Pakistan’s Army allegedly removed a now viral article on how the country’s GenZ was done taking orders from boomers, prompting citizens to outrage online and catapult the author to a ‘national hero’.
The article, titled ‘It is Over’ was originally published in a prominent English daily, The Express Tribune on 1 January and was taken down a few hours later.
According to Drop Site news, a US-based investigative journalism platform, the army’s media wing, ISPR, reportedly posted counter articles in response to the popularity of the now-deleted op-ed, days after the portal reported that Pakistan had allegedly asked local media to cut down on its reporting on the Saudi-UAE crisis in Yemen. The Express Tribune had then pulled back its coverage on the issue, Drop Site reported.
Also Read: ISPR censoring media coverage of UAE-Saudi Arabia tensions in Yemen, says US news outlet
The article, the controversy
The article, written by Zorain Nizamani, a PhD scholar in the US and the son of prominent TV actors Fazila Qazi and Qaiser Khan Nizamani, argued that despite their best efforts, the era of the old men had gone and the younger, tech savvy generation in Pakistan was not falling for their narratives.
“For the older men and women in power, it’s over. The young generation isn’t buying any of what you’re trying to sell to them. No matter how many talks and seminars you arrange in schools and colleges, trying to promote patriotism, it isn’t working,” he wrote in the article.
Without making a reference to the Army, Nizamani wrote: “Patriotism comes naturally, when there is equal opportunity, sound infrastructure and efficient mechanisms in place. When you provide your people with basic necessities and ensure people get their rights, you won’t have to go to schools and colleges to tell students that they are supposed to love their country, they already will nonetheless.”
In a scathing indictment of the civil-military rule, he then said that the younger generation no longer seems to be buying the narratives sold by a failing state.
“Young minds, the Gen Z, the alphas, they know exactly what is happening and despite your consistent efforts of trying to ‘sell’ your views of patriotism to them, they are seeing right through it. Thanks to the internet, thanks to whatever little education we have left, despite your best efforts of keeping the masses as illiterate as possible, you have failed. You have failed to tell people what to think, they are thinking for themselves. They might be a little too scared to speak their minds because they prefer breathing,” Nizamani wrote.
The article that appeared in the newspaper remains but, soon after, it was taken down online. Within hours, prominent journalists and human rights activists took to social media to condemn the action.
“This is such a great article. Written from the heart of every young person to every old man failing at their job in Pakistan,” Pakistani lawyer Abdul Moiz Jafferi wrote on X.
This is such a great article. Written from the heart of every young person to every old man failing at their job in Pakistan. pic.twitter.com/XwAdkaToUA
— Abdul Moiz Jaferii (@Jaferii) January 1, 2026
Pakistani rights activist Mehlaqa Samdani, the founder and director of Community Alliance for Peace agreed.
In a post on X, she said that the article “bluntly tells Pakistan’s ruling elite that Gen Z is no longer falling for their attempts to manipulate and control narratives.”
“Not surprisingly, this article is no longer accessible through the Express Tribune’s digital edition—exactly the kind of censorship Zorain talks about. He is right. It really is over for those who think they can continue to get away with these crude tactics,” she wrote.
Soon, the op-ed became a battle ground for political parties as well.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Canada account called it a “must-read article” and said it only confirms the truth.
Another portal, Siasat Pakistan wrote, “Nobody knew Zorain Nizamani until yesterday morning, but today the entire Pakistan knows him. Whoever stands in front of your oppression, your intoxication with power, and your desire to become a dictator—even if anonymous—becomes a hero and a nationwide figure within 24 hours. Your hand is truly magical; whoever you lay your hand on becomes a rising sun.”
Zorain Nizamani کو کل صبح تک کوئی نہیں جانتا تھا، لیکن آج پورا پاکستان جان گیا ہے۔ آپ کا جبر، طاقت کا خمار اور اَن داتا بننے کی خواہش کے سامنے جو گمنام بھی کھڑا ہوتا ہے وہ 24 گھنٹوں میں ہیرو اور ملک گیر شخصیت بن جاتا ہے۔ آپ کا ہاتھ واقعی جادوئی ہے؛ آپ جس پر ہاتھ ڈالتے ہیں وہ… pic.twitter.com/6vb53iGALs
— Siasat.pk (@siasatpk) January 2, 2026
Pakistan was ranked 158th out of 180 countries in the Press Freedom Index in 2025.
Later, Nizamani made a video where he said that his article “speaks for itself” and asked for people to always think “critically.”
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗭𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗡𝗶𝘇𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶:
The viral Pakistani PhD scholar from the University of Arkansas, also the son of a well known celebrity couple, has now joined X to explain his Express Tribune article.#zorainNizamani I #Pakistan pic.twitter.com/zLakseDlhG
— Dr Ahmad Rehan Khan (@AhmadRehanKhan) January 3, 2026
However, there were dissidents too. Pakistani analyst Najam Ali wrote on X, “When Zorain Nizamani, with his confused takes (supporting recent constitutional amendments while pushing for voting rights only for the ‘educated’) becomes the final hope for my PTI friends, quoted endlessly for his Gen Z rants, I genuinely start worrying about this country’s future.
Another Pakistani student, Daniyal Furquan, also wrote a rebuttal to the article it titled, ‘Is it Really Over?’ where he argued that reducing youth politics to memes and slacktivism ignores material realities, shared capitalist incentives, and shows how digital dissent is co-opted by the same system.
(Edited by Stela Dey)
There does exist press freedom in Pakistan. Please do not subject Pakistan to such misleading claims. Press freedom in Pakistan is flourishing just like the number of dinosaurs on Earth.