From the very inception of our state, the Establishment has shown itself unequal to the task of building a democracy. In 1947-48, Bengali Pakistanis were vilified and punished for demanding, as 52% of the population, that Bengali be declared ONE of the national languages of Pk Newspapers were flooded with reports of ‘men in loongis’ coming from across the border (i.e., West Bengal) to create ‘disunity’ and ‘weaken the foundations of the state’. The Constituent Assembly Reports are filled with these debates.

The deep state in Pakistan never had any sense of proportion, so I guess it’s absurd to expect any from it now when it’s feeling cornered. But it’s an amazing move to accuse peaceful civil rights activists of sedition weeks after one of their own has been actually indicted for it It shouldn’t need to be said but clearly it needs to be said over and over again - demanding your legitimate and constitutional rights as a citizen of the state is not sedition. Trampling on the rights of ordinary citizens over and over again is sedition.

So ... where to begin. 1. I’m very happy that Pakistani food/drink is finally being featured on Eater thanks to Meher Ahmad. But because she didn’t grow up in Pakistan, there are some (minor) errors. eater.com/2019/2/25/1823… 2. The actual herbal cure is called, simply, ‘joshanda’, and comes out of the Yunani Tibb school of traditional Muslim medicine in the subcontinent. ‘Johar Joshanda’ is a branded version of joshanda made by Qarshi Industries.