Notes on the Taliban
Part - V Afghanistan blames Pakistan and firmly believes that the Taliban insurgency persists due to the continuous support shown by Islamabad. But the Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan (TTA)’s perceptions against Pakistan…
Footnotes from ‘war on terror’
A New narrative is in the making, that the fight against terrorism has been compromised because of civilian failures. That it has been lost so far is seared into our…
Talking peace again
Once upon a time, four wise men met with recalcitrant TTP leaders. Impressed by the merit of their arguments, convincing mannerisms and generosity of the state to let bygones be…
Militants die young
Life expectancy among militants is low – and lower if someone is a commander. But there seems to be no dearth of men willing to step forward and replace their…
What’s cooking in the KSA?
On June 21, the Saudi king changed his mind. He announced that the crown prince – 57-year-old Prince Mohammad bin Nayef – is no longer in the line for royal…
After terror, a parade of foolishness
A parade of foolishness has followed the atrocity at Sehwan Sharif. It is a colourful melee of all kinds of unfounded, emotive and irresponsible attitudes and approaches to the serious…
Contesting culture
In 2004, while the Muttahida-Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) was governing KP, a puritanical vigilante group called Tehreek-i-Nijaat-i-Fahashi launched a crackdown against musicians in Peshawar. Under deepening conservatism patronised by the religio-political alliance,…
Truth and assassination
Everyone in Pakistan remembers the feverish, frantic moments when they heard the news of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination seven years ago. The intersection of national tragedy with personal reality — where…
Peace in Fata too?
Fata, which was once a part of Afghanistan, is still affected by developments in that country; whatever happens in Afghanistan has a resonance in Fata and events there have a…
The importance of being Pakistan
Reportedly, 700 Afghanistan based militants stormed a check post in Spinwam Tehsil in North Waziristan Agency on September 16 and in the ensuing battle 20 militants lost their lives while…
