Dr Mohammad Taqi

This newspaper reported earlier this week that chairing a high-level meeting to review the overall security situation in Pakistan, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has called national security his government’s top priority. He has previously been rating the economy, and the closely related energy crisis, as his top concerns. With the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government […]

Afghan leader Hamid Karzai completed what might be his last visit to Pakistan as the president before he steps down next year. The Pakistani civilian leadership on the other hand has taken up the helm just recently. The principal subject of the visit — the Afghan Taliban — and their powerful backers in the Pakistani […]

A slew of speeches and interviews from Pakistan’s new civilian and existing military leaders have appeared since the country celebrated its 66th Independence Day a week ago. Given the myriad complex problems the country faces, there was remarkably little in these words that may inspire confidence within Pakistan or outside. Additionally, several terrorist attacks and […]

Two months into his third stint, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his core team’s handling of the national security debate has been cavalier and sloppy at best, and downright dangerous at worst. The ostensibly well-oiled political machine that was supposed to have replaced the chaotic governance of the outgoing Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has yet […]

After last week’s Dera Ismail Khan (DIK) jailbreak, the Pakistani media remained preoccupied with the election for the ceremonial office of the president, which might have gone almost unnoticed had the opposition not boycotted it. After the polls the media has found yet another distractive non-issue, thanks to the honourable Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC). […]

Two synchronised bomb attacks wreaked havoc in the heart of Parachinar in the Kurram Agency on July 26 as the people prepared for breaking their fast. At least 60 people were killed and some 200 injured, many critically, in one of the deadliest attacks the Shia-dominated hapless Upper Kurram region has seen recently. Local reports […]

Indian cinema is celebrating its centenary this year but also mourns one of its most unforgettable icons this month. For nearly 60 out of those 100 years, Pran had remained an imposing presence on theatre screens first as the villain’s villain and then as a memorable character actor. He died on July 12 in Mumbai. […]

The Al Jazeera news network has published the leaked report of the Abbottabad Commission probing the circumstances around the killing of the al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden (OBL). The four-member independent commission of inquiry had been appointed as a result of the unanimous resolution of the joint session of Pakistan’s parliament held in the […]

More than 50 innocent people killed in one day would wake up the most somnolent of nations and their governments. June 30, 2013 started with a bomb targeting a government paramilitary convoy in the hapless Badaber area, just outside Peshawar. The terrorists chose a busy intersection to target the soldiers, killing 17 and injuring about […]

Over two weeks have elapsed since the Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan vowed to have a national security policy in place. He had indicated to expect an announcement by June 20 or 21. Nothing remotely similar to a counter-terrorism and national security policy was announced. Instead, his press conference was replete with generic […]