More than Mullahs and machine guns

The politics, possibilities and pitfalls of writing about Pakistan at a time when it is, perhaps, one of the world's most dynamic places will be the subject of a free, public event this evening. As part of the University of Cambridge's Festival of Ideas, BBC Urdu service editor and writer Mirza Waheed and University academic and Pakistan expert Dr. Pervaiz Nazir will take part in a discussion entitled: "More than Mullahs and Machine Guns: The politics of writing Pakistan". The event will take place in the Mill Lane Lecture Rooms, from 5pm to 6pm, and is open to all. It is sponsored by the literary magazine Granta, and coincides with its latest issue, which is on the theme of Pakistan and includes new writing from a range of authors with a deep knowledge of the country and its culture. Packed with almost 200 million people speaking nearly 60 languages, Pakistan is both densely populated and diverse. It was brought into nationhood under the auspices of a single religion, but is wracked with deep, separatist divisions and is destabilised further by conflicts in neighbouring areas such as Iran, Afghanistan and Kashmir. For writers, Pakistan's complex situation means that representing the country through fiction, poetry or journalism is an immense challenge.