Hanif worked as a correspondent for the BBC News based in Karachi and was the writer of a feature film about the city, The Long Night.

[10] and Our Lady of Alice Bhatti, as well as a play, The Dictator's Wife, which was staged at the Hampstead Theatre.

He graduated from Pakistan Air Force Academy as a pilot officer, but subsequently left to pursue a career in journalism.

[14] His first novel A Case of Exploding Mangoes (2008) was shortlisted for the 2008 Guardian First Book Award[15] and longlisted for the 2008 Man Booker Prize.

"[24] In opposition to Pakistan's ongoing persecution of the Baloch people and police crackdown during a protest march in Islamabad on December 20, 2023, Mohammed Hanif has returned his "Sitara-e-Imtiaz" award.