Digital media might be the primary medium these days but it’s impressive that print media has survived to this day. When you compare news and books with music, films and television shows, you notice that people consume that sort of content through streaming whether it’s Netflix or Spotify. Blu-rays, Vinyl, cassettes etc. might be a thing of the past but they still cater to niche hobbyists (like me, you can check out where I discuss my love for physical media here: Turyal’s Physical Media). Print media, on the other hand, still caters to a general audience. Bookstores still exist and are quite popular whether you are walking through the streets of Baghdad, Cairo or London. Yes, ebooks do exist and there are devices like Kindle but physical books have not gone out of style. Physical newspapers and magazines might not be as popular as physical books in the current era, but they still play an important role.

Turyal's Physical Media

Exploring a personal collection of CDs, cassettes, retro games, books, and DVDs, one artifact at a time. A deep dive into the history of Pakistani music, mixed with global sounds, classic gaming, films, literature, and rare finds from my shelf.

By Turyal Azam Khan

Despite their popularity waning, newspapers still play an influential role regardless of where they lie on the political spectrum and which country they represent. Let’s take Pakistan’s Dawn for example. Dawn is not a newspaper but rather an institution founded by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, given the honorific Quaid-e-Azam (father of the nation). It is considered the country’s paper of record. The newspaper signifies what could be termed as the country’s high culture. Many people who take Pakistan’s civil services exam, which is commonly known as CSS, are recommended to read the newspaper as essential reading particularly its editorials.

In Pakistan and I’m sure in many other countries, there are newspapers that are for lighter reading and they too have an important role to play. It’s for people who are busy, short on time, or commuting. One such example that comes to mind is Pakistan Today which is only eight pages. They have an amazing business magazine called Profit, which I should specifically mention here. What I like about Profit is that the business terminology is easy to understand and caters to a Millennial and Gen Z audience. This is in comparison to another respected financial daily, Business Recorder, which targets an older, industry-specific audience.

In digital and broadcast media, information can be updated or corrected, something that is not possible in print. If something is printed, it always remains on record, despite a clarification being made in another edition. That is why many people who work in newspapers (and in magazines even) have to make sure to leave no margin for error and there is also the case when their work pays off and becomes a trending topic. In April, during the US-Iran War, one of Pakistan’s leading English dailies, The Express Tribune, published a remarkable headline “Pakistan saves a whole civilisation”, a tongue-in-cheek reference to US President Donald Trump’s warning that a “whole civilization will die” if Iran does not make a deal. The popularity of the headline was even picked up by international media including TRT World and Anadolu Agency.

That same pressure, getting it right the first time, on deadline, is what makes stories like this one, from Sunday Times news editor Becky Barrow, worth sharing.

On her LinkedIn, she wrote regarding England’s win over Norway during the 2026 FIFA World Cup quarterfinal in which English player Jude Bellingham played a prominent role:

“Nothing short of a miracle that a newspaper, which went to press at 1.20am, is then in my local M&S when it opened this morning with a pic of Jude Bellingham on p1.

Honestly, newspapers are just amazing. As are the night teams who put them together.”

Such is the brilliance of newspapers.

On 2nd February 2019, a Pakistani rock singer, Junaid Khan of the popular band Call, collaborated with an Indian rock band, Spunk, which was known for doing Bollywood covers. There was a level of excitement, particularly among rock aficionados in both nations, about how the collaboration would come into play. This was Spunk’s debut original. Within the same month, an incident occurred that would once again cause friction between Islamabad and New Delhi.

A vehicle-borne suicide bomber targeted a convoy of vehicles in the Pulwama district carrying Indian security personnel, resulting in the deaths of 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, India’s largest central paramilitary force. The perpetrator, Adil Ahmed Dar, also died in the attack. The terrorist group Jaish-E-Mohammed took responsibility for the attack. New Delhi pointed fingers at Islamabad, which the latter denied. India responded with an airstrike in Balakot in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region that New Delhi claimed targeted a Jaish-E-Mohammed training camp. However, Pakistan denied the claim and said no major targets were hit, and they were able to scramble enemy jets. The next day, an Indian Group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman was caught in Pakistani territory after Pakistan shot down his fighter plane. Varthaman was later freed and in India is celebrated as a hero, whereas in Pakistan, he has become the target of memes in Pakistani popular culture, including in its television serials.

