In The Land Of The Pure, Kenize Mourad
Pakistan isn’t an easy country to explain and it is often difficult to capture in fiction given the overwhelming environment which is a challenge to describe. Mourad who wrote the original in French manages to do both and one can only imagine what a treat this must be in its original language.
Translated by Leila Samy, Mourad weaves a thriller set in Pakistan comprising of strands that are familiar to Pakistanis but may not fully be comprehended by non-Pakistanis. She captures the varying worlds that exist alongside each other, not always in peace, but somehow manage to huddle together in the realisation that they’re in this on their own.
Compiling political events, minority communities suffering with democratic subjugation at the hands of praetorianism, the varying perspectives over what are seen as crimes and the complex geopolitical relationships’ trickle down damage, Mourad explains Pakistan as a whole through her characters experience instead of pontifying.
For a non-Pakistani, this book is rich introduction into how state and society functions with all its joys and fears. It may leave the reader bemused at how deftly Mourad can switch from conversations surrounding the military’s role in creating terrorist organisations to the joys of chocolate ice cream at Hotspot. But there’s no denying, that does sum up Pakistan.
The Ritual Of Elections In Pakistan (1970-2018): A Process Without A Product, Dr Ijaz Shafi Gilani
Gilani writes that “fifty years on from my personal engagement with Pakistan’s first national election as an active participant and observer, sustained through all of the ten episodes which followed I strongly felt an obligation to share my learnings of whatever humble value.”
Easy to see as yet another analysis of Pakistan, Gilani offers a deep dive into the past 11 elections by teasing out the varying threads of each election in a meticulous study of What Happens in a Pakistani election. Using data, Gilani approaches the study through a theatrical lens with seven acts from where the first act is the starting point from a previous episode to the seventh act in which an election is called. In between are the all-too-familiar acts of the opposition not being happy and the government being dismissed only for the cycle of tried and tested behaviour of uncertainty to be conducted out and there is a return to Act 1.
To explain all this, Gilani delves into the foundational, instrumental and contextual factors to lay a solid foundation of examining why the model of liberal democracy that works in the WENA context fails spectacularly in Pakistan. Painstakingly detailing the voter, analysing voter preferences, mapping out the relationship between the voter and the political parties, comparing the various political parties, this is a study that is unmatched in Pakistan.
A necessary read for anyone looking for solid research and an understanding of Pakistan’s electoral history, this book ought to be part of the national curriculum.
Pearls and Shards, Iftikhar H Malik
Not enough credit is given to Pakistani fiction writers who despite the severe lack of support or appreciation continue to soldier on, in the hope that their stories will find a home in the hearts of their readers. Dr Iftikhar Malik’s debut novel is one of those rare books that will not only make you feel sorry for those who scorn Pakistani fiction but also leave a strange, lingering feeling in your heart and mind that you identify as a longing for the past.
Youth is so beautiful and almost everyone who has had the privilege of higher education will have a story from their college days to tell. This is the world Dr. Malik constructs of college days but far from being nostalgic, he weaves an intriguing story with characters spanning Britain, Pakistan, the US and Japan in the 1970s. Elements of intellectualism, academic culture, romance, humour and that precious joie de vivre which comes with youth, are the strands of what really is a story of history and human connection.
Truly a treat, the journey one goes through while reading this is akin to that of travelling back into a world that no longer exists, realising the essence of history and how silently, almost cruelly, time passes by and what is once cherished - the beauty of youth - is but a mere moment in the grand scheme of things.
The Path I Made: A Memoir, Tasnim Ahsan
A common lament is that there aren’t enough females telling their stories to younger females. Tasnim Ahsan’s biography is an example of how a female leader’s story ought to be told.
As the first female Executive Director of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), Ahsan holds the distinction of belonging to the first generation of working women in her family. Navigating family and society is one thing but how does one carve out a career in a city like Karachi especially when the city was besieged by terrorism? One particular harrowing incident that Ahsan narrates is when she was confronted with a bullet when she was due to work as an examiner.
Detailing her family life and career, Ahsan’s story is one of merging duty and dedication to create a balance that enabled her to do justice to both. Her personal journey is an extraordinary is also a reflection of Pakistan’s own journey and one feels that while gains are made when women enter the workforce, the price women pay can hurt in many ways that men may not always understand. But with a desire to serve, Ahsan’s story is one of dignity and how a life well lived is not one without struggle.