Due to Pakistan's British colonial past, English literature has always been popular in the South Asian country. German writers come in second, but they made their mark for reasons more political than literary.
Pakistan: How politics spurred interest in German literature thestreetjournal.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thestreetjournal.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Appeasement of right-wing
Pakistan has witnessed an unprecedented surge in Islamic extremism and religious fanaticism in the past decade. Islamist groups, including the Taliban, have repeatedly targeted religious minorities in the country to impose their strict Shariah, or Islamic law, on people.
Baseer Naveed, a human rights activist, says that Ahmadis continue to be persecuted and attacked in Pakistan with the full backing of the state. The government wants to appease Muslim fundamentalists and right-wing parties. We see that the Pakistani state continues with its policy of hatred towards religious minorities, which embolden fundamentalists, Naveed told DW.
Safdar also suggested the government should rename the Islamabad-based Quaid-i-Azam University s Dr. Abdus Salam Physics Department.