From the Kashmir dispute to its tense relationship with New Delhi, Pakistan is in the midst of a political and economic crisis that has sparked mass protests. Mohammed Hanif, one of Pakistan’s most prominent novelists and a New York Times columnist, has been giving his acerbic take on the South Asian country’s politics and culture since long before the publication of his first book, the award-winning A Case of Exploding Mangoes (2008). Hanif has found fresh ways to discuss the main issues faced by Pakistan today, and at this club lunch he will talk about his work as a writer, his recently released book Red Birds, and the new challenges facing his homeland.

   

Mohammed Hanif, born in Pakistan in 1964, lived for many years in the UK before returning to Karachi, where he now resides. After leaving the Pakistan Air Force Academy to pursue a journalism career, he worked for the BBC, the Washington Post and many other publications. He has penned plays for the stage and the screen, and the acclaimed BBC drama What Now, Now That We Are Dead?. He has won many literary prizes, and his works have been translated into 22 languages.