I'm back

I haven't written/posted much for this space in the last 5 years. The last things I posted here were my recollections of being in the United States as a newbie, a fresh-off-the-boat guy who was searching for a residency position, his place in this country and perhaps his own identity. In the meanwhile, I did find a residency spot, I got married, I became a citizen of the United States, and most importantly, father to a beautiful boy. I started blogging in the early 2010s because I had a lot to say and I was undergoing a transformation in my life. I started off with this blog, moved on to Pak Tea House (which is not alive anymore), then to Dawn blogs, The Friday Times, rarely Pakistan Today, and eventually to The News and The Nation. Digital media is not considered very important in mainstream Pakistani newspapers, thus a simple domain name change can wipe off decades worth of archives. If you gooogle my name today with The News and Pakistan Today, for example, you won't be able to find my work that was published there in the early 2010s. The same happened with Lok Sujag's website. 

I haven't lived in Pakistan for almost six years now, and even though I keep an eye on what is happening there in the political space, I don't have much to add. Years ago, my mentor and friend Wajahat Masood told me to avoid pontificating to "fellow countrymen" from abroad as much as possible. I took his advice to heart. I wrote occasional things in the past few years, some satirical pieces for 'The Dependent', a one-off thing for 'The News', some for 'Hum Sub' and occasional musings for 'Brown Pundits'. I still have a lot to say, but little time, with medical training and parenthood as major time-consumers. There are also few outlets for me to express my thoughts and ideas beside this blog. News media in Pakistan is constantly under threat and Brown Pundits is teeming with one-dimensional nationalists. So here it is, a second life for this space, as and when time allows.