Jawad Rasool

In the month of Muharram, black becomes the defining colour of devotion, grief, and protest. It drapes the bodies of mourners, the walls of imam bargahs, the flags of processions, and the banners that are put through city streets. But this use of black is not only symbolic, it is political, spiritual, historical, and deeply […]

As the Islamic month of Muharram approaches each year, it brings not just a period of spiritual reflection and mourning for Pakistan’s Shia community, but also a familiar cloud of fear, violence, and marginalization. Despite repeated promises of protection and unity, the Pakistani state continues to fall short in shielding its citizens, particularly Shias, from the deepening