Based out of Pakistan since 2019, I have covered a range of subjects on the human rights, technology and climate beats – 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
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