From republic to emirate
On August 15, we woke up to a new world; the Taliban had seized control of Kabul as the government in Afghanistan disintegrated and the president left the country. The…
The Republic versus an emirate
As the Afghanistan fiasco deepens, many important voices have sought to understand and analyse the day-to-day situation in Afghanistan, and how Pakistan should handle the challenges posed by what looks…
Attractions of the Islamic State
Here is something for the Pakistani privilegentsia to consider. Something like the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham – Isis or Daish – would have catastrophic consequences for them, putting…
Afghans both hopeful, disappointed after Russia’s Taliban recognition
Russia’s decision to formally recognise the Taliban government has been seen as an opening for a stronger economy by some Afghans, while others were sceptical that it would improve their…
Ironies of the Afghan war
HE was captured on Feb 8, 2010, in a joint CIA-ISI raid outside Karachi. The Obama administration described the arrest of the Afghan Taliban’s second-in-command as a “turning point” in…
Struggling against terrorism
IT has been a decade since the attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar, which killed some 150 students and staff in December 2014. It was the darkest moment in Pakistan’s…
Coercive diplomacy
PAKISTAN-AFGHANISTAN relations have been on a downward trajectory. They plunged to a new low earlier this month when Pakistan carried out air strikes on hideouts of the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan…
Languishing losers
The American system is based on competition. Only the ablest and fittest survive, losers are cut to size and left to languish. The United States of America (USA), the only…
Issue of refugees
HUNDREDS of thousands of undocumented Afghan refugees are returning to their country. In principle, it makes perfect sense. No country allows illegal foreign nationals to stay on its land. Pakistan,…
Taliban version of Islam
THE Taliban regime in Afghanistan has started enforcing Sharia laws based on their own interpretation of the precepts of Islam. Pakistan is among those Muslim countries that have distanced themselves…
