2024-03-02 18:53
Being convicted of the charge can bring a death sentence in the country. But simply being accused of disrespect toward Islam can also be enough to get a person killed. By Zia Ur Rehman Repor… Read More
Blog Directory > Politics Blogs > Zia Ur Rehman Writes | Journalist and Researcher politics Blog >
Zia Ur Rehman Writes | Journalist And Researcher Blog
afpakwatch.wordpress.com
Journalist and Researcher
2023-11-22 19:05
By Zia ur-Rehman Reporting from Karachi, Pakistan Nov. 23, 2023 On the day Baz Gul’s world was shattered, he was out scavenging garbage with his 10-year-old son, hoping to earn a… Read More
2023-05-02 19:09
Terror attacks have spiked in parts of Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province — a region that had hosted the Taliban’s top leadership prior to the fall of Kabul in 20… Read More
2022-03-22 16:51
By Zia ur-Rehman and Salman Masood March 20, 2022 KARACHI, Pakistan — Last month, a man named Muhammad Mushtaq was accused of burning pages of the Quran inside a mosque in central Paki… Read More
2021-10-15 15:41
By Zia Ur Rehman, Contributing writer October 15, 2021 https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Belt-and-Road/Taliban-crack-down-on-Pakistani-militants-targeting-Belt-and-Road ISLAMABAD &mdas&hell…Read More
2021-10-12 16:12
By Paul Mozur and Zia ur-Rehman Aug. 20, 2021 In one video, a Taliban official reassured female health workers that they could keep their jobs. In another, mili… Read More
2021-09-28 15:50
ZIA UR REHMAN, Contributing writer September 28, 2021 https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/Afghanistan-turmoil/Islamabad-deeply-alarmed-by-rise-in-Pakistan-Taliban… Read More
2021-09-16 16:02
ZIA UR REHMAN, Contributing writer September 15, 2021 https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/Afghanistan-turmoil/Afghan-chaos-mounts-as-ISIS-K-tries-to-tarnish-Taliba… Read More
2021-09-08 15:30
By Zia Ur-Rehman Published Sept. 8, 2021 Updated Sept. 13, 2021 TORKHAM, Pakistan — The Taliban, thankfully, didn’t figure out Mohammad was a police officer. Mohammad… Read More
2021-08-23 16:26
By Zia Ur Rehman August 23, 2021 https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/how-taliban-s-sweep-in-afghanistan-changed-pakistan-s-security-priorities-49409 Islamabad’s recent outreach to Baloch… Read More
2021-08-18 16:34
https://time.com/6091056/afghanistan-refugees-pakistan BY SABRINA TOPPA AND ZIA UR REHMAN/ KARACHI, PAKISTAN AUGUST 18, 2021 When the Taliban first waved the flag of… Read More
2021-04-15 17:52
Pakistan’s military intelligence stayed allied to both the Americans and Taliban through the war. But now Pakistan may face intensified extremism and chaos at home as a result of a per… Read More
2021-04-14 10:50
By Zia Ur Rehman July 31, 2017 https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/220108-Pro-Mumtaz-Qadri-religious-group-morphing-into-militant-outfit Casting aspersions on the activities of the Tehreek Labb… Read More
2021-03-02 17:21
By Zia Ur Rehman 2 MAR 2021 https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/pakistan-s-shia-mercenaries-return-from-syria-posing-a-security-threat-44655 KARACHI — Wajid Ali, a 16-year-old resi… Read More
2021-02-08 12:47
By Zia ur-Rehman and Sameer Yasir Feb. 8, 2021 KARACHI, Pakistan — Some climbers call it “the savage mountain.” K2 stands as the world’s second-ta… Read More
2021-01-03 17:15
By Zia Ur-Rehman and Emily Schmall December 24, 2020 KARACHI, Pakistan — A Pakistani court on Thursday ordered the release of four men being held over the 2002 abduction and killing of… Read More
2020-12-19 17:23
By Zia ur-Rehman and Emily Schmall Dec. 19, 2020 KARACHI, Pakistan — Iqbal Shaheen, a taxi driver, drove his sick father to this city’s three main hospitals. All o… Read More
