'Home #itscomplicated': Where Stories of Pakistan Refuse to Fit a Single Frame
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What does it mean to belong to a place as layered, chaotic, and beautiful as Pakistan? Home #itscomplicated, a creative non-fiction anthology curated by author and alumna Saba Karim Khan (BSc 2006), dares to explore that very question through the voices of 24 distinguished contributors, including scientists, academics, actors, bankers, economists, filmmakers, homemakers; they all weigh in, offering deeply personal accounts of their messy, moving, and meaningful relationships with home.
Among them are members of the LUMS family, Dr. Ali Khan, Dean of the Mushtaq Ahmad Gurmani School of Humanities and Social Sciences (MGSHSS), and alumnus Dr. Osama Siddique (MBA 1993), whose essays capture both the heartbreak and the hope that comes with choosing to stay connected to Pakistan.
Dr. Ali Khan: 'A Cricket Bat, a Garden, and a Nation'
In a piece that reads like a warm memory wrapped in nostalgia, Dr. Khan reflects on a life shaped by cricket and a deep, unwavering love for Pakistan. From garden nets in Amman to indoor pitches in Islamabad, the sport became a constant through which he and his father stayed connected to the homeland. "I am not ‘ethnically’ Pakistani… I am Pakistani,” he affirms. Even as distance grew, the bond only deepened—anchored in sport, history, and heart.
Dr. Osama Siddique: 'Staying is a Choice, Not a Compromise'
With his signature clarity and wit, Dr. Siddique paints a picture of Pakistan that is equal parts harsh truth and heartfelt connection. He doesn’t shy away from calling out dysfunction, nor does he abandon hope. “We are too vast, too complex, too gifted, and too ancient a people to be so badly governed for so long,” he writes. Between jokes shared with strangers and the soft music of local languages, he finds meaning in the mess, and reasons to stay.
Saba Karim Khan: 'Dreamers, Distance, and the Dilemmas of Belonging'
In her own contribution, Saba Karim Khan confronts the emotional toll of distance from Karachi: the city that heals her. She writes about stars born out of anarchy, about people who refuse to shrink their dreams to fit broken systems, and about moments of unexpected warmth, like a bookseller who knows her reading soul. It’s complicated, yes, but also deeply human.
Home #itscomplicated refuses the easy narrative. Instead, it celebrates the contradictions of a country and its people—layered lives that deserve to be heard, not summarised. This is Pakistan, told not through a headline, but through heartlines.
