Musharraf Ali Farooqi

Author. Translator. Storyteller
Founder @pakspellingbee @StorykitProgram, @UrduThesaurus, Library of Urdu Classics (

[Musharraf Ali Farooqi @microMAF]

Fabulous Machinery for the Curious: An anthology of six qissas in my translation from @ucpress. ORDER ONLINE AND SAVE 30% (Use source code SAVE30 at checkout)
https://t.co/iTpytG70hC

[Musharraf Ali Farooqi @microMAF]

It began with corporations having greater rights than humans. This is the next stage of that dehumanization principle.

[Najam Ali @najam_ali]

IPOs: Are We Protecting Investors or Selling Them a Story?

Not so long ago, I was an enthusiastic advocate of IPOs and had the privilege of advising on some of Pakistan’s most prestigious offerings.

One IPO, however, taught me a lasting lesson. It performed poorly, leaving the sponsors unhappy. In retrospect, I had made a mistake by accepting an high floor price. It changed my perspective on the IPO business.

Since then, I have deliberately stepped away from pursuing new IPO mandates.

My growing concern is that too many sponsors approach the public market not to share the future prosperity of their businesses, but to extract the highest possible valuation.

An IPO should be an opportunity for investors to participate in wealth creation, not an exit opportunity for sponsors at an inflated price.

But there is a deeper, more troubling structural issue.

A Consultant to the Issue (CTI) is expected to issue a due diligence certificate, effectively assuming responsibility for the quality and completeness of disclosures.

Yet a CTI is fundamentally a transaction adviser, not a forensic accountant or statutory auditor. Its ability to independently verify historical financial records, accounting practices and the completeness of information is inherently limited.

We have created a system in which responsibility can exceed the practical ability to verify. That is neither sound regulation nor effective investor protection.

Recent scrutiny surrounding an IPO should prompt us to examine whether the existing framework is fit for purpose.

I would urge the SECP and PSX to undertake a fundamental review of the IPO regime, particularly:

Pricing discipline: Are book-building mechanisms genuinely discovering fair value, or merely maximising proceeds for sponsors?

Independent verification: Should financial due diligence and the integrity of historical disclosures be independently certified by qualified accounting professionals?

Clear accountability: Should responsibility be explicitly allocated among sponsors, auditors, CTIs and other advisers according to their actual roles and capabilities?

Post-listing accountability: Should we systematically review IPO valuations, disclosures and subsequent performance to identify recurring weaknesses?

Pakistan needs a thriving IPO market. But its success should not be measured by the number of companies listed or the money raised.

The real test is whether public investors are being offered a fair opportunity to create wealth alongside the sponsors.

Until we restore that principle, we risk turning the IPO market into a mechanism for transferring wealth from public investors to private owners, rather than creating wealth for both.

[Seyed Abbas Araghchi @araghchi]

Mr. Macron made his bed when he assured POTUS that he welcomes atrocities against Iranians.

Too late to blame the war his ilk helped cause. The French people demand wholesale change, including freedom of assembly.

Listen to the future of France, Mr. President.

[Najam Ali @najam_ali]

Pakistan Must Prepare for a Disrupted World

The Iran conflict is reshaping our region’s economic and strategic landscape.

Oil price shocks, shifting power dynamics, disrupted trade routes and geopolitical uncertainty could persist for years.

Are we preparing our economy to withstand these disruptions over the next 3–5 years?

With our dependence on imported energy, fragile external finances and limited fiscal space, we cannot afford business as usual.

We urgently need a national economic resilience strategy.

[Musharraf Ali Farooqi @microMAF]

It began with corporations having greater rights than humans. This is the next stage of that dehumanization principle.

[Hammad Anwar @manihammad]

Latest book review: The Story of a Widow.
https://t.co/48CMAAqYEe

[Hammad Anwar @manihammad]

Between Duty and Desire
On @microMAF’s The Story of a Widow
https://t.co/5BXOxin4xK

#bookreview #storyofawidow #novel #pakistaniwriters

[Musharraf Ali Farooqi @microMAF]

I will be at the Punjab University Literature Festival today (Friday, 16 Oct) speaking about the confluence of narratives in the novel and the qissa. My novels will be available at the venue.

[Bruno Maçães @MacaesBruno]

Deliberate starving of 2 million people in Gaza continues. The horror of our century

[Matt Kennard @kennardmatt]

With her lonely stand for Palestine, Sally Rooney has exposed the contemporary literary world as a nest of cowards and careerists

Where are all the Doris Lessings, Harold Pinters, John Bergers, Graham Greenes, Samuel Becketts that once raised their voices against war and injustice?

Rooney stands almost alone

[Ali Abunimah @AliAbunimah]

The @nytimes, which cheerled the genocide, is now leading efforts to whitewash the “Israeli” population which overwhelmingly supports it and is executing it, as hapless uninvolved victims. They are attempting to unfairly scapegoat one man, Netanyahu, and replace him with a more marketable monster.

[Ali Minai @barbarikon]

Tom Nagel is, hands down, one of the most important philosophers on matters of mind,, consciousness, and thus AI. This is a rare opportunity to hear his take on the latest developments - especially because thus viewpoint has been swamped by the physicalism and computationalism inherent in the AI enterprise. Agree or disagree, it’s worth paying attention to.

https://t.co/fUix3wLeW2

[Tendencias de Animales @EsTTAnimalesEnX]

Anduvo semanas con un balde atascado en la cabeza, sin poder comer… hasta que estos tipos se animaron y lo liberaron. Gracias, de verdad 🐻

[Mahim Maher @MahimMaher]

My day job is helping scientists at AKU give and get coverage. Extremely pleased with this newsletter. Tons of story ideas and faculty happy to do Zoom interviews. Get a sense of Pakistan's top clinical, academic and research work in child health https://t.co/XMuQgIsMVw

[Musharraf Ali Farooqi @microMAF]

What is the route status if someone has to travel today from Lahore to #Peshawar by motorway?

[Ahmad Rafay Alam @rafay_alam]

Brilliant article on the Lai and why Rawalpindi and Islamabad flood as they do in the Monsoon. Kudos to Farhan Asfar and the team at @prismdawndotcom for the outstanding graphics.

https://t.co/KHtmTvTNeM

[Sohail Abid @sohailabid]

پاکستان کی سب سے بڑی پرائیویٹ لائبریری بھی جنوبی پنجاب کے شہر میلسی کے قریب گاؤں جھنڈیر میں واقع ہے۔ ڈھائی لاکھ کتابیں ہیں۔ ایک میوزیم بھی ہے۔

اب کتابوں کا دور کچھ کم ہو گیا ہے اور کافی لوگ یہاں پکنک ڈے کے لیے آتے ہیں۔ لائبریری کا احاطہ پارک سا منظر پیش کرتا ہے۔

[World Bank Education & Skills @WBG_Education]

Girls consistently outperform boys in school — so why do they so often fall behind in the workforce?

A new analysis using the Human Capital Index+ starts to explain the gap. #SkillUp https://t.co/Cpy0AJDe45

[Femi Oyebode @FemiMind]

@molarawood This is the new frontier of imperialism and colonisation: knowledge, information, and rare minerals!

[Rana Safvi رعنا राना @iamrana]

Taj Mahal- Not a Monument of Love, but Afterlife | Decode the Calligraphic Secrets with Rana Safvi
https://t.co/9zenMKq7Zb