2020-10-09 12:46
ZIA UR REHMAN, Contributing writer October 1, 2020 https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/Pakistan-considers-TikTok-ban-over-vulgar-content ISLAMABAD — While the U.S… Read More
2020-09-25 09:01
By Zia Ur Rehman September 25, 2020 https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/pakistan-s-gilgit-baltistan-between-the-kashmir-conflict-and-china-40053 ISLAMABAD — As legislative elections… Read More
2020-09-23 17:37
By Zia ur-Rehman and Salman Masood Sept. 23, 2020 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/23/world/asia/pakistan-garment-factory-fire.html KARACHI, Pakistan — Eight years after… Read More
2020-09-21 09:38
By Zia Ur Rehman September 9, 2020 https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Belt-and-Road/Reunified-Pakistani-Taliban-threatens-China-s-Belt-and-Road PESHAWAR, Pakistan — As peace negotiation… Read More
2020-08-04 16:43
By Maria Abi-Habib and Zia Ur-Rehman Aug. 4, 2020 The Hindus performed the prayer rituals awkwardly in supplication to their new, single god, as they prepared to leave their many deit… Read More
2020-06-14 12:41
By Zia ur-Rehman, Salman Masood and Maria Abi-Habib June 15, 2020 KARACHI — Pakistanis stricken by the coronavirus are being turned away from hospital… Read More
2020-06-07 10:50
By Zia Ur Rehman June 7, 2020 https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/668374-the-crackdown-intensifies The recent banning of the Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz-Aresar (JSQM-A) – along with two u… Read More
2020-05-21 11:11
By Zia Ur Rehman May 21, 2020 https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Belt-and-Road/Pakistan-bans-political-party-critical-of-China-s-Belt-and-Road Pakistan has banned a political party well known… Read More
2020-05-04 13:04
By Zia Ur-Rehman and Maria Abi Habib May 4, 2020 KARACHI, Pakistan — Before Jamshed Eric plunges deep below Karachi’s streets to clean out clogged sewers with his bare hands, he… Read More
2020-04-30 12:09
By Zia Ur Rehman April 28, 2020 https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/650682- Maulana Hamid Sharif, a religious teacher, manages a madrasa and a mosque adjacent to it in the Orangi Town locality… Read More
2020-04-23 12:19
By Maria Abi-Habib and Zia Ur-Rehman April 23, 2020 While clerics and governments across the Muslim world will greet Ramadan this week under lockdown, working together to shut mosques and ur… Read More
2020-04-13 18:40
By Zia Ur Rehman April 13, 2020 https://pakistan.asia-news.com/en_GB/articles/cnmi_pf/features/2020/04/13/feature-02 KARACHI — A female police officer in Karachi is winning praise for… Read More
2020-03-26 15:00
By Zia ur-Rehman, Maria Abi-Habib, Ihsanullah Tipu Mehsud and Sainya Bashir March 26, 2020 KARACHI, Pakistan — Doctors are refusing to show up for work. Clerics are refus… Read More
2020-03-12 10:19
Zia Ur Rehman March 11, 2015 https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/627109-from-nine-zero-to-ground-zero-a-groundbreaking-raid-that-ended-mqm-s-reign-of-fear A groundbreaking raid was conducted by… Read More
2020-02-23 09:26
By Zia Ur Rehman January 23, 2020 https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/618012-politics-around-higher-education On January 29, Asad Umar, the federal minister for planning, development and s… Read More
2020-02-15 09:20
ضیاء الرحمٰن صحافی ہفتہ 15 فروری 20… Read More
2020-02-05 08:51
By Zia Ur Rehman January 8, 2020 https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/pakistan-s-trouble-with-accepting-campus-politics-32797 Student unions were banned in the country in the 1980s but now Imra… Read More
2020-02-04 08:45
