How many Zainabs and Farishtas must we sacrifice?on June 1, 2019Imagine a 10-year-old girl walking in the relative calm of her surroundings. Imagine she is abducted by known or unknown assailants and taken to a dark and cold place. Imagine she is all alone, scared, helpless and powerless against those ruffians. Imagine her little mind can't fathom what is about to happen to her. Imagine she innocently calls out to those thugs, pleads with them to let her go. … [Read more...] about How many Zainabs and Farishtas must we sacrifice?
Doctrine, policy, and strategy: FATF black list and US Entity list, do they matter?on May 19, 2019Lists are nothing new. For years, they have been used to enumerate one thing or the other. All esteemed publications use them. Fortune, Time, Forbes - you name it. Recently, there have been two lists that are the talk of the town. The FATF list and the Entity list!Being on the FATF grey list is causing sleepless nights in Islamabad already. The powers to be fear that this may worsen to black … [Read more...] about Doctrine, policy, and strategy: FATF black list and US Entity list, do they matter?
Doctrine, policy, and strategy: Could we have saved the Data Darbar bombing victims?on May 13, 2019The latest bombing at Data Darbar has at-least confirmed one notion. That unless drastic national security enhancements are made, this act of terrorism will not be the last! This is where the two largest religious thoughts, Deoband and Sufi, clashed. The terrorists achieved multiple ends by striking one of the holiest symbols in Sufism in Pakistan. One, their ideology - even if not their force - … [Read more...] about Doctrine, policy, and strategy: Could we have saved the Data Darbar bombing victims?
Doctrine, policy, and strategy: watch out ik – the electorate is thinking differently!on April 27, 2019Article II, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution states that the president "shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the State of the Union and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient". Informally, this has been the going practice - off and on - for a variety of American presidents from George Washington onwards. However, this was … [Read more...] about Doctrine, policy, and strategy: watch out ik – the electorate is thinking differently!
A plea bargain lifeline for Nawaz Sharifon April 15, 2019Bahria Town has finally reached a settlement allowed by the Supreme Court of Pakistan with regard to public land use. There are whispers meanwhile in the power corridors that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif can go abroad once he has reached an appropriate bargain with the National Accountability Bureau.Two questions arise here. One, why is a plea bargain such a bad thing if the NAB … [Read more...] about A plea bargain lifeline for Nawaz Sharif
Doctrine, policy, and strategy: a quintessential Pakistani counterterrorism policyon March 27, 2019Previous op-ed in this series has taken the position that a counter insurgency policy, aligned with the overall national security policy, is a must for winning the peace. To that end, a Pakistani counter insurgency policy of reconciliation is recommended.This policy of reconciliation is tasked with curbing the insurgent tendency that aims to usurp power away from the government. Terrorism is … [Read more...] about Doctrine, policy, and strategy: a quintessential Pakistani counterterrorism policy
Doctrine, policy, and strategy: in search of balance and a graceful window of exiton March 6, 2019The recent instalment of the Pakistan-India conflict has at least confirmed one notion - the two nuclear armed rivals will keep at it! Although earlier opinion piece in this series has recommended a foreign policy of inclusionism for both sides but that, it seems, is not par for the course….yet.There were four motives behind recommending this course of action of inclusionism. One, exist … [Read more...] about Doctrine, policy, and strategy: in search of balance and a graceful window of exit
