Irshad Ahmad Mughal

(by Irshad Ahmad Mughal and Dr. Qurat ul-Ain Rana, a Ph.D in Sociology teaching in various universities as visiting faculty in various universities in Pakistan.) The lands now called Pakistan and India were once woven together by shared history, culture,…

The deadly missile exchange between Iran and Israel—and to some extent, the U.S.— may have ended. Every party claims victory, and perhaps they should, for in truth, all are losers and all are winners. With no ground invasion, it’s easy…

The wisdom of an old Punjabi proverb—”While busily searching elsewhere for the thief, I looked back and found the donkey tied under the banyan tree”—rings painfully true in today’s world. It perfectly captures the absurdity of the recent Iran-Israel conflict,…

The ancient art of storytelling through animal fables once served as humanity’s moral compass, with philosophers and saints using tales of “talking beasts” to counsel rulers against tyranny. Yet in our modern era, where abstract academic theories dominate education, we’ve…

As I scroll through my phone, absorbing the relentless updates about the Iran-Israel conflict, I’m confronted by images that blur the line between reality and simulation. Towering buildings reduced to rubble, missiles streaking across skies like something out of a…

Aesop’s fable The Wolf and the Lamb tells a simple but timeless story: A lamb drinks water from a river when a wolf arrives, accusing it of muddying the stream. The lamb points out that the water flows from the wolf’s side,…

One positive action of Donald Trump’s administration was facilitating a ceasefire between Pakistan and India, preventing both countries from escalating into destruction—similar to what is now happening between Iran and Israel. If we set aside debates over who initiated contact…

Emotions form the very essence of our humanity—the invisible force that gives meaning to existence. They bestow upon us life’s most precious gifts: the warmth of love, the serenity of peace, and the exhilaration of intimacy. The velvety touch of…

In Urdu, there is a verse—I do not know its source, but it lingers in my mind: “One running dog said to his fellow dog: ‘Run, before you die a human’s life.’” This speaks not to the nature of dogs—though…

“We are still reeling from the unresolved conflict between India and Pakistan, lingering under a fragile ceasefire, when yet another war has erupted in my neighborhood—this time in Iran. The horrors unfold before us: drones and missiles streaking across the…