“It is with great pleasure that I have assigned your poetry collection, Reflections, as required reading in my graduate seminar, Ethics in International Affairs, here in the Center for Global Affairs at New York University, and will continue to do so in other courses as well. My students have been extremely impressed with the quality of your work and have asked me to encourage you to pursue your career as a scholar/ writer.”
Professor Sylvia Maier, PhD
Center for Global Affairs
New York University, USA
Iqra Rehman’s poems reflect an innate innocence that one attributes to an impressionable growing young person. She explores religion, urban life, diligence, natural beauty and even her sadness over leaving her favorite city. She is aghast at one of her uncles who has gained fame yet has lost contact with the family but offers homage to the Quaid and to AQ Khan for what they did for the Indus people. Her verses embody mellow dreams and mild grievances in a society which is changing so rapidly and where earthly heavens like Swat turned into a hellhole. Like other younger Pakistanis, she is disturbed over Pakistanis killing fellow Pakistanis in an endless and aimless war that began next door in the form of a revengeful invasion.
We have seen flowering of Pakistani fiction in recent times along with thoughtful media comments, but not enough has been published in the realms of English poetry. I guess Iqra’s simple and honest diction will encourage other Pakistanis to share their creativity in verse with the rest.
Professor Iftikhar H. Malik
FRHistSoc & MCR, Wolfson College, Oxford
Centre for History and Culture
School of Humanities and Cultural Industries
Bath Spa University, UK
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