3 years before the Pulwama incident, tragedy struck in Uri when the same Jaish-e-Mohammed targeted Indian soldiers, resulting in 19 deaths. This, too, was blamed on Islamabad. The Indian Motion Picture Producers Association (IMPPA) decided to ban all Pakistani actors, actresses, and technicians working in India until the situation became stable (It never did). Indian television channel Zindagi decided to halt transmission of all Pakistani television programs. An Indian film released around the same time which featured several Pakistani artists also faced protests at its screenings. Pakistan also responded with the same gesture by banning Indian content, including Indian films, at Pakistani cinemas.

In August 2024, Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year rule came to an end after she resigned and fled the country. Hasina was known for her pro-Indian stance. Her position left a vacuum that caused a headache for New Delhi. Later that year, Pakistani rock band Jal performed in the country’s capital, Dhaka, to a positive audience reception. Jal returned to the country after 14 years, and for Pakistan-Bangladesh relations, including culturally, it was the start of a new era.

Following Jal’s performance, many other Pakistani artists performed in Bangladesh, including established acts like Atif Aslam, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, and Kaavish and popular Gen Z icons such as Abdul Hannan and Bayaan. Love for Pakistani popular culture is not limited to music, however. There is a Facebook page dedicated to Pakistani television serial lovers in Bangladesh that has more than 230,400 members.

2025 was another year for an India-Pakistan collaboration, which featured Pakistani actor and singer Fawad Khan and Indian actress Vaani Kapoor. The film titled Abeer Gulaal was released in international markets but ironically, it did not get released in India or Pakistan. This was due to the Pahalgam Attack, which killed 26 civilians. This was another point of friction between New Delhi and Islamabad and resulted in relations so tense that it sparked a dangerous escalation between the two nuclear-armed neighbors. It led to an albeit fragile ceasefire.

For years, Pakistan’s entertainment industry has primarily focused on India as its major and at times its only market. Tensions between India and Pakistan, which are often quite unpredictable, prove that this market can be closed at any time. With the advent of streaming, Bangladesh has proven to be a new and stable market for the Pakistani entertainment industry. Comparing India and Bangladesh is unfair, as the former is a much larger market; however, Pakistan should see this as an opportunity. Bangladesh should be seen as a starting point.

Pakistan should look at other culturally similar markets where Pakistani entertainment can gain prominence. Other South Asian markets like Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, and the Maldives, as well as Middle East and North African nations, are good examples of this. According to an article from The Kathmandu Post:

“Nepali television could draw inspiration from the Pakistani industry by producing shorter, high-quality drama series centred around compelling narratives instead of excessive melodrama.”

Pakistan’s entertainment industry's biggest mistake is that it has often looked at New Delhi as its only source of clout and revenue, when other markets would be more stable and welcoming. It can even take a page out of the playbook of Turkish dramas’ popularity in Pakistan and use it as a case study to promote Pakistani content elsewhere. Moreover, Islamabad should not treat these markets as one-sided. It can also promote collaborations with these regions in order to promote a healthy cultural environment for itself as well as its collaborators.

The beauty of satire, particularly when it documents a news event, is that it makes it hard to guess if it is satire. In other cases, it is when one can guess what a satirical piece is aiming at. It’s 2026, and the news cycle has changed globally. One has to fact-check something many times before determining if something is satirical or is actually happening. We are at a point where it is hard to do that.

There are often comparisons between legacy media organisations and independent media. Examples are CNN vs Don Lemon, Fox News vs Tucker Carlson Network, NBC News vs Zeteo, and many more. Even in Pakistan, there is a trend of journalists becoming independent, giving stiff competition to major media organisations that are struggling today.

In this day and age, a similar case is made for satirical content. US television shows such as Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart have done a remarkable job educating viewers on global affairs, particularly the Iran conflict and the situation in Palestine. It’s odd that what the role of a news organisation is being fulfilled by comedians, but it’s not surprising that we are at this point, considering how major media organisations are losing trust among audiences.