By Zia Ur Rehman February 4, 2020 https://pakistan.asia-news.com/en_GB/articles/cnmi_pf/features/2020/02/04/feature-01 SHIKARPUR, Sindh — Relatives of worshippers killed or inju… Read More
2020-01-26 08:38
By Zia Ur Rehman January 26, 2020 https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/603489-a-thriving-thaana-culture Haider Ali, a mobile phone technician, wanted to lodge a report with the police about… Read More
2020-01-19 08:27
There couldn’t have been a better time for Dr Riaz Shaikh to launch his book on student politics – for similarities between the 1950s and now are too stark By Zia Ur Rehman Janua… Read More
2020-01-11 13:18
By Salman Masood and Zia Ur-Rehman Jan 10, 2012 LAHORE, Pakistan — A bomb blast inside a mosque in southwestern Pakistan, believed to be frequented by senior Taliban figures, ki… Read More
2019-12-18 13:02
Pakistan’s neglected Thar desert region suffers from every development hurdle you can name, but its recently accelerated growth is leaving its residents further behind. By Zia Ur Rehma… Read More
2019-11-10 12:15
The News on Sunday November 10, 2019 https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/568841-guardians-rallies By Zia Ur Rehman The photos and videos of Ansarul Islam (AI), the volunteer force o… Read More
2019-10-26 12:02
By Zia Ur Rehman and Maria Abi Habib October 26, 2019 RATODERO, Pakistan — Nearly 900 children in the small Pakistani city of Ratodero were bedridden early this year with… Read More
2019-10-15 13:02
Although Islamabad has always supported Kashmir’s UN-sanctioned Right to Self Determination, it has also been wary of Kashmiri nationalism that envisions a state free from both India a… Read More
2019-10-08 12:40
By Thomas Gibbons-Neff Mujib Mashal contributed reporting from Kabul, and Zia ur-Rehman from Karachi, Pakistan. Oct 8, 2019 KABUL — American and Afghan commandos killed the head o… Read More
2019-10-05 12:56
by Maria Abi-Habib Hari Kumar contributed reporting from Jodhpur, India, and Zia ur-Rehman from Karachi, Pakistan. October 5, 2019 JODHPUR, India — By the time an angry Muslim mob &hell…Read More
2019-10-05 12:01
By Zia Ur Rehman October 5, 2019 https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/536300-nlf-s-50-years-analysing-the-only-islamic-labour-group-in-country To mark its golden jubilee celebrations, the Nation… Read More
2019-09-30 12:18
by Zia Ur Rehman September 30, 2018 https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/533878-sindh-s-sikhs-prepare-for-nagar-kirtan-train-procession-for-guru-nanak-s-550th-birthday Keen on being part of the… Read More
2019-09-22 13:00
By Zia Ur Rehman Sep 22, 2019 http://tns.thenews.com.pk/politics-waste/#.XaRwqdIzbcs The recent monsoon rains in Karachi left in their wake loads of trash and choked sewers, which the city a… Read More
2019-09-19 18:16
By Zia Ur Rehman September 15, 2019 http://tns.thenews.com.pk/easy-task/#.XYPE8fAzbcs Pakistan is finally making headway on its pledge to bring more than 30,000 madrassas – home to som… Read More
2019-09-07 12:08
By Zia Ur Rehman September 5, 2019 https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/522207-pti-mna-who-defeated-bilawal-in-lyari-considers-resigning Among the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) 14 MNAs… Read More
2019-09-05 11:46
At least 14,000 people have been bitten by stray dogs in the last eight months, while the municipality struggles to address both public anger and pro-dog advocacy of animal rights groups. By… Read More
2019-09-04 08:24
Zia Ur Rehman September 1, 2019 http://tns.thenews.com.pk/politics-gang-culture/#.XW9yw_Azbcs he recent kidnapping of a Sindhi folksinger and the killing of a senior police officer in Shikar… Read More
2019-08-30 12:33
