Based out of Pakistan since 2019, I have covered a range of human rights, technology and climate stories – from the forced repatriation of Afghan refugees, to safe access to abortions, Chinese surveillance of local Uighur communities, Pakistan’s #MeToo resurgence, how the platform economy sets up women to fail, the women behind the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement, the weaponization of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, and the human cost of climate change in South Asia. 

Technology

How Careem went from Pakistan’s ride-hailing leader to stuck on the sidelines

Rest of World, June 2024

Aches, pains, and no health insurance for aging gig workers

Rest of World, May 2024

Forget retirement. Older people are turning to gig work to survive

Rest of World, May 2024

Bangladesh built a tech park for 100,000 workers. Now it’s a ghost town

Rest of World, April 2024

Catching a Break: How gig workers find rest

Rest of World, March 2024

This cab startup helped 100,000 drivers survive Sri Lanka’s economic crisis

Rest of World, March 2024

Riders in the Smog

Rest of World, February 2024

They wanted careers in tech. They’re stuck as TikTok moderators

Rest of World, February 2024

Pakistan’s aggressive EV goals hit a roadblock: An engineer shortage

Rest of World, January 2024

Sri Lanka tech workers demand pay in dollars or euros after rupee crashes

Rest of World, November 2023

Uber slashes fees in Bangladesh as drivers keep taking rides offline

Rest of World, November 2023

InDrive wanted to make ride-hailing fairer. Drivers say it has made them poorer

Rest of World, October 2023

Laid-off workers hesitate to rejoin Pakistan’s yo-yoing phone assembly industry

Rest of World, October 2023

Drive fast and carry a fake wallet: How Pakistan’s gig workers stay safe

Rest of World, September 2023

Pakistan’s tech workers are fleeing the country in droves

Rest of World, September 2023

Tears of a get-rich-quick guru

Rest of World, August 2023

Women were celebrated as the face of gig work in Pakistan. They’re quitting the industry

Rest of World, August 2023

Ride-hailing in Pakistan: A driver’s endless struggle for a clean car

Rest of World, August 2023

A U.S. outsourcing company brought lofty promises to Nepal. Then came the layoffs

Rest of World, July 2023

Bangladesh’s historic heat wave is making work “living hell” for IT workers

Rest of World, July 2023

Pakistan’s gig workers still feel the pain of Airlift’s implosion, one year on

Rest of World, June 2023

Pakistan’s 4-day internet shutdown was the final straw for its tech workers

Rest of World, June 2023

Scams are ruining Pakistan’s digital economy

WIRED, March 2023

Pakistan’s three-day Wikipedia ban sends a “dangerous” message

Rest of World, February 2023

Amazon finally authorized Pakistani sellers. A wave of scammers followed

Rest of World, January 2023

Inside the Pakistani city at the heart of Alibaba’s global expansion strategy

Rest of World, September 2022

How to buy a sari in Lahore

Rest of World, July 2022

Who will be Pakistan’s first unicorn?

Rest of World, May 2022

Asia’s largest food delivery platform Foodpanda stumbles in Pakistan, too

Rest of World, March 2022

Airlift Mafia: Pakistan’s buzziest startup has created a new class of founders

Rest of World, March 2022

Digital Rights & Feminist Futures

Goethe Institut, December 2021

Pakistan’s tech ecosystem is booming. Here’s why it will slow down in 2022

Rest of World, November 2021

How the platform economy sets women up to fail

Rest of World, SEPTEMBER 2021

Amazon finally opens its marketplace to merchants from Pakistan

Rest of World, May 2021

Amazon banned merchants from Pakistan, but they’re still finding a way onto the platform

Rest of World, April 2021

With No Formal Sex-Ed, Pakistanis Turn to The Internet

The Juggernaut, November 2020

Pakistani Women Said #MeToo — Now They’re Getting Sued

The Juggernaut, October 2020

Pakistan Is Using a Terrorism Surveillance System to Monitor the Pandemic

Slate, July 2020

Climate

16 Children Died Within Days. Experts Blame This Megacity’s Toxic Air.

VICE, February 2023

Big Promises were made at COP27. Where’s the money?

VICE, November 2022

The Devastating Colonial Legacy of Dams in Pakistan

The Juggernaut, November 2022

Karachi: Fighting an unfolding climate apocalypse

The Sinking Cities Project, October 2022

Republished in Scroll.in and The Third Pole.

Pakistan floods pose urgent questions over preparedness and climate reparations

The New Humanitarian, September 2022

Scant hope for relief as repeated heat waves scorch Pakistan

The New Humanitarian, May 2022

Early Heatwaves Foreshadow Uncertain Future in South Asia

The Third Pole, April 2021

Human Rights

Pakistan faith groups restricted from supporting Afghan refugees

Devex, October 2021

Pakistan’s Blasphemy Laws Are Politically Toxic—and Often Lethal

World Politics Review, October 2021

In Pakistan, Legacy of Fake CIA Vaccination Programs Leads to Vaccine Hesitancy

VICE, March 2021

Protest and Purdah in Pakistan

Foreign Policy, January 2021

Pakistani Women Said #MeToo — Now They’re Getting Sued

The Juggernaut, October 2020

Harassment scandal at girls’ school spurs Pakistan #MeToo movement

The National, July 2020

In Pakistan, the Army Tightens Its Grip

Foreign Policy, July 2020

In Pakistan, the pandemic exacerbates precarious conditions for journalists

Ethical Journalism Network, June 2020

Doctors without Armour

Himal Southasian, April 2020

Is Abortion Legal in Pakistan?

Soch Writing, February 2020

Afterlives of the Empress

Soch Writing, February 2020

Karachi’s Missing Children

Soch Writing, September 2020

China Is Trying To Spy On Pakistan’s Uighurs

Buzzfeed News, June 2019

For Afghan Refugees, Pakistan Is a Nightmare—but Also Home

Foreign Policy, May 2019

Firebranding the Frontier: The Women of the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement

Jamhoor, May 2019

Culture

Many Pakistanis dig the cultural nods on ‘Ms. Marvel’ but are mixed on casting

National Public Radio, June 2022

A Border Apart: Stories of Families Divided by Partition

The Juggernaut, October 2021

Why Most Pakistanis Can’t See The Film Pakistan Is Submitting For An Oscar Nod

National Public Radio, February 2021

Pakistan’s Trans TikTok Stars

The Juggernaut, January 2021