“The province continues to be used for its strategic utility as a buffer zone,” says a BLA member.

“There are many style icons, but no fashion icons in Pakistan,” says designer Rizwan Beyg.

“Writers do not choose their genre, the genre chooses the writer,” says Shobhaa De.

“Young men and women don’t blow themselves up for the hell of it,” says filmmaker Jamil Dehlavi.

“I have a stubborn need to do movies that have female protagonists,” says filmmaker Tanuja Chandra.
Young and versatile, Tanuja Chandra seems determined to turn everything she tries her hand at into instant success. From journalism to acting and direction, to scriptwriting – she has made her mark in every genre, whether on television or on the silver screen. In Karachi for the KaraFilm Festival, where her first English film, Hope And A Little Sugar, featured as the Gala Opening Film, Chandra gave an exclusive interview to Newsline.

“The government has no involvement in the Fauji Foundation,” says Brigadier (retd) Syed Mujtaba,
Secretary to CBOD, Fauji Foundation.

“Several commentators in the western media who write on Islam know little about it,” says author William Dalrymple.
On his recent trip to Pakistan, this time for the launch of his latest book, The Last Mughal – once again courtesy The Citizens Foundation – William Dalrymple made himself available for a brief question and answer session, in the midst of signing books for buyers, and answering telephone calls. Excerpts from the interview…

“Religion can be abused like any other human activity,” says author Karen Armstrong.

“For me, going into space is meditative,” says artist and space traveller Namira Salim.

“Most development practitioners today do not understand the link between poverty and natural resources,” says Aban Marker Kabraji, Regional Director, IUCN, Asia.