My research examines the three interrelated concepts of crisis; new imperialisms, spatial-temporal fix and accumulation by dispossession (ABD) stemming from the work of David Harvey as a way to understand the contested history of the Pakistan Railways. For the first thirty odd years after Pakistan's inception in 1947, the railways, a state-owned institution, was the primary mode of transport for the public, cargo, and workers. Alongside basic infrastructure, the railways had a vast network of hospitals, schools, workers' colonies and an array of physical infrastructure connected to production, operations and other aspects of the economy. The systematic ransack and decline of the Pakistan Railways reached its peak in 2010. Despite several attempts throughout the 1990s by successive democratic and military-led governments backed by the IMF/World Bank in 2015, it was announced that Pakistan railways would be revived under the banner of the 46 billion dollar China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as part of the changing geopolitical context of growing regional connectivity and new Chinese imperialism. By examining the processes that underlie ABD, such as spatial-temporal fix, the following research shows that these processes not only reflect a shift of resources away from the public domain, but in Pakistan also entailed …

This is a conversation between Abdul Malik (an 85-year old male) and Abdul Rehman (an 80-year old male) about the cutting of grass. The speaker talks about a man who was trying to show his efficiency while cutting the grass and the speaker taught him a lesson.

This is a conversation between Abdul Malik (an 85-year old male) and Abdul Rehman (an 80-year old male) about the cutting of grass. The speaker talks about a man who was trying to show his efficiency while cutting the grass and the speaker taught him a lesson.

This is a monologue by Muhammad Aslam (a 38-year old male teacher) about a master and his domestic help. The master asks his helper to bring a sharpening tool and the helper brings sand instead. He could not differentiate between the two words because they were homophonous. The other native speaker present during this recording is Gohar-Ur Rehman (a 39-year old male shopkeeper).

This is a monologue by Muhammad Aslam (a 38-year old male teacher) about a master and his domestic help. The master asks his helper to bring a sharpening tool and the helper brings sand instead. He could not differentiate between the two words because they were homophonous. The other native speaker present during this recording is Gohar-Ur Rehman (a 39-year old male shopkeeper).

In this personal narrative, Abdul Rehman recollects his encounter with a lady while he was on a journey to another village with a friend. This lady greatly surprises both friends as she unexpectedly turns out to be a Mankiyali speaker living in a place outside the geographical domain of the Mankiyali linguistic community.

This is a personal narrative by Muhammad Younas (a 60-year old male and retired factory worker) about a time when he was working in Karachi. Muhammad Younas talks about his life in Karachi, other community members who lived there, and some incidents that happened during that time. The other speaker present during this recording is Abdul Qayoum (a 60-year old male).

This is a personal narrative by Muhammad Younas (a 60-year old male and retired factory worker) about a time when he was working in Karachi. Muhammad Younas talks about his life in Karachi, other community members who lived there, and some incidents that happened during that time. The other speaker present during this recording is Abdul Qayoum (a 60-year old male).

This is a retelling of the story of the thirsty crow by Akbar Khan (a 46-year old male teacher). Once upon a time, a crow was very thirsty. He flew in search of water and saw a pitcher. He sat on the pitcher to drink water, but the surface of the water was low and he could not reach it. He then gathered some small pebbles and put them in the pitcher one by one. The water level raised. He drank water and flew away. The other speaker present during this recording is Gohar-Ur Rehman (a 40-year old male shopkeeper).

This is a retelling of the story of the thirsty crow by Akbar Khan (a 46-year old male teacher). Once upon a time, a crow was very thirsty. He flew in search of water and saw a pitcher. He sat on the pitcher to drink water, but the surface of the water was low and he could not reach it. He then gathered some small pebbles and put them in the pitcher one by one. The water level raised. He drank water and flew away. The other speaker present during this recording is Gohar-Ur Rehman (a 40-year old male shopkeeper).

This is a recording of an elicitation of names of birds in Mankiyali using corresponding English translation as prompts. The singular and plural forms of the nouns, along with any variant forms, are given. The contributor is Aurangzeb, a 34-year old male teacher.

Recording of an elicitation of color terms in Mankiyali accompanied by English translations. The masculine singular and plural and feminine singular and plural forms are provided for each color term. The contributor is Aurangzeb, a 34-year old male teacher.

Recording of an elicitation of Mankiyali sentences that contain words with a variety of syllable types. The purpose is to analyze words in their context in order to determine the stress pattern of words with complex syllable structure. The elicitation, however, needs to be used with caution to avoid list pronunciation. The contributor is Gohar-Ur Rehman (a 39-year old male shop owner).

Recording of a historical narrative. The speaker/narrator Abdul Malik (an 85-year old male farmer) talks to Abdul Rehman (an 80-year old male farmer) about a war that the nawab (ruler) of the former state of Amb, Nawab Farid Khan, waged on the neighboring state of Seeri because, apparently, its ruler had ousted one of his court nobles who happened to be a relative of the former. The narrator recounts the memories of his father who was an eye witness to the havoc that the forces of Nawab Farid unleashed on the people of Seeri when they attacked them at the early hours of the day break.

In this personal narrative, Abdul Rehman recollects his encounter with a lady while he was on a journey to another village with a friend. This lady greatly surprised both friends as she unexpectedly turns out to be a Mankiyali speaker living in a place outside the geographical domain of the Mankiyali linguistic community.

Recording of a historical narrative. The speaker/narrator Abdul Malik (an 85-year old male farmer) talks to Abdul Rehman (an 80-year old male farmer) about a war that the nawab (ruler) of the former state of Amb, Nawab Farid Khan, waged on the neighboring state of Seeri because, apparently, its ruler had ousted one of his court nobles who happened to be a relative of the former. The narrator recounts the memories of his father who was an eye witness to the havoc that the forces of Nawab Farid unleashed on the people of Seeri when they attacked them at the early hours of the day break.

This is a religious legend about the spread of a certain disease (referred to as "half headache" because the pain affects one side of the head) in a certain village. In this legend, Prophet Moses put the "half headache" in pots and said that he would burn it. A villager asks him not to burn her and says that she will not return if he repeated the story seven times. The legend is narrated by Abdul Rehman (a 80 year old male) and the other speaker is Imtiaz Ahmad (a 31-year old male).

This is a religious legend about the spread of a certain disease (referred to as "half headache" because the pain affects one side of the head) in a certain village. In this legend, Prophet Moses put the "half headache" in pots and said that he would burn it. A villager asks him not to burn her and says that she will not return if he repeated the story seven times. The legend is narrated by Abdul Rehman (a 80 year old male) and the other speaker is Imtiaz Ahmad (a 31-year old male).

This is a narrative by Muhammad Aslam (a 38-year old male teacher) about a scam. Once someone called a friend of Muhammad Aslam and told him that he had received a prize. The gentleman (the speaker's friend) was very happy. The caller at the other end asked him to top up credit on his mobile phone, and he did so. After losing some money he understood that it was a scam. The other speaker present during this recording is Gohar-Ur Rehman (a 39-year old male shopkeeper).

This is a narrative by Muhammad Aslam (a 38-year old male teacher) about a scam. Once someone called a friend of Muhammad Aslam and told him that he had received a prize. The gentleman (the speaker's friend) was very happy. The caller at the other end asked him to top up credit on his mobile phone, and he did so. After losing some money he understood that it was a scam. The other speaker present during this recording is Gohar-Ur Rehman (a 39-year old male shopkeeper).