Then there comes The Onion, a satirical media organization. There was a time when one would read articles on The Onion and have a great laugh, particularly when one wanted to enjoy a satirical take on current affairs. It’s unfortunate, or perhaps the satire in The Onion has become so good lately that it is hard to distinguish it from reality.

Satirical content in the Pakistani media space is limited and not as established as in the US or in other Western markets, but it is quality content. Certain organisations exist that focus on quality satire, but the main source of satirical content in Pakistan is memes. Memes on Pakistani social issues, whether in the form of images or short videos, document events here in such a way that even if they are serious is sure to make one laugh. However, Pakistan has a similar problem. Unless it is explicitly stated that it is satire, it would make one think that it is actually real news.

There are a lot of discussions on how AI-generated content, as well as fake news in other forms, has affected the media landscape, but rarely is it discussed how hard it has become for satire to be distinguished from reality. Is it because satire today has advanced, or because we are living in an era of a weird news cycle?

When it comes to the Pakistani entertainment industry, it is dominated by its television serials and music. Pakistani television serials are not just popular in South Asia and the Middle East but have global appeal. The same can be said about the country’s music scene. The country, however, does not have a specific channel or organization that promotes this or its culture through an unapologetic Pakistani lens.

Viewers from abroad rely on YouTube and Spotify to access Pakistani content or learn about Pakistan’s culture through the eyes of foreign vloggers. There is nothing wrong with that, but isn’t it time for Pakistan to tell its own story and in a language that the global world understands?

There are a lot of media organizations, such as newspapers, including Pakistan’s newspaper of record, Dawn, and websites like The Current, that distribute their content in English. However, the target audience is usually the English-speaking audience of Pakistan. Since 2025, three English language television news channels have been introduced: Express 24/7, Pakistan TV and Asia One. What sets these three news channels apart is that they cater to an international demographic. Their goal is to present Pakistan’s perspective to the world. This is contrary to what I wrote in 2018 for Asia Times about how English-language media in Pakistan has a limited audience and it would be hard for them to survive in Pakistan’s landscape. However, in recent years, the angle has shifted to focus on an international audience rather than Pakistan’s English-speaking demographic.

The perspective, however, mostly focuses on hard news concerning Pakistan. There are cultural programs as well that talk about the country’s culture, religion and history, but that is quite limited. What Islamabad currently needs is a network that promotes its soft image through films, television, lifestyle and culinary heritage.

In Pakistan’s media landscape, Discover Pakistan is the only television network that comes close to what is being referred to here, but since it’s an Urdu language television channel, the target audience is an Urdu speaking audience, mainly who reside in Pakistan.

I have come across many international news networks and their primary focus is on international news. Al Jazeera English, while a globally reputed television news network, covers primarily international news. Seldom would one see anything promoting Qatar’s culture. Japan’s NHK World comes closer to what I’m referring to here.

What sets NHK World apart from most international news channels is that the audience gets to learn about Japan’s culture while at the same time covering news from a Japanese perspective. Having said that, I would still argue that the Pakistani network I’m referring to should probably not focus on hard news at all. Instead, it could focus only on the country’s culture through different programs and segments.

We treat the media as the fourth pillar of the state, but I have this feeling that our media organizations, when thinking about this, promote Pakistan’s perspective through international news channels only, at least at the moment. It would be better if the government considers this initiative too. In order to promote the country’s soft image, Pakistan needs a network that focuses on the story of the country and its people. If Islamabad takes an interest in this angle, then it is definitely feasible.

Note: This is not a promotional post. I’m not associated with Vivaldi in anyway.

I learned about Vivaldi by chance. I was working on a project (not related to journalism), and for that, I needed different browsers. Many people that I work with use Google Chrome as their default browser because they are familiar with it. In the newsroom, we have to be quick, and we have to monitor different news organizations. It’s an annoyance when ads take over in Google Chrome. Brave is a lifesaver when it comes to that because you get to block ads. Vivaldi is another browser that is quite helpful in this regard. However, Vivaldi is more than just a browser and is a tool that every journalist needs in their arsenal, whether you work for a news organization or are independent.

