Welcome to Parhlo.com!! Parhlo is Pakistan’s top platform for citizen journalism.
Parhlo.com is the brainchild of Yasir Shirazi and Irfan Burney, who teamed up with Shoaib Shamsi to disrupt traditional journalism in Pakistan by encouraging citizen journalism via crowdsourced content.
Necessity is the mother of invention. Parhlo.com began this journey when Yasir identified the lack of space for young writers in the publishing industry. “I once tried to get published in a newspaper in Pakistan. I was living abroad and didn’t know anyone at any print or online publications in the country. I realized how hard it can be to get published unless you know people.”
This incident was an initial trigger that ignited the idea of Parhlo. “It made me think about how publishing works in Pakistan and if there is an opportunity to create a new model based on citizen journalism and user-generated content in Pakistan.” It took a couple of months of research and due diligence before Yasir decided to launch Parhlo.com in 2014 with the intent to grow Pakistan’s online ecosystem.
Parhlo’s leadership strongly believes that the right to be published should not be restricted to a certain writing class or to someone with a specific educational background.
“The internet has disrupted the dynamics of the publishing industry. Today anyone can write and publish online without requiring permission or having a specific educational qualification. I call it the democratization of the publishing world. As long as the content is relevant, online writers can generate an engaging audience.” Yasir Shirazi
The initial testing phase initiated by the team in 2014 further confirmed their belief that there is an opportunity to create a youth-based publishing brand in Pakistan.
Today, around one-third of the content published on Parhlo.com is written by our in-house team. Remaining content is generated via independent contributors from all over Pakistan and abroad. Parhlo is read by millions of Pakistanis and is consistently ranked as one of the top publishing websites in Pakistan for millennials.
What has made Parhlo stand out is undoubtedly its ‘user-generated content’ or guest contribution strategy. In the last 4 years, more than 5,500 writers have submitted their personal experiences, stories, and op-eds to Parhlo.com.
“We are in the truest sense a platform for aspiring writers to showcase their work and write about topics that they feel passionate about. It also shows that Pakistani youth consists of avid readers and writers and that is the hallmark of a bright generation.” Yasir Shirazi
With a dynamic and diverse team, Yasir trusts that Parhlo is a neutral platform and will continue to align with its original goals. Parhlo’s content and social media team is led by Shahal and Ariba who do a great job at creating engaging content for audiences
“We don’t take sides on political topics. Rather we initiate debates based on our published content. Never before has traditional media in Pakistan been able to do what we have achieved in terms of generating healthy discussions amongst millions of Pakistanis every day. We make mistakes but our team learns fast and adapts accordingly.” Yasir Shirazi
Today, Parhlo.com has a sizeable presence across the web. Parhlo’s content is read and viewed by more than 40 million internet users every month. Pretty cool, isn’t it? Now if you want to be a part of this journey like our 5,500 fellow writers, feel free to use this platform to express yourself and we will present your point of view to our millions of readers worldwide.
Editorial Team
- Yasir Shirazi
- Irfan Burney
- Arsalan Hashmi
- Shahal Khoso
- Farrukh Khan
