Blogs
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When A Pakistani Journalist Called On Indira Gandhi
Sometimes the destiny grants your wish even when there seems no remote possibility of it. For veteran journalist Humaira Ather, a distant dream turned into a reality when she got the opportunity to interview Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi during her family visit to India in 1980.The journalist shared her meeting with the ‘Iron Lady’…
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Karachi Manholes Are Killing Our Children
On the night of November 30, three-year-old Ibrahim slipped into an uncovered manhole near Nipa Chowrangi in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi. He fell right in front of his mother. We can only imagine the shock and devastation she must have felt in that moment, watching her child disappear and being unable to do anything except stand there…
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Higher Education Not Catering To Market Needs
The academia in Pakistan is not aware of the gap between the graduates it has been producing and the market requirements. What is more alarming that the varsities even do not feel the need to measure this gap. As a result, a large number of graduates are being produced on an annual basis who do…
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Dos and don’ts of parenting
As it has been explained in a Hadith, the most precious gift the father can give to his children is a good upbringing. In the current age, the parents must be extra careful about parenting and good upbringing of their children as the outside world is full of disastrous things that can lead them astray…
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We Should Preach Islam With Wisdom And Politeness
Muslim clerics often represent Islam with a harsh manner. Instead of preaching the message of Islam in a polite way, they resort to reprimanding others, which repels people from the religion instead of bringing them towards it. Muslim scholar Syed Badiuddin Soharwardy made these apt remarks on a podcast on Off The School YouTube channel where he conversed with…
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Two years on: A glimpse into coverage of Gaza war by OTS
Today, October 7, 2025, marks the second anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel, after which Israel launched a full-scale war on Gaza, which continues till today. It has been reported that over 1,000 people were killed by Hamas in its surprise attack and incursion into Israel on October 7, 2023. Over 200 people were…
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Is English Media Biased Against the Right Wing in Pakistan?
The accusation that English media in Pakistan harbours a bias against the right wing is the subject of an ongoing debate. In a recent podcast on Off The School, journalist Zia Ur Rehman, who currently writes for The New York Times and has extensively covered Madaris and religious organisations of the country, provided valuable insight…
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Powers That Be Need To Engage Youth As Older Tactics To Suppress Dissent Will Not Work: Jibran Nasir
Thanks to social media, the Gen Z today starts getting political awareness as early as 12 years of age. The earlier generations — Millennials and Boomers — would get the same level of awareness when they were in their mid-20s and at that age, they had already assumed familial responsibilities, due to which they could…
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Saib Tabrizi – A Poet Who Wrote Thousands Of Ghazal Without Compromising On Quality
Among all the great poets of Persian, Saib Tabrizi produced the most poetry with thousands of ghazal. However, his poetry is a unique case where the quality seems not compromised by the huge quantity of his output. This was stated by literary scholar and poet Fazlullah Fani when he discussed the life and poetry of…
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Milad Events Help Spread Message Of Prophet Muhammad (S)
The celebrations of Eid Milad-un-Nabi are a cultural manifestation of the love, which the Muslims have for Prophet Muhammad (S). It is not a religious injunction that could be labelled as Farz or Wajib nor was this tradition of expressing joy on 12th Rabi-ul-Awwal initiated during the times of the Holy Prophet (S) or his…
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Scholar discusses rich literature on Seerat in Urdu
Maulana Shibli Nomani’s Seerat-un-Nabi written in Urdu holds the distinction among all other books written on the life of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), including those written in Arabic, that it offers a detailed discussion on the principles one should follow while writing on Seerat. Religious scholar and expert on the Seerat literature Syed…
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Society Must Have Rescue Systems In Place To Save Youths From Suicide
Our society has no rescue systems in place that may timely intervene and save such youths and teenagers from suicidal acts who feel that life in general, and their existence in particular, is devoid of any meaning and purpose. Literary scholar Ahmad Javaid made this remark at an Off The School podcast while discussing the…