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Category : Pakistan

Previewing the Annual Cambridge Symposium: Najam Sethi, Pakistani Journalist and Publisher, on Championing Civil and Democratic Rights

Apr 15, 2025 | News, Pakistan

Previewing the Annual Cambridge Symposium: Najam Sethi, Pakistani Journalist and Publisher, on Championing Civil and Democratic Rights

The Mittal Institute’s Annual Symposium on April 18 will examine the rapidly shifting media landscape in South Asia, with a focus on the role of journalism in civil society, democracy, and public discourse. Among this year’s featured speakers is Najam Sethi —a veteran Pakistani journalist, publisher, and the founder of The Friday Times and Vanguard Books.

Previewing the Inaugural Harvard Pakistan Conference 2025

Apr 14, 2025 | Community, News, Pakistan, Students

Previewing the Inaugural Harvard Pakistan Conference 2025

For the first time in Harvard’s history, graduate students will host the Pakistan Conference at Harvard, supported by the Mittal Institute as well as research centers across the Harvard ecosystem. Taking place on April 27, 2025, on the Harvard Campus, the conference aims to bring together a diverse range of voices from policy, business, and civil society to arts, highlighting Pakistan’s opportunities, pathways, and challenges. We sat down with the two conference co-chairs—Muhammad Hadi from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Sannan Pervaiz from the Harvard Kennedy School—to learn what inspired the event, what attendees should expect, and why this matters right now.

Welcoming Naiza Khan, Mittal Institute Distinguished Artist Fellow

Mar 26, 2025 | Arts Program, In Region, News, Pakistan

Welcoming Naiza Khan, Mittal Institute Distinguished Artist Fellow

The Mittal Institute is delighted to welcome our newest Distinguished Artist Fellow, Naiza Khan, for a week-long residency on Harvard’s campus this April. A visual artist with a multidisciplinary practice spanning drawing, sculpture, archival material, and film, Khan explores themes of land, body, and memory.Her work engages deeply with museum collections and the circulation of objects linked to migration across the Indian Ocean, offering a critical lens on contemporary issues.

The Mittal Institute Presents the 2023–24 Year in Review and Arts Program Reports

Dec 3, 2024 | Afghanistan, Announcements, Arts Program, Associates, Bangladesh, Faculty, Fellows, In Region, India, Myanmar, Nepal, News, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Students

The Mittal Institute Presents the 2023–24 Year in Review and Arts Program Reports

The Mittal Institute is excited to announce the release of the 2023–24 Year in Review and 2023–24 Arts Program reports. Like every year, the comprehensive Year in Review Report includes updates on all major faculty-led programs, lists awards and fellowships, highlights the work of students, student organizations, and scholars, and summarizes events and other achievements. The Arts Program Report highlights the incredible impact and accomplishments of the Mittal Institute’s various arts initiatives, which include fellowships, exhibitions, and events. Both reports offer valuable insights into the institute’s mission of connecting Harvard with South Asia. 

Three Harvard Law School Students Receive Internships with a Judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan

Nov 12, 2024 | Announcements, News, Pakistan, Students

Three Harvard Law School Students Receive Internships with a Judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan

This winter, three Harvard Law School students will be the inaugural cohort of interns with a judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, based in Islamabad, Pakistan, through a new program facilitated by the Mittal Institute called the HLS J-Term Clinical Internship. Through this internship, students will get an opportunity to attend the court proceedings at the Supreme Court, prepare bench memorandums, conduct legal research, draft opinions, assist the Honorable Justice on complex cross-cutting legal issues, and contribute to the overall functioning of the Chambers.

The 1970 Bhola Cyclone and the Birth of Bangladesh

Nov 5, 2024 | Announcements, Bangladesh, Climate, Faculty, News, Pakistan

The 1970 Bhola Cyclone and the Birth of Bangladesh

In 1970, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) was hit by a cyclone that killed 300,000 to 500,000 people. Prof. Mushfiq Mobarak, Yale University, and Prof. Sultan Mehmood, New Economic School of Moscow, provide empirical evidence that the cyclone’s devastation and the Pakistani government’s “callous response” to it were instrumental in galvanizing support for an independence movement. The two authors share their work in this Q+A ahead of a November 15 Joint Seminar on South Asian Politics.

Storykit Program Inspires Academic Excellence in Pakistan Schools

May 8, 2024 | Alumni, Announcements, In Region, News, Pakistan

Storykit Program Inspires Academic Excellence in Pakistan Schools

Reading is paramount, explains Musharraf Ali Farooqi, a former Mittal Institute Fellow, saying, “Becoming a reader is the first step on the path to becoming a self-learner.” A novelist, scholar, and translator, Musharraf is also the founder of the STORYKIT Program, a unique program that inspires a love of reading among Pakistan’s children. STORYKIT boxes teach children the Urdu language, its classical literature, and its folklore through engaging, age-appropriate stories.

In 2023, Storykit launched the Pakistan Spelling Bee, holding competitions for both English and Urdu languages nationwide. Farooqi is leading a Malala Fund supported program to help adolescent female students in Pakistan public schools write about their educational journey. Storykit is also carrying out an internet safety, media literacy and climate resilience campaign for Google Foundation.

Pakistan, Through Their Eyes

Mar 27, 2024 | Announcements, In Region, News, Pakistan, Students

Pakistan, Through Their Eyes

This spring break, 27 Harvard students joined a trek to Pakistan, representing the Harvard Kennedy School, the Harvard Business School, the Nieman Foundation, and Harvard College. Designed to immerse the student delegation in Pakistan’s culture, history, politics, and development trajectory, this trip was organized by some of the Pakistani student groups on campus.

Imaan Mirza ’25 Explored the Pakistani Legal System through LMSAI Grant

Mar 20, 2024 | Announcements, In Region, News, Pakistan, Students

Imaan Mirza ’25 Explored the Pakistani Legal System through LMSAI Grant

Imaan Mirza, a third-year undergraduate concentrating in History and Literature, earned a Mittal Institute student grant to intern in January with AGHS Legal Aid Cell in Pakistan. AGHS is a law firm that provides free legal representation to the vulnerable and fights for human rights for the disenfranchised. During Imaan’s three-week internship, she completed legal research, legal drafting, and administrative tasks – read on for more about her three-week experience. 

LMSAI Fellow Muhammad Imran Mehsud on the Politics of the Indus River

Feb 20, 2024 | Fellows, News, Pakistan, Students

LMSAI Fellow Muhammad Imran Mehsud on the Politics of the Indus River

The Mittal Institute’s Syed Babar Ali Fellow, Muhammad Imran Mehsud comes to Cambridge from Hazara University Mansehra, Pakistan, where he is an Assistant Professor of International Relations. He is an expert on South Asian transboundary hydropolitics and his research project at the Mittal Institute examines the effectiveness of the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 in settling contemporary transboundary water issues between India and Pakistan. We spoke with Imran about his research, and his plans for his time at Harvard.