The need for a new story
There are competing narratives about the US`s drone war in the Waziristan area, a bastion of militants. These narratives have so far failed to gain traction in the public, inside…
Shooting in the dark
Indian and Pakistani armies have slammed each other for violating the Line of Control this week. Pakistan said Indian troops killed one of its soldiers in the Haji Pir sector…
Egypt’s Zia ul Haq?
Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi has been dubbed Egypt’s new pharaoh, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Cincinnatus, Benito Mussolini, Abraham Lincoln, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and even another Hosni Mubarak. Comparisons and juxtapositions are being…
The sectarian ghoul in Gilgit
The region of Gilgit-Baltistan made news this year not for its scenic beauty, but for sectarianism in the form of brutal murders and target killings. Historically, the region has been…
An evolving enemy
Three Chechens, one Uzbek, one Kyrgyzstani and one Dagestani. These are the nationalities of six of the 10 terrorists that attacked the Bacha Khan Airport in Peshawar on Saturday (the…
Of delusions and narratives
Going through the various available material on the jihadis’ role in Kashmir and Afghanistan since the 1990s, some of it in verbatim interviews, one ends up with the feeling that…
The four-point formula
The spokesman of the United Jihad Council (UJC) Syed Sadaqat Hussein’s belated attack on June 28 on the four-point formula on Kashmir reeks of factual error and unrealism. Gen Pervez…
Waiting for Malala to grow up
When the state and the political elite of the country cannot be on the same page even on how best to deal with an existential threat to it, is there…
Remembering Benazir
December 27, 2012 marks the fifth death anniversary of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, the great visionary leader, who resisted with great courage the agenda of neo-colonial forces - pushing Pakistan to…
The hawks and the offer
Should the government talk to the Taliban, or should it not? That is the question. The answer from the hawks would be a resounding no. They would argue that the…
