Dr. Iftikhar Firdous comes on The Pakistan Experience to provide an alternative perspective to state narratives, on this deep dive podcast we discuss Covering Conflict Zones, the Khorasan region, Role of the State, Afghan Refugees, IDPs, TTP, Taliban, Afghanistan-Pakistan border, the Northern Region, Drone Attacks, Osama Bin Laden, PTM and Political Disenfranchisement.

Dr Iftikhar Firdous has been editor for two major publications in Pakistan. His career spans over 15 years reporting from conflict zones. He has a degree in psycholinguistics and is an author of several research papers analysing the discourse surrounding transnational terrorist organisations. He is also an accomplished author who has contributed to published academic anthologies on conflict, governance and policy. He is the founder of The Khorasan Diary.

The Pakistan Experience is an independently produced podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan through conversations.

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The podcast is hosted by comedian and writer, Shehzad Ghias Shaikh. Shehzad is a Fulbright scholar with a Masters in Theatre from Brooklyn College. He is also one of the foremost Stand-up comedians in Pakistan and frequently writes for numerous publications.

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Chapters

0:00 Introduction

1:00 Why call it the ‘Khorasan’ Diary

4:30 Iftikhar Firdous’s background

7:30 Mental Health of Journalists in Conflict Zones

11:26 State narratives and alternative perspectives

17:15 Refugees, IDPS and TTP

26:09 Can you do a deal with TTP?

33:30 Afghanistan-Pakistan border

38:30 State policies in Northern Areas

42:30 Drone Attacks and Osama Bin Laden

50:30 Raheel Sharif and Nawaz Sharif tension and National Action Plan

58:00 Political Disenfranchisement in KP, PTI and PTM

1:03:30 is TTP back? And Afghan Taliban

1:14:10 Audience Questions