02/24/2026
To be featured in The News, one of the two foremost English dailies of Pakistan, occupying nearly half a page, is no trivial distinction. It is a moment that carries weight, history, and quiet consequence. When I see my name printed in such a publication, described in language so generous and evocative, I experience a peculiar sense of detachment. It feels almost surreal, as though the subject of the article is an abstraction, a figure constructed from narrative rather than the person I know myself to be.
It is not an absence of pride. On the contrary, I feel a deep and abiding gratitude. Yet alongside that gratitude resides a certain incredulity. I have never perceived my journey as extraordinary, nor my efforts as deserving of such eloquent commendation. The prose seems too refined, the praise too magnanimous, as though it belongs to someone more accomplished, more illustrious, more deserving.
Perhaps it is the quiet disposition of one who labors without spectacle. When recognition arrives adorned in beautiful language and public admiration, it unsettles the modest self image one has carefully maintained. Still, I accept it with humility, aware that sometimes the world sees in us a merit we ourselves are reluctant to acknowledge.