one Yaqoob Sultan wrote an article in which he described a conversation he...

22.12.2024 20

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: THE ILLUSION oF AUTHENTICITY

'Authentic’ has become quite the buzzword — especially in the world of consumer brands, and even in politics. Apparently, Gen-Z is all about...

15.12.2024 10

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha

SMOKERS’ CORNER: THE EVOLUTION OF PARTIES

A party hoping to establish itself in the mainstream may evolve from the left or from the right. But the evolution is almost always towards finding...

08.12.2024 10

Dawn (Magazines)

Nadeem F. Paracha