News Monitoring

As I mentioned earlier, many journalists have to monitor different news organizations, whether it’s print, digital, or broadcast. You can open multiple tabs in Vivaldi to do that. In my browser, I usually have 8 tabs open of different news channels’ live feeds on YouTube for me to monitor. It helps me a lot, and it is something that I find really cool too.

Fact-Checking and Researching

Every journalist breathes fact-checking and researching, but when working on a story, it can be hard to keep track of things, and chances are, you can get disorganized. Vivaldi web panels and tab stacks are a wonderful way to organize your work. Web panels allow you to view content in a split-screen view, and you don’t even need to leave the tab. On the other hand, tab tiling helps you organize tabs together.

Then there is the quick access to bookmarks. I feel like this browser was created with journalists, academics, and researchers in mind. You have them already available in the side panel, and you can save relevant content in different folders.

Notes

I absolutely adore the fact that there is a Notes feature in the browser. Whenever I’m looking up something, and I immediately have to note something down, I don’t have to rely on an extension, and I can just do it right within the browser.

Translate

As an international journalist, I sometimes have to look up content in different languages. The easy access to the translate feature is another time saver for me when I’m on a deadline.

Wikipedia

When it comes to journalism, I feel like Wikipedia is very underrated. Of course, no one looks at it as an extremely reliable source, but it comes in handy when you are looking up basic information, and Wikipedia being available as a built-in feature in Vivaldi is a godsend.

Startpage

When you think of search engines, your first thought is Google, but the issue is that Google is a privacy risk, and it targets you with ads. Startpage, on the other hand, provides you with the same quality results but does not track your details.

Customization

Everyone works in a manner that they are most comfortable with. What might work for one might not work for others. Vivaldi gives you that creative control. You can customize the browser as you like. You can do whatever you want; however, you want. The possibilities are, and I mean this literally, endless.

Browsing human

I will be honest; there are times I have to rely on AI. I don’t view it in an antagonistic manner, but I definitely do understand the risks. The problem with AI, however, is that people have become so reliant on it that they expect AI to perform the most basic tasks, not because it saves time but because we have adopted laziness as a lifestyle.

Vivaldi’s “Keep browsing human” philosophy is wonderful because it helps you explore things on your own. If you are in a field like journalism or in a creative field, you would need to use your skills to figure things out. Now, one might argue that this costs time, but Vivaldi already helps you save time with the features I mentioned above. This is more for one’s own benefit, so you don’t forget the skills you have. Imagine you are researching something, and you feed that information into an AI chatbot, and the results deliver inaccurate information without you realizing it; that could cost you a lot. So do make mistakes because we are human, but make mistakes at your own expense and keep browsing human.

Here is another interesting article about why journalists should use Vivaldi: Vivaldi - The best browser for journalists

You can download the browser here: Vivaldi Official Website.

Note: This article was originally commissioned by Compass Music’s The Logbook, a blog featuring diverse voices from the global music industry.

Metal is a subculture in Pakistan. It has a limited but dedicated audience. Corporate entities have often ignored it due to its non-commercial status in favour of genres like pop, rock, classical, and folk, which are considered mainstream in the country.

Metal acts are passionate about the genre. Unfortunately, passion is not enough for them to make ends meet, and many performers have day jobs. Due to the genre being ignored, it has inspired a DIY approach. This is not limited to individuals making music on their own, but also planning their own gigs and releasing music independently. One could argue that the latter has become easy with the advent of the digital age, but it was the standard before it.

The Pioneer

Dusk, a Pakistani metal act started in the early nineties, is considered the first metal act, or as frontman Babar Sheikh puts it, the first extreme metal act. Dusk’s contribution to the metal scene is significant. It is not limited to the introduction of the genre in the country, but also inspiring the DIY concept and connecting with the international metal scene, earning cult status abroad.

The band’s DIY ideology can be best explained by their debut demo tape, Casketsize, in 1995. According to music writer Ahmer Naqvi, the demo tape was made using a cassette player with two decks and a unidirectional microphone put together by Sheikh’s former bandmate.

