beena sarwar

Journalist, filmmaker #democracy #humanrights #media #gender #peace #Nieman #Chevening #ADHDadvocate @southasiapeace, Editor @sapannews @amankiasha_1

[William Dalrymple @DalrympleWill]

Anyone who wants to help desperate Palestinian farmers in the West Bank fighting for their very survival should consider googling @Zaytoun_CIC for the most delicious olive oil ever... and also spectacular Mejdoul dates, amazing smokey freekeh and best of all, their unbelievable zesty zaatar.

Zaytoun - Ethical Superstore https://t.co/AdcAkGlJSD

[Kanak Mani Dixit @KanakManiDixit]

Dorje Lhakpa from Patan Dhoka.
Pic by Miku Dixit

[Kanak Mani Dixit @KanakManiDixit]

Yesterday’s panorama from Matatirtha: Swoniga Valley framed by panorama, Langtang Himal to Khumbu Himal.

[Amitava Kumar @amitavakumar]

Sometimes the book you write finds the right reader. Here is James Wood on my novel in the New Yorker magazine.
https://t.co/3m0NT0gwmH

[Robert Reich @RBReich]

Taxing the rich is absolutely essential to saving our economy and our democracy.

Don't believe me? Look at this chart.

[Raja Muzaffar @Rajammuzaffar]

@NasimZehra Nasim Zehra, a respected Pakistani journalist and public intellectual, shared your story of Abu Bilal — the man who sealed his books behind a wall in 2011 and, fifteen years later, opened that wall with a hammer.
I wanted to leave a few words under her post. I am unable to post there, so I am placing my reply to her here, with you, because the story began with you.
My reply to Nasim Zehra:
Ma’am, this is why so many of us read you with care. In a few lines you reminded us that books are not furniture. They are a man’s honour, his faith, and the future he refused to surrender.
Abu Bilal hid knowledge behind a wall because a regime feared paper more than it feared guns. Fifteen years later he returned, lifted a hammer, and the books were still waiting — dust on them, not death. That is love of ilm. That is why a human being is called ashraf-ul-makhluqat.
کتابیں دیوار کے پیچھے چھپ سکتی ہیں، علم نہیں۔
آپ نے اس انتظار کی عزت ایک جملے میں کر دی۔
Thank you, Al Jazeera, for not letting this moment pass as only footage. And thank you, Nasim Zehra, for giving it a sentence worthy of the books themselves.

[Munizae Jahangir @MunizaeJahangir]

They did to @ImaanZHazir & @AdvHadiali exactly what they did to @Aliwazirna50. It's a clear message to the highest courts that no matter what justice you give to those who serve humanity, they will rot in jail for speaking up for the wretched people of this country.We have arrived here because we were unable to protect our space & when the state is seen to be unreasonable,it loses authority. https://t.co/ZIE80VjS4j
#Iman #AliWazir #Hadi

[Col Pavan Nair @pavannair]

Would agree. China could do more on trans boundary rivers like sharing information & designs of upstream projects which can be assessed by lower riparians. River basins do not recognise boundaries. India/Pak/China could do much more by reducing troop deployment in higher reaches.

[Maleeha Lodhi @LodhiMaleeha]

This coming from a govt that cherry picks which court judgment it wants to implement ! The latest case in point is Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali's rearrest after the Supreme Court suspended their sentences and ordered their release on bail. https://t.co/mvNTPPjcjY

[Human Rights Commission of Pakistan @HRCP87]

HRCP strongly condemns the decision to rusticate and repatriate Afghan students—including women—already enrolled in medical and dental colleges in Pakistan, as well as to bar new admissions. This is no longer simply an education policy; it is also a humanitarian crisis affecting young people whose education, safety and futures are at immediate risk. In Lahore alone, students report that around 100 Afghan medical and dental students may be affected, including an estimated 20–40 women. Some students have now approached HRCP seeking not only legal and institutional support but also safe shelter, underscoring the gravity and immediacy of the situation.

We call on the government urgently to uphold the principle of non-refoulement. Given the well-documented risks faced by Afghans returning to Afghanistan—and particularly by women—no student should be forcibly returned without an individual assessment of the risks they face. Pakistan’s security concerns and strained relations with Afghanistan cannot justify collectively punishing students. The repatriation orders must be suspended immediately, the affected students’ enrolment restored, and urgent arrangements made for those requiring protection and shelter.

[beena sarwar @beenasarwar]

Delightful

[William Dalrymple @DalrympleWill]

Much enjoyed this wonderful celebration of the Indo-Scottish relationship

[William Dalrymple @DalrympleWill]

"‘Run! Get away!’: witnesses recount Israeli ‘double tap’ strike that killed child and medic in Gaza
When Mohammad Abdul Zinati, 15, rushed to help a man wounded in a bomb attack, he had no time to react before he too was hit"
https://t.co/9m0bWCWrbC

[beena sarwar @beenasarwar]

Aramco Is Not the Kaaba https://t.co/4j70CMi3R5

[beena sarwar @beenasarwar]

@Hack_Hound_ @Aakar__Patel Thanks. Too bad it’s behind a payroll.

[beena sarwar @beenasarwar]

Who reads anymore?

Why it’s important, to #read, to be curious, read beyond what is immediately useful…

Excellent report pegged on #Singapore’s monetary incentives to citizens who #read https://t.co/EkWlYkxdiP

By @kathmaemagramo @CNN

#BookClub #brainrot #habits

[beena sarwar @beenasarwar]

@AparnaKarthi @pavannair 💕 Our Pakistani Biskit. And our American Cookie, a long haired feminine version of Biskit. She was such a gift, just showed up on our back deck when we moved here – brought us so much joy, specially my teenager who missed home and Biskit who she had grown up with.

[beena sarwar @beenasarwar]

@SaifullahSaifyS @MazharAbbasGEO @HRCP87 How lovely.

[beena sarwar @beenasarwar]

@pavannair @AparnaKarthi And Biskit, who turned up has a tiny kitten sitting on top of our car tire in Karachi, winter of 2007. "You can keep him as long as he doesn't come in the house". Yeah, right.
Before long he owned the house.
Was sad when we left, and so were we.

[beena sarwar @beenasarwar]

@pavannair How lovely. Wonderful painting and photo.

Our beloved late Cookie who adopted us 15 years ago when we moved to Boston. Showed up on the back deck, 9 months old, with a gash behind a shoulder. We trapped her and took her to a vet; he stitched up and neutered her @AparnaKarthi

[beena sarwar @beenasarwar]

@chhabs63 @AparnaKarthi What a lovely idea. “Across the country” only or from elsewhere too?