Lakeer

There is movement and transformation in Ayesha Owais's poem, 'A poem where the dog comes back as a fish'. Read it in full in Issue Seven of Lakeer Magazine: lakeermag.com/ayesha-owais-a…

Lakeer is a nonprofit literary publication, dedicated to creative voices from Pakistan and its diaspora. We depend on donations to pay our writers, and to keep our platform alive. To support work that matters, please donate today at the link in our bio.

⭐️ Poetry: Aiman Tahir Khan is a poet and translator from Lahore, Pakistan. Her work appears in The Colorado Review, The Rumpus, Shō Poetry Journal, and elsewhere. She is currently working on a chapbook and tends to the solitary magpie-robin that visits her lawn now and then.

⭐️ Speculative Fiction: Rabia Malik, a writer and educator from Lahore. Her work has appeared in The Aleph Review, The RIC Journal, The News on Sunday, and other places. She is an editor for Lakeer's column Chowk. She currently teaches at BNU.

⭐️ The (free, online) Lakeer Summer Mentorship Program 2026 offers a range of categories. ⭐️ Applications close on 18 May. ⭐️ lakeermag.com/mentorship

Bareerah Ghani talks to Daniyal Mueenuddin, author of the novel 'This Is Where the Serpent Lives' (Knopf, 2026). They speak about power, servitude, and the manifestations of these in the characters in the novel. Read the full interview in Issue Seven: lakeermag.com/daniyal-mueenu…

Sri Lankan writer, educator, and theatre practitioner – and guest editor for Chapter Two of Avaaz – Gaya Nagahawatta brings to us works in Tamil and Sinhala, translated into Urdu and Shahpuri by Hammad Rind, and Majhi Punjabi by Rabia Malik. lakeermag.com/avaaz-sinhala-…

In her essay 'Beyond Gumnam Tareekh', Musfira Khurshid looks at archives that are texts and buildings, and pays special attention to the silences in them, showing us that there is more than one way we are always connected to the past.

Omair Danish’s gorgeous photography on the cover – a small boat on calm waters – brings much-needed serenity.

Saniyah Salman with Roohi Choudhry. Mahreen Sohail and Raaza Jamshed converse about their creative works and their intentions with them. Leena Zaidi and Azra Emilia Ali discuss books. Sarah Ahmad shares her moving artwork, and Rabia Malik her personal photography.

In our latest issue – Issue Seven, Spring 2026 – Musfira Khurshid tells us that the past is always talking to us if we took care to listen to it, while Sarah Elahi addresses an urgent concern in the present caused by past wrong decisions.