When Dusk started, according to Sheikh, the world was connected through demo tapes and sending letters. He would send out his demo tapes and letters to people in the underground metal scene abroad, which led to the band’s debut album, My Infinite Nature Alone, being released by a record label in Portugal, Hibernia Productions. The band’s second album, Jahilia, in 2003, and third album, Contrary Beliefs, in 2006, were released by a Czech-based record label, Epidemie Records. The band also performed in the Czech Republic, earning a cult following abroad. Dusk plans to release their fourth full-length album this year.

Dusk not only introduced metal to the country but also inspired a DIY concept and how one should not limit their music geographically, especially in the case of metal, which has a niche audience in Pakistan and cult status globally.

Record Labels in Pakistan & Releasing Music Independently

Record labels in Pakistan have often ignored metal music. This is why many metal acts would either release their music through foreign labels or independently. The genre was seen as unconventional.

In 2004, Sadaf Stereo became the first commercial record label to release a metal album in Pakistan. Mizraab’s album Maazi Haal Mustaqbil was not without problems, however. According to Tayyab Khalil’s book Rockistan, no Pakistani record label was ready to release it, and the album had been ready since 2002. The album was not a critical success in Pakistan. The label expected that it wouldn’t be a commercial success either since only a limited 15,000 copies were available at first. However, Sadaf Stereo had to produce another batch due to popular demand.

Gas Mask Holocaust (GMH) Records was an independent record label that started in 2008. According to the founder, Shaheryar Popelzai, the venture was launched exclusively to support extreme music in Pakistan. Dusk and Singapore-based crust punk band Distrust’s split album Eastern Assault and metal band Odyssey‘s album Ghosts of Yesterday, released by the label, sold out twice.

GmH Records faced issues since Popelzai was the sole runner behind the venture. He cites ‘logistics and a lack of interest’ as the main problems. It was challenging to ship CDs abroad, and Popelzai recalls how a shipment to India, a country with which Pakistan has tense relations, landed the distributor in trouble. Running a passion project alongside a day job became tough for Popelzai, which led to the label ceasing operations.

There are currently no plans to bring back GmH Records. According to Popelzai, the music industry no longer needs record labels. Because musicians self-release their music now, what they need is PR teams and promoters.

Rearts is an arts company and a record label founded by visual designer Azeem Hamid and Najam Ul Assar, who hails from an engineering background. The record label currently has more than 50 artists signed with it. BlackHour, Tabahi, and Wisdom Salad are metal acts signed with Rearts, but Azeem Hamid, who is also the creative director, says that they plan to include more metal acts.

Hamid says the distribution of music is not a difficult task, but what differentiates them is ‘the outlook, the support they give to musicians, how they curate their music, help produce their music, and work with them on a day to day basis.

When asked about how many people listen to metal music in the country every year. says they get roughly around 30,000 listeners monthly. Rearts distributes its music through different streaming services. On the popularity of streaming services in Pakistan, Hamid commented that they are not massively popular, but they are picking up pace. Local apps Bajao and Patari have a subscriber base of approximately 2 million and 3-4 million, respectively. Spotify Pakistan is about to reach 1 million subscribers.

Regarding the popularity of metal acts on Rearts’ roster, Hamid said Black Hour is popular in Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, and Scandinavian countries. However, Black Hour is also picking up a dedicated audience in Pakistan due to the band participating in a popular music show, Pepsi Battle of the Bands.

Tabahi, on the other hand, is more popular in Germany and the United States.

In the case of Black Hour being popular in those countries, he said it is due to the band having cult status abroad because of articles being written on their music in those countries, and those countries having an underground metal scene. As for Tabahi, he said guitarist and founder of the band Annihilator, Jeff Waters, praised their music, which benefited them.

Hamid says that Rearts plans to hold gigs, sign more acts, including metal acts, and work with international artists as part of its plans.

Prognostic Records is an independent record label founded in 2015 by guitarist Sherjeel O’Neil. According to O’Neil, the record label was a necessity. He and fellow musician Ali Khan Niazi started it when they realized that record labels in the country were not active anymore due to digital piracy and weak copyright laws. Its main goal was to release and distribute the music of their metal outfit Kaan Phaard. Bassist and music producer Jahangir Hashmi later joined them, and the three have been central in running the label and their band.