By Hugh Tomlinson and Zia Ur Rehman August 27, 2019 https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/are-imran-khan-s-madrasses-reforms-just-window-dressing-xnlwm98nm In the days before Imran Khan… Read More
2019-08-16 07:03
by Zia Ur Rehman August 16, 2019 https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/512503-rakhsha-bandhan-a-bond-of-love-and-respect Members of the Hindu community in Karachi, like everywhere else around the… Read More
2019-08-04 13:19
By Zia Ur Rehman July 30, 2019 http://pakistan.asia-news.com/en_GB/articles/cnmi_pf/features/2019/07/30/feature-01 KARACHI — Afghan refugee women living in Karachi are gaining v… Read More
2019-08-01 07:28
Zia Ur Rehman, July 19, 2019 https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/what-s-behind-the-us-decision-to-proscribe-a-baloch-militant-group-28363 The US decision last week to designate a Pakistani sep… Read More
2019-07-17 16:02
by Zia Ur Rehman July 14, 2019 http://tns.thenews.com.pk/power-fades-away/#.XVLd494zbcs Last week, Kehar Ansari, the Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM) secretary general, announced his decision t… Read More
2019-06-30 09:57
The publication of one of the many jihadi newspapers, Zarb-e-Momin has stopped for reasons unknown. The big question is, will it re-emerge to spread its message of extremism? By Zia Ur Rehma… Read More
2019-06-27 10:07
by Zia Ur Rehman June 27, 2019 http://pakistan.asia-news.com/en_GB/articles/cnmi_pf/features/2019/06/27/feature-02 KARACHI — The killing in Sindh Province of a top commander of a South… Read More
2019-06-27 09:31
by Zia Ur Rehman June 27, 2019 https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/490144-fishermen-s-rally-demands-pakistan-should-stop-using-fossil-fuels Joining the global campaign demanding from nat… Read More
2019-05-28 09:45
By Salman Masood, Mujib Mashal and Zia ur-Rehman May 28, 2019 ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan’s powerful military has seemed unstoppable recently in getting wha… Read More
2019-05-20 09:50
By Zia Ur Rehman May 20, 2019 https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/pakistani-madrassas-an-indispensable-institution-a-worry-for-the-state-26787 KARACHI— Mukaram Ali, a 28-year-old ma… Read More
2019-05-17 15:56
Scholar Simon Wolfgang Fuchs in his recently published seminal work traces the rise of Shias in Pakistan By Zia Ur Rehman June 9, 2019 http://tns.thenews.com.pk/shia-islam-colonial-india-pak… Read More
2019-05-12 15:49
Former Fata is gearing up for its first-ever provincial assembly election by Zia Ur Rehman May 12, 2019 http://tns.thenews.com.pk/new-beginning/#.XRjZGj8zbcs Sitting at a tea stall in the ba… Read More
2019-04-18 12:05
by Zia Ur Rehman TRT World April 18, 2019 https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/pakistani-taliban-between-infighting-government-crackdowns-and-daesh-25976 SOUTH WAZIRISTAN, Pakistan — &hell…Read More
2019-03-31 09:01
By Zia Ur Rehman March 31, 201 http://tns.thenews.com.pk/rinkle-kumari-reena-raveena/#.XKCAdtIzbcs It was on March 20 — the day of the Holi festival — that a video of the father… Read More
2019-03-28 12:16
By Zia Ur Rehman March 24, 2019 http://tns.thenews.com.pk/gerrymandering-karachi/#.XKiLhtIzbcs Although relations between Pakistan People’s Party-led Sindh government and Muttahida Qau… Read More
2019-03-28 09:08
By Zia Ur Rehman March 28, 2019 https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/449647-crackdown-against-use-of-banned-fishing-nets-starts As fishermen have continuously been expressing their concer… Read More
2019-03-21 09:11
By Zia Ur Rehman March 21, 2019 https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/446571-community-based-force-planned-to-protect-churches-in-karachi After the recent worldwide incidents of attacks on the pl… Read More
