ABSTRACT
The decade following the events of 9/11 has witnessed a new wave of Pakistani English writers who have attained wide international acclaim. This surge in Pakistani writings in English has coincided with a renewed interest in the intersections between literature and human rights, especially in the current period of global tension. This article aims to examine the role of contemporary Pakistani Anglophone fiction as a valuable counter-narrative to dominant 9/11 writings in the West, and traces its engagement with the effects of the ensuing ‘War on Terror’. For this analysis, the author focuses on two representative works of fiction: Kamila Shamsie’s Burnt Shadows (2009) and Jamil Ahmad’s The Wandering Falcon (2011), and highlights the different yet important contributions of each in expanding the genre of 9/11 writing. While Shamsie stresses the need for a broader historical contextualisation of recent events that have caused a global divide, Ahmad’s work is an attempt to humanise tribal populations of Pakistan perceived as the ‘enemy’ in the war against terrorism.
