[6] Sethi was a Robert L. Bartley fellow and an assistant book editor at The Wall Street Journal[7] for about two years[8] and also contributed political commentary for the newspaper, particularly on the subject of Pakistan.

[10] Her first role was playing Natasha in the ARY Digital serial drama Silvatein, followed by Mohabat Subh Ka Sitara Hai, which aired on Hum TV.

[11] In 2016, she received praise for her performance of a young dreamy painter in Momina Duraid's Dil Banjaara, where she played the leading role alongside Sanam Saeed and Adnan Malik.

[14][15] In 2023, Sethi starred in the Pakistani television series Kuch Ankahi, directed by Nadeem Baig,[16] where she essayed the role of Samiya, "an obedient daughter, but...also a strong woman with a logical mind.

[22] In its review of the short story collection, The Hindu praised Sethi for her crisp writing style that "nudge[s] the reader into the everyday lives of the relatable protagonists.

"[27] In a 2023 op-ed published in The New Yorker, Sethi asserted: "To be a woman in Pakistan is to encounter...the cultural assumption that sexual assault can be prevented by dressing and behaving "modestly," no matter that [closed-circuit television] footage of busy streets in Pakistani cities routinely shows women in burqas being harassed.