2019-01-31 13:20
By Zia Ur Rehman January 28, 2019 https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/424486-mqm-p-returns-triumphant-in-ps-94-landhi Though the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) is still struggling to… Read More
2019-01-24 13:23
By Zia Ur Rehman Geo.tv January 24, 2019 https://www.geo.tv/latest/224594-could-old-and-new-rivals-deprive-mqm-p-of-a-win-in-the-ps-94-by-poll With the slogan “Apna Vote Apno Ke Liye&r&hell…Read More
2019-01-02 13:51
By Zia Ur Rehman Karachi January 2, 2019 Amid ongoing against the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan across the country, including Karachi, the religious group claimed that its candidate has been ba… Read More
2018-12-31 10:48
By Taimoor Shah, Mujib Mashal and Zia ur-Rehman December 27, 2018 KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — After the Chinese Consulate in a major Pakistani city was attacked by a squad of suicide… Read More
2018-12-25 10:52
By Zia Ur Rehman December 25, 2018 https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/410357-local-government-by-polls-prove-breath-of-fresh-air-for-muttahida Amid slim turnout in the Sunday by-elections for… Read More
2018-12-21 12:51
By Zia Ur Rehman December 21, 2018 https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/408680-madrasas-body-demands-end-to-harassment-of-clerics Expressing concern over arrests and harassment of religious scho… Read More
2018-12-14 11:48
By Zia Ur Rehman December 9, 2018 http://tns.thenews.com.pk/militant-north-countrys-south/#.XBOXu4szbct Firdous Khokhar is among the tens of thousands of devotees of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar who… Read More
2018-10-16 15:15
By Zia Ur Rehman October 16, 2018 https://www.geo.tv/latest/214854-the-ttp-cornered-and-desperate The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is on the backfoot. Nearly 11 years after it was formed… Read More
2018-09-20 11:20
By Zia Ur Rehman July 10, 2018 Geo.tv https://www.geo.tv/latest/210383-who-will-pull-the-plug-on-the-mqm-p-and-pti-alliance Cracks within the organisational structure of Muttahida Qaumi Move… Read More
2018-08-14 11:52
By Zia Ur Rehman July 30,, 2018 https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/347975-kp-voting-trends-swayed-karachi-s-pashtuns-to-stamp-the-bat Following the electoral trends in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP)… Read More
2018-08-09 08:57
By Zia Ur Rehman July 29, 2018 https://indianexpress.com/article/pakistan/pakistan-election-2018-karachi-after-30-years-mqm-falls-pti-rises-5281051/ A few days before the general elections… Read More
2018-08-08 07:02
By Zia Ur Rehman July 28, 2018 https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/347105-after-more-than-40-years-of-fierce-loyalty-lyari-votes-ppp-out As the elections results poured in, a large numbe… Read More
2018-07-24 19:17
By Maria Abi-Habib and Zia Ur-Rehman July 23, 2018 8KARACHI, Pakistan — Karachi’s residents will go to the polls angry this week. The city, Pakistan’s economic powerhouse… Read More
2018-07-23 13:38
By Maria Abi-Habib, Shah Meer Baloch and Zia ur-Rehman KARACHI, Pakistan — Aurangzeb Farooqi is a leader of a political party that is banned in Pakistan for espousi… Read More
2018-07-12 05:06
By Zia Ur Rehman July 8, 2018 http://tns.thenews.com.pk/vying-seats-volatile-city/#.W0bhFi2B3ed With the general elections just 17 days away, the political temperature in Karachi has risen a… Read More
2018-07-08 20:40
By Zia Ur Rehman July 7, 2018 https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/338370-political-parties-in-talks-to-woo-shia-voters The Shia community’s vote bank in some of Karachi’s constituen… Read More
