Professor Akbar S Ahmeds dilemmaa on April 26, 2016The distinguished scholar, former Pakistani diplomat, anthropologist and filmmaker Professor Akbar Salahuddin Ahmed is out with the third book in his trilogy on the relations between the US and the Muslim world after 9/11. He describes the book as ‘the missing part of the debate’ that expounds on an important relationship: “The United States uses […]
Mr Sharif goes to Washington on October 21, 2015The Prime Minister (PM), Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, has arrived in Washington, DC on his second official visit in as many years. Halfway through his third term in office, an incumbent may exhibit a level of confidence if not outright swagger but it was a bit distressing to see the PM fumble with a question […]
Perils and politics of pilgrimage on October 14, 2015The controversy over the largest death toll in the modern history of hajj is not over yet. The Saudi Arabian government has drawn unprecedented criticism for its management of the hajj with calls for not just overhauling how the pilgrimage is managed but also who should do it. The calls have ranged from asking the […]
The winter of Afghan discontent on October 7, 2015“Now is the winter of our discontent Made glorious summer by this sun of York” — Shakespeare’s Richard III. The Kunduz city centre may have been ostensibly recaptured by the Afghan forces within three days of the city’s fall to the Taliban over a week ago but the aftermath is far from over. The city […]
Arabs in the jihadist Woodstock on August 27, 2015The Arabs at War in Afghanistan Author: Mustafa Hamid and Leah Farrall Publisher: Hurst; Pgs: 355 Pakistan released a list of banned terrorist and sectarian organisations a few days ago. The first group listed is the 313 Brigade. One is not sure how active that al Qaeda-affiliated group is currently but the recent […]
An ideological army, jihad and greed on June 4, 2014Fair’s assessment of the Pakistan army is out: it is an ideological war machine that is not amenable to any inducements or assuaging of its security concerns. Professor C Christine Fair, a security studies expert at Georgetown University, has produced a formidably comprehensive evaluation of what keeps the Pakistan army ticking, to what end and […]
Talking to the Taliban: potential and pitfalls on June 5, 2013As we go to press Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif would have become the prime minister of Pakistan for the third time, a first in the country’s history. As he steps into the office, Mr Sharif already has his plate full. He lists the energy crisis as his number one priority and bringing the economy back […]
Elections 2013: Pakistans hard right turn on May 8, 2013Electioneering in Punjab is in full swing while elsewhere in Pakistan the campaign remains soaked in blood. The three secular political parties, the Awami National Party (ANP), Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) have sustained countless attacks by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Scores of leaders and cadres — principally of the […]
Where is the fountainhead of jihad? on May 1, 2013The general elections in Pakistan scheduled in ten days from now are easily the bloodiest in the country’s history. The secular parties like the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and the Pakistan People’s Party have come under deadly attacks by the jihadists. But the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has literally unleashed a war on the liberal Pashtun Awami […]