Prognostic Records has since then released a lot of different genres apart from metal. O’Neil says that, due to the internet, there are not many problems for the label, although he does cite return on investment as a major concern. He is not concerned about metal being a niche genre in Pakistan, as he considers it to be an acquired taste.

There have been acts that have released music independently. Safyan Kakakhel, lead vocalist and the founder of the band Marg from Peshawar, released his entire music on Facebook, YouTube, and SoundCloud. Kakakhel did not want to deal with any “commercial record label or sign binding contracts” and just wanted to “put his music out there.” It was released independently on online platforms.

Saeed Rehman, lead vocalist of the band Skehlaaj from Quetta, says that it did not cost him anything to make, so “it shouldn’t cost anybody to listen.” In due course, the band’s debut album Komi Taranay was uploaded for free download on MediaFire. As of now, there have been 713 downloads.

Venues, Events, & Gigs in Pakistan

Hellfest, which takes place in the country’s capital, Islamabad, at the Lok Virsa Open Air Theatre, is Pakistan’s biggest metal event. It was started in 2012 by Faisal Imtiaz, rhythm guitarist for the metal band Inferner, who had already organized smaller events at different venues. Although the event has no connection to the French Hellfest, Imtiaz claims he was inspired by it. Five hundred and seventy people attended the first Hellfest. In 2013, it was attended by more than 780 people, and in 2014, more than 1000.

According to Imtiaz, there were no problems in organizing the event, but getting sponsorship proved difficult. The niche genre attendance numbers are not enough to convince many sponsors. Return on investment concerning Hellfest is a major concern for sponsors, which is why it was not held after twenty-fourteen. Hellfest was supposed to be held last year and would have also included international metal acts, but due to disagreements with sponsors and investors and the Coronavirus pandemic, things came to a halt. Imtiaz says he plans to bring the event back once the pandemic is over.

However, the management of Hellfest did hold similar events at a smaller scale, such as Undertow Sessions and Psychlock. The latter took place at Classic Rock Coffee Co., a popular venue for rock and metal acts in Islamabad. Classic Rock Coffee Co. shut down in 2017 due to a dispute over music volumes being too high. There are plans for the venue to open up in another location once the pandemic is over. 12 Bar Blues was another venue in Islamabad where musicians would come to perform. According to the lead vocalist of the band Rebel Club, Aaiz Khan, it shut down due to poor management. This does not mean that there is a lack of venues for metal musicians to perform, such as Club 432 and District19 in Karachi or Lahore’s Strictly Social and The Colony (none of these venues are exclusive to metal musicians or musicians only), although the shutting down of such popular venues does raise concerns.

Hellfest and artist management company Shor Bazaar also organised a concert of Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal, the former lead guitarist of Guns N’ Roses, in Islamabad, which more than 700 people attended. According to Imtiaz, there was an unrelated protest against the government the same day, but they still managed to gather that many people.

Organising gigs is a difficult task in Pakistan, especially for a metal or even rock act. Aaiz Khan, the lead vocalist of the rock band Rebel Club and formerly Ehl-E-Rock, says that it is ‘a hectic procedure,’ with many steps involved. While discussing a show for his band, Khan says that the first step is to get permission from the local authorities because the music is very loud. Most of Khan’s band’s performances have been held in Bahria Town, an affluent Islamabad neighbourhood. He had to get permission from the authorities of the area. They were told to perform at a Sheesha Café away from the local neighbourhood.

Then there was the problem of renting equipment. According to Khan, there is very little know-how when it comes to sound. People managing the sound equipment are used to weddings and not used to loud, metal acts. There is also the problem of selling tickets. Khan says if the tickets were sold at 500 Pakistani rupees (3.23 USD), no one would show up because it was too expensive for an underground act, so they had to sell the tickets at a lower price. Getting sponsors for such shows is also a tough ask because it does not earn them a lot of money.

Despite metal being a niche genre in the country, we have seen local efforts to commercialise it. Metal act Takatak‘s performance in a corporate-sponsored music show is one such example. If there are more successful attempts like this, we can foresee that sponsors and music professionals will start taking an interest in the genre, which has so far been mainly ignored by the mainstream.