2018-07-06 06:23
By Zia Ur Rehman July 4, 2018 https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/337197-lyari-s-disgruntled-voters-wary-of-ppp-s-performance-nominated-candidates Lyari’s Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai Road wa… Read More
2018-07-03 19:57
By Zia Ur Rehman The News International July 2, 2018 https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/336085-despite-riding-mma-bandwagon-ji-s-chances-of-finding-success-in-karachi-still-faint Instrumental… Read More
2018-06-29 07:18
The News Internatioanl By Zia Ur Rehman January 17, 2018 https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/334085-how-does-noor-wali-as-ttp-chief-bode-for-karachi-s-pashtuns The news of Mufti Noor Wali repla… Read More
2018-06-26 14:36
By Zia Ur-Rehman and Maria Abi-Habib June 24, 2018 KARACHI, Pakistan — Pakistan’s Taliban has named as its new leader, a religious scholar known for running brutal… Read More
2018-06-23 18:36
Terming it a “revival” of Barelvi groups in Karachi, several Barelvi groups, such as the Jamaat Ahle Sunnat, and local Milad committees have announced their support for the TLP i… Read More
2018-06-23 18:16
The ASWJ, under the banner of the Pak Rah-e-Haq Party (PRHP), a political party registered with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), has been fielding its candidates in selected consti… Read More
2018-06-14 06:33
By Zia Ur Rehman June 13, 2018 https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/328992-jud-offshoot-announces-its-general-election-candidates-for-karachi The Milli Muslim League’s (MML) Karachi chapte… Read More
2018-06-04 06:43
By Zia Ur Rehman The News International June 4, 2018 https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/325297-anp-hopes-to-reclaim-lost-turf-in-general-elections Although the Awami National Party has been fi… Read More
2018-02-07 06:50
By Zia Ur Rehman Feb 7 , 2018 https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/285926-madrasas-refuse-to-share-info-with-special-branch Since the National Action Plan was put in place in 2015, the progress… Read More
2016-03-11 09:19
By Zia Ur Rehman March 7, 2016 http://www.thenews.com.pk/print/103318-Remembering-veteran-Pashtun-leader-Amin-Khattak Karachi Like a number of journalists, and political and civil society ac… Read More
2016-03-11 08:57
By Zia Ur Rehman March 9, 2016 http://thenews.com.pk/print/103984-P Incapable of maintaining their hegemony following the Rangers-led operation, gangsters now targeting area’s pol… Read More
2016-03-11 08:49
By Zia Ur Rehman March 6, 2016 http://tns.thenews.com.pk/price-border-crossing/#.VuAKJ3195kg Since the past several years, Haji Sohrab, a representative of Afghan refugees in Karachi, has be… Read More
2016-01-30 04:43
By Zia Ur Rehman January 11, 2016 http://www.thenews.com.pk/print/89365-Rivals-gang-up-to-snatch-two-districts-from-MQMs-jaws Karachi With the Muttahida Qaumi Movement set to easily form its… Read More
2016-01-30 04:36
By Zia Ur Rehman January 15, 2016 http://www.thenews.com.pk/print/90379-Several-JeM-activists-sympathisers-arrested-in-crackdown Karachi In the ongoing countrywide crackdown against the Jais… Read More
2016-01-30 04:28
by Zia Ur Rehman January 19. 2-16 http://www.thenews.com.pk/print/92045-Sindh-mosques-to-have-uniform-Friday-sermon Karachi: The Sindh government announced on Monday that it would issue… Read More
2016-01-30 04:23
By Zia Ur Rehman January 30, 2016 Karachi http://www.thenews.com.pk/print/94801-Independent-panel-formed-to-ensure-transparency-in-census With the sixth national population and housing censu… Read More
Subscribe to Zia Ur Rehman Writes | Journalist And Researcher
Get updates delivered right to your inbox!